Two down, two to go! The world’s tallest timber hybrid building, described last week as a “timber building inside a much, much larger building,” has reached a critical milestone —two years to the day since the massive project in downtown Sydney broke ground, with two more to go!
On-site to celebrate the milestone were Atlassian Co-Founder and Co-CEO Mike Cannon Brookes, Dexus Group CEO & Managing Director Ross Du Vernet, and Anoulack Chanthivong, the Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology:
“To be at the halfway point of one of the world’s most innovative and environmentally friendly buildings is really exciting,” said Mike Cannon Brookes. “Atlassian Central is more than just a new Sydney office for us. It will become the heart of the tech ecosystem in Sydney and a hub for technology innovation and investment in Australia.”
Wood Central understands that construction has focused on laying the tower’s enormous foundations and supporting structure. To date, 1,500 workers (working 500,000 work hours) have used more than 1,000 tonnes (out of 4,000) of green steel and 10,500 cubic metres (out of 30,000) of green concrete in the building’s foundations.
Now, as the project enters its next phase, the building’s diagrid structure is starting to take shape. It will include thousands of cubic metres of timber and green steel used in building “four-story habitats,” which will fan out from the concrete core as the building gains height.
One of the building’s key features is that the four-storey habitats include seven separate free-standing, three-level cross-laminated timber flooring systems sandwiched between steel-and-concrete mega floor plates, all over a seven-floor concrete podium and a structural steel exoskeleton.
“The timber floors connect the concrete floors via drag straps,” Mr Allen said, adding that the innovative lateral design is one of the most advanced anywhere in the world. “Why build a 39-storey building partly out of timber?” Mr Allen said, “It comes down to using the right timber for the right application.”
Employing hybrid timber technology, it combines steel frames and cross-laminated timber from the eighth story upwards, using reinforced concrete for the basement and lower floors.
Starting next year, European giants Stora Enso and Wieharg will supply thousands of cubic metres of cross-laminated timber and glulam beams, which together will help construct more than 21 floors of cross-laminated timber flooring and glulam beams.
With 2,000 square metre floor plates, Wood Central understands that a massive amount of cross-laminated timber will substitute vast quantities of concrete and steel traditionally used to construct skyscrapers.
Atlassian Central is co-owned by Atlassian and Dexus; Dexus is the development manager, and Built is the principal contractor, managing the project in a joint venture with Obayashi (BOJV).
According to Mr Du Vernet, “Atlassian (which is now shooting for a 6-Star Green Star rating and a 5.5 NABERS rating) has always had a clear vision for a building that will set a new benchmark in sustainability performance and facilitate the workplace of the future.” For Mr Du Vernet, Dexus is “proud to deliver a world-leading development which will be the catalyst for change and opportunity as the anchor of Sydney’s government-backed Tech Central precinct.”
- To learn more about this project, visit Wood Central’s “Timber Building within a Much Larger Building” exclusive from last week.
