What does it take to erect a 98-metre, all-timber hangar engineered to resist wind, water and the world’s strongest earthquakes? That’s the challenge Kylan Low of the Timber Development Association will explore at the final Timber Construct session, where he’ll be joined by architect Patrick Thompson (Studio Pacific Architecture), engineer Chris Speed (Dunning Thornton), builder Jimmy Corric (NZ Strong) and fabricator Daniel Jones (Xlam) to explore Air New Zealand’s new Hangar 4.
Designed for its Auckland-based fleet, Hangar 4 spans 98 metres—large enough to house a Boeing 777, a Dreamliner 787 or two A320/321s side by side—and stands as the southern hemisphere’s largest single-span timber arch. In total, the structure uses 1,200 cubic metres of mass timber, including laminated veneer lumber (LVL) from Nelson Pine and cross-laminated timber (CLT) from Xlam and can flex up to 300 mm under seismic loads—unlike steel or concrete frames.
“The span is believed to be larger than the wooden hangar in Tillamook, Oregon,” according to Corric. “Timber and geometry do what they do best. It can wobble about in the breeze—it’s a seismic structure. You either make these really rigid structures that constrain everything, or you have structures that move a little bit and allow things to give.”
Each 25-metre-long truss is fabricated by gluing five LVL billets at HTL, then joined with CLT panels at Xlam’s Māngere facility. On site, crews then secured the sections with hundreds of 250 mm screws before lifting each 38-tonne truss with New Zealand’s largest crawler crane and manually winching them upright. The roof was then clad with low-pressure ETFE cushions fastened under aluminium extrusions, providing corrosion-resistant insulation ideal for the coastal airport environment.’
Today, Wood Central spoke with Andrew Dunn, Timber Construct organiser, who stated that this year’s programme will feature developers, engineers, and architects working on many of the world’s most significant timber projects, including the Edison Milwaukee, which is now in a race with Atlassian Central Tower to build the world’s largest hybrid timber tower. “As one of just three mass timber and timber frame‑focused industry conferences, our primary focus is always laser-focused on commercial‑ready applications of timber technology. We focus on materials, design, prefabrication and building techniques.”
That includes new research emerging from CSIRO’s North Ryde facility, which suggests that stone wood insulation could be a significant game-changer in reducing the costs of light-weight timber-frame and cross-laminated timber construction. “The standard requires the temperature to remain below 300°C for critical durations — 45 minutes for external walls, 20 minutes for stairways, lofts and shafts, and 30 minutes for all other areas,” he told Wood Central. “Over the years, I’ve observed numerous timber tests, but the stone wool performance was extraordinary.”
“Dr Louis Wallis, the deputy director at the University of Tasmania’s Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood, will chair a panel that will include Jeremy Church and Andy Russell, from Proctor Australia/DTech, during a session which will also look at point‑supported mass timber building systems as well as a rapid fire session looking at commercially ready timber technologies,” he said.
Please note: Timber Construct will be in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 14 at the Rydges Melbourne. For more information about the latest program, updated yesterday, click here.
