The world’s largest timber‑hybrid building under construction — dubbed the “timber building inside a much larger building” — has made major progress over the festive season, with crews now installing cross‑laminated timber panels and glulam beams inside levels 33 and 35 of Sydney’s newest and arguably most impressive skyscraper.
Slated to open later this year, the $1.8 billion, 39‑storey ‘plyscraper’ will eventually contain more than 30,000 cubic metres of timber — shipped by European giants Stora Enso and Wiehag — across 21 storeys of the tower, with seven three‑level ‘timber habitats’ sandwiched between steel‑and‑concrete mega floor plates above a seven‑storey concrete podium.
Designed by BVN and New York‑based SHoP, each ‘habitat’ comprises four floors of timbered space stacked inside a steel exoskeleton, eliminating the need for internal columns. “The timber floors are connected to the concrete floors via drag straps,” said Tim Allen, timber structural lead for TTW, who spoke at Timber Construct — Australia’s only timber construction conference — in late 2024. “Why build a 39‑storey building partly out of timber?” Allen said. “Because it comes down to using the right timber for the right application.”
In October, Peter Morley, the Dexus project director overseeing the build, said the team had “broken the back on the most technical, structural phase of the project,” with the hybrid timber approach allowing the developers “to bring the building up quicker and get the façade on quicker than a more traditional build.”
“That’s because we’re jumping up five levels every time, and while we’re going up, we’re coming back and infilling with the timber within each of those five‑storey zones,” Morley said. Atlassian Central is co‑owned by Dexus and Atlassian, with Built and Japanese construction giant Obayashi appointed as builders, confirming the building remains “on schedule” for a 2026 opening, with the tech giant expected to take over five of the seven habitats in late 2028 following a full fit‑out.
- To learn more about Atlassian, click here for Wood Central’s special feature following Tim Allen’s presentation at Timber Construct 2024.
