Australia’s largest wooden beams, by weight and volume, have now been installed over the Adelaide Aquatic Centre designed by JPE Design Studio and Warren and Mahoney – a major milestone in the $135m project, which remains “on track to open this summer”
That is according to the latest construction update from the South Australian Department of Infrastructure and Transport, which revealed that 52 timber beams and columns, up to 37 metres in size, are being installed in the various pool halls:
“The timber in the southern pool hall is now complete, along with over 200 roofing panels, as construction of parts of the building structure at the new centre ramps up,” they said. “The weight of the beams and columns is over 143 tonnes combined. One of the beams is the largest wooden beam in the country, weighing 10,282kg and measuring 22.85 cubic metres.”
Today, Wood Central spoke to Tyson Infanti, Australia’s Director of Business Development for Hasslacher Timber Australia – supplier of the wooden beams – who said the superstructure comprises 324 cubic metres of glulam (used in load-bearing beams and columns), 108 cubic metres of cross-laminated timber (or 797 square metres of surface area) and 3,130 square metres of pre-fabricated ceiling modules for noise insulation.
“At its production site in Hermagor in Austria, the Hasslacher group (Hess Timber is a member of the Hasslacher group) produced the largest glulam beams ever to be installed in Australia,” Infanti said. “The gigantic beams measured up to 37.1 metres in length, boast a cross-section of 2,200mm x 280mm, a volume of 22.85 cubic metres and a weight of over 10 tonnes.”
“With these dimensions, they set a new record here in Australia.”
In February, Wood Central revealed that the beams and columns were paraded – thanks to a midnight escort – through the streets of Adelaide after arriving via Austria, Belgium, and Melbourne. At the time, Tom Koutsantonis – South Australia’s Infrastructure Minister said that the process of lifting the enormous beams into place, “helps us to better visualise how this new centre will look once it’s complete.”
“We shipped the timber construction elements via the Zeebrugge port in Belgium,” Infanti said. They then reached Melbourne via RORO ship, from where they were transported to the construction site in Adelaide using articulated flatbed trailers. Special permits were required for the transport, which was only made possible with special collaboration with our experienced transport partners,” he said.
Last year, Wood Central reported that the state was emerging as a hub for timber buildings, with Premier Peter Malinauskas committed to “a smart, sustainable and inclusive path” to build “taller and more complex timber buildings.” Already, Adelaide developers are looking to mass timber for construction, with the city’s iconic Adelaide Oval turning to mass timber to build a new hotel connected to the stadium. Whilst veteran Adelaide developer – Barrie Harrop – earlier this year revealed updated plans to build the world’s tallest timber hotel in the centre of Adelaide as part of a $300 million investment in tourism infrastructure in South Australia.
