Lendlease has partnered with NZ-based engineering firm Holmes Solution to develop a breakthrough post and plate connection system, which will drive the next generation of offsite manufacturing and mass timber construction.
The system, which clicks into place and is fully reversible, is now being commercialised by global equipment manufacturer Hilti and could be used in mass timber mid-rise and high-rise buildings worldwide.
It comes as Lendlease, one of the world’s largest construction contractors, in late 2021 signed off on a Global Agreement with Stora Enso to establish a dedicated studio focused on mass timber R&D, including cross-laminated timber (CLT); new ways products can be used in construction; and their accessibility in the global market.
At the time, Tony Lombardo, Lendlease’s Global CEO and Managing Director, said the new partnership—which has been ten years in the making—is part of the company’s pledge to reduce emissions across its global portfolio.
Last week, Andrew Dunn viewed the new system, launched at the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon, revealing video to Wood Central.
“I consider this a game changer for mass timber construction,” Mr Dunn said. He was part of an Asia-Pacific delegation to the United States hosted by the APA—Engineered Wood Association.
“In the video, the metal base plates are the top and bottom of a column, with the wood sandwiched between the two plates, the cross-laminated timber floor.”
Before adding that, “the connection clicks together as quickly as in the video; it is also reversible.”
“Jon Roebuck provided the demonstration; he was one of the presenters at last year’s Timber Offsite Conference in Melbourne,” according to Mr Dunn, who will organise this year’s conference—now rebranded as Timber Construct—in August 2024.
Mr Dunn, who just arrived back in Australia after a six-day tour of the US, including tours of several Californian mass timber projects, the Strong-Tie R&D lab and Hayfield’s Mass Timber field, said the conference was “better than last year,” adding that the trade show floor was “enormous, “a mass timber enthusiasts’ dream.”
The International Mass Timber Conference is the largest gathering of mass timber experts worldwide, with more than 2,700 delegates from 38 countries attending the three-day conference in Portland, Oregon.
Now, Mr Dunn is getting ready to welcome the world of mass timber to Melbourne in August. “We have now updated the program” with further “announcements about speakers in the coming weeks and months.”
