Post-and-beam construction—where workers (and robots) build hundreds of two-by-four-framed houses —could be a silver bullet or Australia’s housing crisis, with a group of Australian architects, engineers, and developers visiting a “factory builder” in the shadows of Mount Fuji.
Flanked by Nippon TV, one of Japan’s flagship television networks, the delegation, led by Andrew Dunn from the Timber Development Association, visited the Marudai Co Ltd, a precut timber factory that specialises in building post-and-beam-styled single- and multi-storey houses in seven weeks or less.
Touring the facility – which includes a real-life NASA capsule – Simon Love, director of Japanese Timber Australia, said the Japanese post-and-beam system is highly efficient and fit-for-purpose and could be an ideal solution for built-up areas like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane…and even smaller cities like Newcastle:
“The system is efficient, accurate, and easy to install on-site. Everything is delivered on time. They only deliver one or two days’ worth of material to the site. It’s all precut, so no waste. They get a lot more deliveries and, thus, can complete the construction in a fast time.”
Set up in the 1950s, the factory opened its first precut facility in the mid-1990s, secured PEFC certification in 2010, and has had multiple upgrades over the decades, including a high-speed feather pattern 3D cutting machine in 2022. Largely automated, it has (since COVID) used loading robots to load and stack precut timber into place.
Sponsored by WoodSolutions, delegates will tomorrow visit the world’s oldest timber building – the Hōryū-ji temple – before a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience traditional processing, forestry and carpentry demonstrations. “Guided by the experts, we will look at the traditional joint method, log polishing and Shou Sugi Ban charred timber,” Dunn said.
- Please note: Wood Central will have exclusive coverage from the tour all week. For more information, including insights from the first day of the tour, click here for yesterday’s insights from inside Ajinomoto, Japan’s National Stadium.
