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Under the Timber Dome: Forestry House to Shake Up Hobart’s CBD

The multi-award-winning building comprises two original 1930s warehouses and a 22-metre-diametre glass dome bound together under a glulam timber roof structure.


Tue 29 Oct 24

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To passers-by, it looks like a stock-standard office knockdown and rebuild, but inside Hobart’s former forestry building – once home to Forestry Tasmania – 150 or more tradespeople are working around the clock to deliver one of the world’s most progressive projects.

Designed by Woods Bagot, the project—which will become home to the University of Tasmania’s business and economics faculties from early 2026—has already secured the World Architecture Festival’s (WAF) Building Technology award and is a favourite to win the education award, be announced in Singapore next month.

The multi-award-winning building comprises two 1930s warehouses, with a 22-metre-diametre glass dome designed by legendary architectural practice Circa Morris-Nunn Chua Architects in 1997. Forestry Tasmania vacated the site in 2017 – after 20 years at the location, with the building slated for partial demolition under a Tasmania Police proposal to alter the premises before the University of Tasmania purchased the site in 2018.

Building works have passed the halfway point, with an opening slated for 2026

Already, construction works have passed the halfway stage with Professor Nicholas Farrelly, the University of Tasmania’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, stating that the refurbished building will eventually house 3000 students and 300 administration staff. “It’s on budget and on time, and of course, there are complexities to a project such as this one,” Mr Farrelly said.

“We’re excited about what it will mean for our staff and students as we go about creating a 21st-century learning and research environment for them.”

Wood Central understands that Woods Bagot is working closely with Robert Morris-Nunn, the architect responsible for the 1990s design, who is now in Singapore for the World Architecture Festival awards, on a new timber-centric design, which includes a glulam-braced roof designed, detailed and manufactured with MASSLAM by ASH – Australia’s largest hardwood manufacturer. The design will fully restore the building, including a massive urban forest – which includes 3500 living plants – revived under the massive dome.

“Seeing the building fall into disuse over the last few years has been really sad, so to know that the University is planning to restore it, and even reinstate the forest under the dome, is amazing news,” according to Mr Morris-Nunn, a two-time winner of the Australian Timber Design Awards.

“The dome was built in the 1990s, added on to an existing structure that dates back to the 1930s, and that dome has been deemed to have enough merit that it is now included in the overall heritage listing for the building. It’s the first time anything I’ve built has been heritage-listed. So it’s nice to know that legacy will be preserved and given new life.”

Wood Central understands that the refurbished building will form part of the Midtown precinct of the University of Tasmania’s plans to move its campus to the Hobart CBD. “We are creating a very sustainable and beautiful building by retrofitting an existing space with a low carbon and circular design that makes extensive use of timber,” according to Phil Leersen, University of Tasmania’s executive director of campus transformation.

“The design celebrates Hobart’s architectural heritage, scale and character,” he said, adding that “the building will provide great contemporary learning spaces for students that support our mission to make higher education more accessible.”

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The timber dome, which is made from Tasmanian Timber sourced from Western Junction Sawmill, is now under construction. (Photo Credit: Nikki Davis-Jones)

Targeting 40% less carbon, the project team has embraced full circularity with their building materials and will be Australia’s largest example of commercial hempcrete. “This means material recovery where possible, the elimination of intensive materials, and the introduction of only sustainable materials,” per the project submission to the World Architecture Festival.

The $131m project blew out by $45m due to design changes and materials.

Speaking to the Tasmanian-based Mercury newspaper, Hansen Yuncken Tasmania – the principal contractor responsible for the project, said the project’s initial cost blew out by $45m due to design changes and increased material costs.

“This is a very challenging project,” said Julian Proud, Hansen Yuncken’s Tasmanian construction manager. “We’ve got 15,000 sqm of the project that we needed to get underway all at once.”

“Normally, in a $130m project, you’re building level by level, and then you’ll be populating level by level, (but) in this particular project, when we’re repurposing the existing facility, w really have a head start on the main structure of the building, which allows us to start in so many different places.”

Julian Proud, Hansen Yuncken’s Tasmanian construction manager on the projects complication.

Mr Proud said at maximum capacity, on site crews “will probably cap out at 190 per day, which is logistically quite challenging.”

Speaking about the massive build, Nick Steel, the CEO of the Tasmanian Forest Products Association – the peak body for timber in Tasmania, said the design “shows just what can be created using our own sustainable and renewable forest products. Not only is Tasmanian timber a great way of supporting the local community, but it’s also esthetically pleasing and great for the state’s environment, too.”

“The university knew that by using timber, they were creating up to 40 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than by using other building materials,” he said, adding that the project’s use of engineered wood products “can be as strong and fire resistant as other building methods and should be embraced for other building projects.”

Author

  • Jason Ross

    Jason Ross, publisher, is a 15-year professional in building and construction, connecting with more than 400 specifiers. A Gottstein Fellowship recipient, he is passionate about growing the market for wood-based information. Jason is Wood Central's in-house emcee and is available for corporate host and MC services.

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