The design life for a mid-rise or high-rise building could be up to 50 to 100 years, yet the economic life for many buildings is just 20 to 25 years. Ultimately, this means a lot of materials could outlast the life of buildings by several decades.
“So, what do we do with these materials,” asked Professor Keith Crews, Director at the Australian Research Council’s Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment – who spoke to Wood Central about the growing importance of timber in the circular economy.
“Traditionally, we’ve had a linear economy – where we produce, use, and put it into landfills.” However, lots of research is now looking at full circularity, especially given the scramble for wood supply: “Now the question is, how do we recycle it, not only in terms of regrowing it but how do we reuse it and repurpose it at the end of its economic life so we can put it into a new use, or modify its use to keep it in service.”
Professor Crews – who will chair this year’s World Conference on Timber Engineering in Brisbane – said a key to this year’s conference will be looking at circularity “from an engineering, architectural and the building practitioners’ point of view.”
“A lot of industries don’t have a solid answer (for the circular economy), but the timber industry does, and it’s something that we have been putting into practice for many years – that is, ensuring that timber does not go to landfill at the end of its life. It’s important to recognise that in most cases, buildings don’t fall apart, certainly in our part of the world, but the change of a building is often due to its economic life.”
Professor Keith Crews, Director at the Australian Research Council’s Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment, on timber’s role in the circular economy.
Set to be one of the largest timber conferences on record, this year’s WCTE will feature 950 oral and poster presentations and focus on six themes: “Material Performance and Durability, Sustainability and Timber in the Circular Economy, Timber Engineering and Structural Performance, Timber Architecture and Biophilic Design, Education, Innovation and Challenges, and Exemplars and Construction Case Studies.”
Why is the WCTE coming to Brisbane?
Professor Crews said the WCTE – last hosted in Oslo, Norway, in 2023- rotates between Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. “It was last hosted in the Southern Hemisphere in Auckland, back in 2012, so when we put our bid in, we made sure that it truly represented what is happening here in Australia – namely, the evolution of timber engineering over the last 15 years as it moved from residential to commercial, mid-rise, industrial buildings and sports complexes.”
Please Note: This is a snippet from a Wood Central exclusive interview with Professor Keith Crews – the conference chairman for WCTE 2025. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
