- TIMBERBIZ.COM.AU - A La Une - 21/Jul 01:00

Historic Schweppes factory turns to mass timber

The founder of Australia’s newest and, to date, its most ambitious build-to-rent developer will headline Timber Construct – the country’s only dedicated timber-in-construction conference.  Source: Timberbiz Andrew Dunn, organiser of the 13-14 October conference and exhibition, revealed that Rory Hunter, Australian entrepreneur and CEO of MODEL, will be the first keynote to address, “Building Beyond Convention – a Developer’s Timber Awakening.” “Rory’s MODEL is Australia’s first purpose-first build-to-rent development group, now using mass timber-led solutions to ‘flip the script on old ways of living and being,” Mr Dunn said. “His company is already planning to build 700 highly sustainable build-to-rent apartments (using mass timber) and recently secured a $250 million regeneration decarbonisation fund to build sustainable built-to-rent projects across Melbourne and the east coast.” Last year, Timber Construct revealed that MODEL, which announced plans to build two build-to-rent towers in Melbourne’s inner north, the first, a 17-storey 200-apartment tower in Abbotsford and a second, a nine-storey, 180-apartment scheme over the 1880s Schweppes Cordial factory, was looking to build up to 5,000 build-to-rent units over the coming years. “Build-to-rent projects are a major growth industry for mass timber-based construction, with mid-rise and high-rise residential buildings the new sweet spot for hybrid timber systems,” according to Mr Dunn, who said Georgia Coutsodimitropoulous will chair the session, Timberlink’s Marketing and Brand Manager, who, through NeXTimber, operates Australia’s first cross-laminated timber and glulam plant. In addition, Mr Dunn said the first day will also feature a panel discussion looking at the role of timber framing in solving Australia’s housing crisis. “Frame and truss are affordable, dependable and reliable, with Nick Hewson, the CEO of Aboralis, Barry Brunton from Legacy Engineering, and Dr Louise Wallis, from the University of Tasmania, looking at ways that we can use modern methods of construction to scale up production.” Mr Dunn said tickets for this year’s event are now on sale, with organisers expecting a larger turnout than in past years – both from Australians and visitors overseas: “As one of just three mass timber and timber frame focused industry conferences, our primary focus is on commercial-ready applications of timber technology,” he said, “with a focus on materials, design, prefabrication and building techniques.”