5 August 2025

Greetings for another ’Timber-Tuesday’ from your WoodWorks team. We begin this week’s insights in Punakaiki on the west coast of the South Island.  The efficient prefabricated nature of using mass timber made it ideal for the remote but busy visitor centre.  Adding to that, the versatility of timber suited the structural resilience required for this high-wind coastal area.

Moving  to the Middle East where the glulam experts from  Red Stag TimberLab have made a 92m span bridge in Qatar.  This was a job that required precision of the fabrication so site adjustments were not necessary.

Limberlost Place, an institutional timber tower from Toronto showcases exposed timber and natural ventilation by using a solar chimney.  From British Columbia see the Fraser Mills Presentation Centre’s sweeping, free flowing roof form supported by cantilevered columns.  Lastly we examine the tallest mass timber residential structure in Toronto, could this affordable housing be the solution for New Zealand?

Finally this week, we are pleased to announce the full conference programme for our national WoodWorks Conference on 4-5 November.  Check out our speakers and site visit plan for the afternoon of Day 2 of the conference.  In coming weeks we will feature speaker and case study previews.  We look forward to seeing you there!