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Glulam propels sustainable building at Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre

18 November 2025

With New Zealand’s government setting an ambitious goal to double the combined space and advanced aviation sectors – currently valued at near $3 billion – by 2030, the recently opened Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre near Christchurch has solidified Aotearoa’s position in the global aerospace industry. The Centre is in position to become a vital link connecting regulatory bodies, innovators and key industry stakeholders while fostering a safe and sustainable aerospace ecosystem. Techlam played a pivotal role in delivering the Centre’s state-of-the-art aircraft hangar – an essential component of the new infrastructure designed to propel New Zealand’s future aerospace endeavours.

WoodWorks Issue – 18 Nov 2025

Welcome

Greetings from your WoodWorks team.  Thanks to everyone who attended our WoodWorks annual conference earlier this month in Rotorua, we had a full house.  Thanks also to our speakers, who delivered a range of topics from how buildings are designed and constructed in Australia, to how local teams delivered some of many new mass timber builds in New Zealand.

From 90 Devonport Road in Tauranga to B201 at University of Auckland and the Air New Zealand Hangar 4 project (on show to the ‘flying’ public) a range of professionals shared their learnings from these iconic mass timber projects.  The team from Red Stag Timberlab outlined their new approach with “Timberlab 2.0 – Standardised Sector Solutions which was highly rated by our conference delegates. Also highly rated was an insightful technology presentation from Brad Sara of Warren and Mahoney:  “AI – The Impact on Architecture: Game Over or Game On”.

The selection of glulam timber for the recently opened Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre hangar structure was an obvious choice, driven by its inherent advantages in performance, aesthetics and sustainability. Read more about this state-of-the-art aircraft hangar and other stories below.

  • One for the engineers… Wood You Believe It? The timber truss stealing the show in Barbados.
  • Bee-dazzled by the Hive: It’s great to see The Hive glowing at night along the Vancouver skyline!⁠
  • With a philanthropic client for a new build in a forest setting, the first (and only …) design option has to be mass timber.
  • One for the architects: A beautiful build in a beautiful setting.
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