New Zealand’s first mass timber demonstration building is now under construction in Christchurch at 50 Rotoiti Lane in Clearwater, Northwood, Christchurch.  Two open days for industry professionals were held last week attracting over 130 architects, designers, engineers and project managers.  Site visits to the building were followed by a series of presentation from the project team and the developer.

Industry professionals from architecture, property development and construction toured the building construction site This demonstration building showcases carbon-friendly engineered wood systems for a 5-storey, 10 apartment demonstration building. Aside from its natural beauty, engineered timber provides a very strong, low carbon and comparably low-cost alternative to steel and concrete. It’s easier to transport, relatively light, and has outstanding earthquake and fire resilience.

The wood building will house 10 apartments now under construction as part of a 2-year, a $6.75 million programme aimed at encouraging widespread adoption of precision-engineered timber in mid-rise building construction in New Zealand. The Clearwater Quays apartment development is part of a joint industry-Government demonstrations project.  The Mid-Rise Wood Construction programme is a partnership between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Red Stag Investments Ltd.

Their innovative new apartments use prefabrication demonstrating how engineered wood can speed up construction by as much as 30% and reduce costs. Their design combines cross-laminated timber (CLT), glulam and panelised framing timber is a cost-effective, fast, resilient, and sustainable system for mid-rise construction.

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