Using CLT enabled the project to be completed 13 weeks ahead of schedule compared with the option to utilise a concrete conventionally framed structure

The short build-time requirement for this project made it an ideal project for showcasing the innovative Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) material.

The Aveo Norwest building consists of ten storeys and was the country's largest use of CLT technology at the time. Approximately 3,000 m3 of CLT, the equivalent of 4156 panels, have been installed to produce a complex timber retirement village.

TTW engineers delivered a high-quality structure beyond a "standard box". The desired apartment layouts required a higher number of complex junctions of CLT floor slabs than could have been achieved with layouts driven purely by efficiency for mass timber construction.

TTW Advance undertook lateral analysis of Aveo Norwest. As the largest timber building in Australia at the time of design, the height of the structure meant that the drift movements under wind loads had to be carefully considered. CLT shear walls were used to brace the structure laterally, and their flexibility had a direct impact on the predicted movements. The flexibility of the walls was incorporated directly into the analysis, including the effects of tension anchors and the compression of the floor slabs.

The design of curved and seemingly cantilevered balconies required a hybrid construction approach incorporating glulam beams and structural steel.

Client: AVEO

Architect: Jackson Teece

Value: $51M

Completion: 2017

Sector: Aged Care

Services: Timber, TTW Advance, Structural

Award:

  • Australian Timber Design Award Excellence in Timber Design – MERIT – Sustainability