New Zealand is missing a prime opportunity to combine its sustainable timber resources with an innovative manufacturing system to build faster and more efficiently.
Daryl Patterson, Head of Operational Excellence at Lend Lease Australia, states Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) is that missing link.
CLT is an engineered wood system made from several layers of dimensional lumber boards, stacked crossways and bonded together.
Speaking at the Wood Processors & Manufacturers Association of New Zealand (WPMA) and Property Council New Zealand Tall Timber Buildings seminar last week, Mr Patterson questioned why, given New Zealand’s ample timber resources, there is not greater use of CLT in our construction sector.
“New Zealand is fortunate as all manufactured timber is made here. In Australia, we import manufactured timber as we don’t have the large timber resources to supply the raw product.
“You also have the design talent, a market that accepts timber and local manufacturers who have invested heavily in the technology to deliver and supply CLT.”
Mr Patterson says he investigated CLT after seeing how 3D printing and robotic technology could be used to manufacture multi storey buildings.
“We had a design team look at this and the challenge was not the printer but the ink. We had to ask what will we make these buildings from. We needed a lightweight, strong, easy to manufacture, raw material.
“We looked at over 100 options and it kept coming back to timber: easy to construct, sustainable, durable and cost efficient.”
CLT provides the dimensional stability, strength and rigidity of alternative products at similar costs and can be digitally fabricated.
“This technology allows for mass customisation as the tools of design talk to the tools of production.
“We can now design and manufacture an entire apartment block in a warehouse, from a computer software program and robotics operated by one guy.”
Mr Patterson cites London’s Graphite Apartments as an example.
“We looked first at the 2008 construction of the Graphite Apartments, in London. This was social and affordable housing where CLT was being used in very economically tight circumstances. They had to make it work and reducing cost was the rationale for using CLT. They could build faster, cheaper and break the height record for timber buildings by 50 per cent.”
Mr Patterson believes the cost saving is partly due to the speed of construction and the ability to make the building water tight far earlier in the construction process than can be achieved with traditional materials.
Bringing that knowledge back to Australia, Lend Lease went on to build the Forté, Melbourne’s tallest timber building in 2013.
“What we found using CLT was, not only was it faster to build than a conventional building by 30 per cent, we also reduced truck movements to and from the site by 90 per cent.”
Mr Patterson says other benefits included a quieter construction site, a smaller construction crew and significant thermal properties. He adds the feedback from buyers was overwhelmingly positive.
“Buyers were not concerned about what the building was built out of. They just wanted a nice, modern home and we were able to deliver that on time, at a reasonable price using CLT.”
Mr Patterson also made reference to the recent, $150 million 5 King development in Brisbane, which is busting the scale for timber buildings at 52 meters high and features over 25,000 square meters of CLT.
“Brisbane is a tough market to sell commercial buildings in. We wanted to bring construction costs down to reduce rent and attract tenants.
“There is strong interest by investors in sustainable, well-designed, CLT constructed buildings as they are known to attract and retain tenants.
“These buildings offer a lower carbon footprint than other building materials and they are also great environments to work in.”
The implications for New Zealand, Mr Patterson argues, are huge.
“In Christchurch, you have 1000 new buildings constructed with steel and concrete. These products are being imported from other countries when New Zealand is growing and manufacturing even better buildings in timber frame.
“CLT has the durability, strength, stability, seismic resilience, thermal performance, fire resistance, moisture management and vapour diffusion, healthy indoor environment, and design flexibility. New Zealand should champion this system and become the world leader in CLT constructed buildings.”
| An NZLife release | March 23, 2017 |||
This is a story we have been wanting to tell Matthew Weakes from CADPRO Systems told MSCNewsWire. Our Gavin Bath (one of Technical Specialist based in CHCH) helped Phil (principal of Sprint Aero get some outstanding results.
In response, Phil has decided to kindly open his doors and fire up his BBQ on the 30th of March and invite people to come along and see what it’s all about.
It’s a great opportunity to network with your peers in the industry, as well as see HSMWorks for Solidworks cutting chips with their Haas UMC-750.
Space is limited and filling fast, so if you can make it, please register your interest on this page. We will get back to you and confirm your place by the end of this week, if not sooner.
Event details and registration
Statesman told his family to journey as far away from Germany as possible.
The New Zealand-born grandson of Ludwig Haas leader of the German Democratic Party in the 1920s and often described as the only politician who could have stopped World War 2 is assisting in a major biography of his ancestor.
The biography sponsored by the Commission for the History of Parliament and Political Parties is being published by Droste Verlag of Dusseldorf, a general interest publishing house.
Ludwig Haas (pictured above) died in 1930 while organising a broad based coalition to counter what he perceived would become the burgeoning and overwhelming rise of the National Socialists.
The politician’s early death was ascribed to the ravages of the front during the First World War in which he was decorated with the Iron Cross
With his last breath the dying politician instructed his son Karl “to put as much distance” as the son could “between you and Germany.”
Karl Haas took his father’s instructions literally, eventually arriving in New Zealand shortly before the outbreak of World War 2.
He began his career working in Auckland for wool brokers E. Lichtenstein. After finding his feet in his new country he then acquired a farm near Pahiatua in New Zealand’s North Island.
It was there, in this remote location, that the Haas family remained with Tony Haas, the grandson, being born toward the end of World War 2.
Tony Haas, (pictured, below) Ludwig’s grandson, is widely known in New Zealand for his work with Pacific Island communities and their economies.
In recent years has become acknowledged as one of Oceania’s public intellectuals. Two years ago Mr Haas’ own autobiography was published entitled Being Palangi: My Pacific Journey.
|| From This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Thursday 23 March 2017 |||
Statement by Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler:
The Reserve Bank today left the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 1.75 percent.
Macroeconomic indicators in advanced economies have been positive over the past two months. However, major challenges remain with on-going surplus capacity in the global economy and extensive geo-political uncertainty.
Global headline inflation has increased, partly due to a rise in commodity prices, although oil prices have fallen more recently. Core inflation has been low and stable. Monetary policy is expected to remain stimulatory, but less so going forward, particularly in the US.
The trade-weighted exchange rate has fallen 4 percent since February, partly in response to weaker dairy prices and reduced interest rate differentials. This is an encouraging move, but further depreciation is needed to achieve more balanced growth.
Quarterly GDP was weaker than expected in the December quarter, but some of this is considered to be due to temporary factors. The growth outlook remains positive, supported by on-going accommodative monetary policy, strong population growth, and high levels of household spending and construction activity. Dairy prices have been volatile in recent auctions and uncertainty remains around future outcomes.
House price inflation has moderated, and in part reflects loan-to-value ratio restrictions and tighter lending conditions. It is uncertain whether this moderation will be sustained given the continued imbalance between supply and demand.
Headline inflation has returned to the target band as past declines in oil prices dropped out of the annual calculation. Headline CPI will be variable over the next 12 months due to one-off effects from recent food and import price movements, but is expected to return to the midpoint of the target band over the medium term. Longer-term inflation expectations remain well-anchored at around 2 percent.
Monetary policy will remain accommodative for a considerable period. Numerous uncertainties remain, particularly in respect of the international outlook, and policy may need to adjust accordingly.
|| A RBNZ release | March 23, 2017 |||
This is a story we have been wanting to tell Matthew Weakes from CADPRO Systems told MSCNewsWire. Our Gavin Bath (one of Technical Specialist based in CHCH) helped Phil (principal of Sprint Aero get some outstanding results.
In response, Phil has decided to kindly open his doors and fire up his BBQ on the 30th of March and invite people to come along and see what it’s all about.
It’s a great opportunity to network with your peers in the industry, as well as see HSMWorks for Solidworks cutting chips with their Haas UMC-750.
Space is limited and filling fast, so if you can make it, please register your interest on this page. We will get back to you and confirm your place by the end of this week, if not sooner.
Event details and registration
Have you ever thought of applying the principle of “Caveat Emptor” when hiring a H&S advisor?
The other day I was chatting with a friend and he was telling me about a business associate who was rather concerned about the amount he was having to pay for his Health and Safety consultant along with the down time he was experiencing having being told that weekly H&S meetings were essential under the new Health and Safety at Work Act. Not to do so could see him incur expensive penalties.
What my freind could not understand was that a colleague of his, who is also a buisness owner, could get away with running just one H&S meeting a month.
It so happened that I was preparing an article on Caveat emptor and how important it is to take heed of this especially it in the area of health & safety. Effectivly he has no come back on the cosultant who prescribed the weekly meeting so enter Caveat emptor. Take time to work through the H&S swamp of nonprescriptive legislation with your consultant.
So if you are thinking of hiring an external H&S consultant or you already use one, I suggest you follow this link to my article. Hopefully you will gain from it.
|| A Hasmate release by Gordon Anderson | Wednesday 22 March 2017 |||
Huawei, the Chinese technology giant, has announced a new investment plan to extend its cloud computing infrastructure, research and development (R&D) partnership and local procurement in New Zealand.
Huawei will work with local partners to build a New Zealand Cloud Data Centre, and will open an innovation lab this year, the company said without disclosing the value of the deal.
The lab, located at Victoria University of Wellington, will concentrate on the deployment of big data and Internet of Things (IoT) themed future technology including 5G.
Huawei will build another innovation lab in Christchurch to seek local R&D partnership there, and open a regional office in the country’s capital for local procurement and help businesses in New Zealand which will be integrated into Huawei’s global supply-chain network.
Huawei’s Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said it is seeking further investment opportunities in New Zealand due to its open and fair trade environment and emphasis on developing new technology.
The digital transformation empowered by advanced ICT technology will enable New Zealand’s traditional strengths, including tourism resources, agricultural and trade sectors, into new driving forces of economic growth, he said.
Over the next five years, Huawei will also fund a total of 100 New Zealand undergraduate students to travel to China and learn about latest technology and participate in cultural exchanges.
|| A Huawai release, | March 22, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242