Mass Timber Market Updates - Feb 2025 - Week Eight

Ready to revolutionize your understanding of mass timber construction? Discover the future of sustainable architecture with our latest episode of the Mass Timber Construction Podcast. Host Paul Kremer takes you on an exhilarating journey through groundbreaking projects from around the globe. From the award-winning, eco-friendly Maths Hub at Barker College designed by Architectus to the biophilic marvel of the RecWell facility in Connecticut, we promise you insights into how these structures are not just built to last, but to harmonize with their environments. 

Our worldwide expedition also highlights Gensler's stunning stadium design for Egypt's Al-Ahly Football Club, featuring a unique sunken pitch for passive cooling. Across the ocean in Australia, Rubner Engineering's multi-story timber building at the University of Newcastle exemplifies the pinnacle of sustainable educational spaces. And let's not forget the magnificent glulam roof structure crowning Sydney's new fish markets—proof that mass timber is reshaping modern architecture. Tune in as we celebrate these marvels of ingenuity, and get ready to view mass timber construction through a whole new lens.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ladies and gentlemen, we are live.
This is the moment you all havebeen waiting for.
It's time for the globalsensation, the one, the only,

(00:22):
the undisputed heavyweightpodcast in the world the Mass
Timber Construction Podcast.
And now here's Paul Kramer,your host.

(00:48):
Good morning, good afternoon orgood evening wherever you are
in the world today.
Welcome to the Mass TimberConstruction Podcast.
My name is Paul Kramer, yourhost.
Welcome to another weeklyepisode.
Thank you for tuning in eachweek.
Thank you for subscribing.
Don't forget to get along to theInternational Mass mass timber
conference.
If you're truly looking tounderstand and elevate your

(01:09):
knowledge and experience aroundmass timber and trying to build
networks, get to Portland at theend of May.
It truly is an amazing event.
So if you can get along, pleasedo get along and go and say
hello to Arnie for me.
Let's have a look at what'smaking news around the world
this week.
In mass timber construction,land and sustainability led

(01:31):
design approach helpedarchitectus deliver a
multi-award winning mass timberbuilding for Barker College
Maths Hub and, talking toarchitecturaldesigncomau,
architecturaldesigncomau, samMorris said that the Maths Lab
not only won the prestigiousAustralian Institute of

(01:53):
Architects New South Wales MiloDunphy Award for Sustainable
Architecture, but also theEditor's Choice Award for 2024
for the Sustainability Awards,where architectus was a
broad-reaching approach tosustainable design and this was
acknowledged by the judges.
If you'd like to go and readmore about that, you can jump on
our LinkedIn feed or go toarchitectureanddesigncomau and

(02:18):
have a look at the story locatedon there featuring Sam Morris.
Congratulations, architectus.
And to Connecticut now.
And supporting wellness withbiophilic design.
There is a structure composedof CLT designed well for the
RecWell facility, which drawsupon principles of biophilia,

(02:39):
including natural elements ofwood paneling, local stone and
interior green walls.
A key consideration whenrealizing the university's goal
for connecting buildingoccupants to the surrounding
Connecticut landscape was theexpansive windows that helped
deliver views of the outdoors,including Sleepin' Giant State
Park, one of Connecticut's mostloved state parks and one of the

(03:03):
four.
Fitness studio features a fullyretractable wall leading to an
outdoor deck in an indooroutdoor workout area.
The photos are impressive forthis building.
The exposed mass timber isimpressive, the combination of
glass and the very largeapertures for the windows.
It's an impressive site.
Head to our our LinkedIn feedand you can have a look.

(03:24):
And architecture giant studioGensler has unveiled its design
for an undulating stadiumoutside Cairo, which will be the
first home for the Al-AhlyFootball Club.
Gensler collaborated withengineering firm Bureau Happold
for the football team's investto build a 42,000 seat stadium

(03:44):
which will feature a curvedasymmetric facade and sunken
football pitch designed as alandmark, built around the
club's city master plan.
This will be the first home ofthe stadium's egypt's top tier
club to host for large-scaleevents throughout the year.
Located near the sinks, theSphinx International Airport,

(04:05):
between Cairo and Alexandra,gensler designed the stadium's
pitch to be submerged into theground to comply with height
restrictions due to the flightpaths and, according to the
studio, the sunken pitch willbenefit from passive cooling
from the surrounding earth.
This is an impressive projectand one of three major mass

(04:25):
timber glue laminated timberstructures that's popping up in
design realms around the world.
Go and have a look at it on ourLinkedIn feed or head to
Gensler's page and have a lookthere.
And Rubner Engineering reportsthat the last two months of
construction of the three-storybuilding at the University of
Newcastle's Central Coast NewSouth Wales campus has

(04:48):
progressed rapidly.
As the first multi-story timberbuilding in Gosford delivered
by Rubner Engineering along withthe local partners, it is a
benchmark for sustainability ineducation spaces.
You can go and have a look atthis impressive glulam structure
with CLT floor system.
You guessed it.
You can head to our LinkedInfeed and the roof structure for

(05:12):
the multiplex built fish markethas now been completed, with 407
multifunctional cassettes wereassembled at glebe island before
being barged to the project tosecure the 200 meter glulam roof
structure for the fish markets.

(05:32):
This is an impressiveinstallation with a huge effort
from all teams from all over theworld, including nine months of
putting this roof structuretogether, with a massive thank
you from Multiplex to all thesubcontractors, the consultants
and all the suppliers as apivotal moment.

(05:53):
If you want to go and see thecompleted structure, you can
head to our LinkedIn feed or youcould head to Multiplex's page
and have a look there.
So that's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Mass Timber
Construction Land.
I hope that you're keeping well.
Do make sure that you subscribe, like, share, comment and
listen to the podcast.
Subscribe to the podcast so younever miss an episode and we

(06:16):
look forward to catching up withyou very soon.
Don't forget all the specialguest episodes.
We just had Nate on the showtalking about the Brock Commons
project, as well as the M1Google, which is the predecessor
to all the Google that's beenputting forward recently
conducted in 2019.
And you can catch up with many,many other episodes to learn

(06:38):
more about mass timberconstruction.
Please do keep an eye out forour linkedin feed and if you've
got an article that you want tosubmit to an academic journal,
please consider us.
Good morning, good afternoon orgood evening, wherever you are
in the world today.
This is paul kramer signing offon the mass Timber Construction
Podcast.
Thank you.