Perth, Australia, Office Building Uses First Fully Demountable CLT and Steel Frame System

One of Australia’s greenest and most cost-efficient buildings is open for business—with the builder (Built) and engineers (Arup) becoming anchor tenants—according to a feature by Wood Central (8-1-24). Perth’s newest office building used a first-of-its-kind cross-laminated timber (CLT) and steel frame fully demountable system to build a 12-story building over a fully functional carpark—three stories higher than possible under a traditional steel-and-concrete building.

In June, Wood Central reported that the new tower required a new type of diamond-shaped bracing system, which “balances the building’s load without adding extra mass.” In total, more than 1,700 cubic meters of CLT was supplied by Australian-based Xlam (all PEFC and Responsible Wood certified) using intricate fastenings and connections to successfully marry the panels to the steel structure.

The result is a $57 million (AUD) building that is not only one of the greenest in Australia but also one of the most efficient: “The use of timber flooring, the existing thermal plant in (the neighboring) Westralia Square 1, the existing foundations, and the installation of solar panels on the roof are some factors contributing to the sustainable superiority of WS2,” according to GDI Property Group.

According to Arup Principal and WA Leader Lewis McDonald, “Using timber as a building material, we have delivered a lower-carbon building while extending the tower to 12 stories, three stories higher than under a conventional concrete structure. The solution avoided the demolition of the existing building, ensuring a reduction of embodied carbon and setting a new benchmark for sustainable buildings in WA.”