La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Home to Largest Mass Timber Project in the state of Victoria, Australia

The $100 million (A$) student accommodation project at La Trobe University, Bundoora campus, in north-east Melbourne Australia has been completed. The project, with 624-beds across two separate six-level buildings, marks the largest single investment in La Trobe University’s 50-year history. The project also marks the largest mass timber project in the Australian state of Victoria. Built from 4500 cubic meters of eco-friendly cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber, or glulam. The development was designed by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects. Multiplex regional managing director Graham Cottam said the use of CLT — a non-toxic, fire-resistant, renewable resource with a long-life cycle — had halved the embodied carbon in the development. Multiplex said during construction, three cranes were used to lift and place more than 2700 individual mass timber elements, including the building’s structure, prefabricated pods and façade. The project has achieved a 5-Star Green Star design rating and is targeting a 5-Star Green Star as-built rating.