Timber Shines At CH2 – Australia's first 6-star-rated building

The Antarctic pioneer who chose the site as his base was to describe it as “the most tempest-ridden place on the face of the planet” – a fact of which he was blissfully unaware when he emerged from the pack ice in Commonwealth Bay in 1911. The rest is history and a testament to the endurance of man and materials.

Melbourne has a visionary new building at the forefront of commercial design and construction, achieving a six-star rating and innovative uses of timber.

M Central is a major adaptive reuse project, boldly challenging the ‘off white’ Sydney real estate school and offering a clear alternative in the dramatic use of timbers, veneers and plywoods.

Associate Professor Terry Williamson of the University of Adelaide School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design, throws fresh doubt on the effectiveness of Green Star Rating programs and their contribution to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The upsurge in iconic projects now featuring recycled timber has as much to do with the increased professionalism of the recovery industry as it does the number of architects recognising the timber’s value and environmental significance, as Penelope Lawry writes.

The beautifully restored colonial city of Maryborough in the southeast corner of Queensland is one of Australia’s best-kept secrets. And to some extent, that’s just how the locals like it – none more so than the sawmilling Hyne family which is as synonymous with the area as the uniquely south-to-north-flowing Mary River that meanders through it.

The history of oak in architecture is traceable to the impressive double hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster, London – made in 1393 by master carpenter Hugh Herland, using 660 tonnes of the wood.

Veneer is a logical expression of the natural quality of wood – put to good use in a 30-storey Melbourne building where all the internal common space has been panelled from a single tree.