Lend Lease begins construction on high rise timber building in Australia

Property and infrastructure group Lend Lease has started construction on a ten-storey timber apartment building in Victoria Harbour, Melbourne, Australia.

The building, called Forté, is located on Bourke Street and will be built using cross laminated timber (CLT) as an alternative to concrete and steel.

Lend Lease chief executive officer for Australia Mark Menhinnitt said that Forté will deliver a product that improves the health and wellbeing of residents while also protecting the environment.

"For the first time in Australia, people will be able to play a part in the creation of a more sustainable future by living in an apartment made from CLT," Menhinnitt said. "Timber is the only truly renewable structural building material, which is faster to build, safer and cleaner."

The engineered and bonded timber panels are as structurally strong as a traditional concrete frame, Lend Lease said.

The $11m building will house 23 boutique apartments and four townhouses, and will cut carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by more than 1,400 tonnes compared to concrete and steel, the developer said.

The indoor environmental quality of the building will be maximised using natural light, solar shading, natural ventilation and acoustic treatment.

Forté is scheduled for completion in October 2012 and Lend Lease is planning to develop up to half of the apartments in its pipeline using CLT.

The building is expected to become Australia’s greenest multi-storey residential development, aiming for a five star green rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

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Image: The apartment block, built using cross laminated timber, will house 23 boutique apartments and four townhouses. Photo: Lend Lease.