Designing with Timber

Architectural designers understand the appeal of timber, its warmth, sustainability, and aesthetic versatility. Where collaboration with engineers adds value is in making those design ambitions buildable, durable, and code-compliant.

• Structural Confidence
  We translate creative concepts into efficient, structurally sound solutions, optimising spans, connection details, and member sizes to keep the design light, elegant, and achievable.
  Our work on Te Pā Tauira Student Village at Otago Polytechnic, a multi award-winning 6,500 m², five-storey mass timber building, demonstrates our ability to push boundaries in multi-level timber design while ensuring performance, safety, and constructability

• Durability in Challenging Environments
  With extensive experience in coastal and high-moisture environments, we engineer for long-term resilience. Detailing, treatment selection, and fixings are carefully considered to ensure timber structures maintain their strength and integrity over time. A standout example is the Gunyama Park Aquatic Centre, Sydney, which features the longest free-spanning mass timber beams in Australasia, a testament to innovative design and precision engineering in a demanding environment.

• Fire and Performance Compliance
  Our Fire Engineering team works closely with structural engineers and architects from the earliest stages of design to ensure timber structures meet or exceed compliance standards. By leveraging timber’s predictable charring behaviour and proven detailing methods, we develop integrated fire and structural solutions that protect life safety while preserving the architectural vision.

Early collaboration ensures timber’s potential is fully realised, delivering designs that are both expressive and enduring.