The project management of a ground-breaking building: Fairbrothers’ Dylan Graham on The University of Tasmania’s Rivers Edge development
As part of the University of Tasmania’s Northern Transformation Project Program, the $45.5m River’s Edge development is a jewel in the crown of the state’s new education precinct. Home to the schools of Humanities, Social Sciences, Law, Education and Business, the four storey River’s Edge building was designed by Wardle Studio and built by local firm Fairbrother with spectacular views of the lakekeller/North Esk River. Overseeing the construction of this extraordinary building was Fairbrother’s Project Manager for Construction for North West Tasmania, Dylan Graham.
Dylan spoke to the Original Thinkers Podcast about the extensive and innovative use of Tasmanian timber throughout the project, the goal of building with significantly less embodied carbon, and the exciting future of mass timber construction.
Fairbrother – Industry Leaders in Construction
Fairbrother has 50 years of construction experience in Tasmania and Victoria. Synonymous with some of Australia’s most iconic building projects, from the extraordinary Saffire Hotel, Hobart’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Sciences, the Bendigo Art Gallery, and buildings at MONA, Fairbrother are industry leaders in innovative building. Dylan Graham has been with the company for over 20 years.
“They’re a wonderful company and I think their retention of employees is testament to that.”
Rivers Edge, and The Minimisation of Embodied Carbon
Fairbrother were bought on as the construction company for UTAS’s Rivers Edge Project during the ECI phase, or “Early Contractor Involvement” phase of the build, when 75% of the design was resolved. One of the objectives of this build was the minimisation of embodied carbon. The goal was 30% embodied carbon, which is 32% lower than other buildings of this type and size. Dylan explained that firstly they had to understand where the embodied carbon was in the proposed building, and then see what they could change:
“So we look at things like concrete. Concrete’s a really big ticket item. It has significant embodied carbon. Then [we investigate] what steps in that concrete procurement and design we can have an influence over and help reduce that embodied carbon.”
In edition to using a Boral concrete mix with some green credentials in lieu of cement and using recycled material for the piles that sat beneath the building’s footings, Fairbrother also incorporated some mass timber into the construction.
“[There is a staircase] within the build that was originally designed in concrete. The scheme of things, you might consider it a fairly small element, but one of the principles here is to support new technologies that move us in a positive direction.”
“That [concrete] stair was swapped out for CLT, (cross laminated timber). That’s mass timber used for the whole structure… It’s one of the first of its type in Tasmania, I’m not sure of another major stairwell that uses CLT.”
The CLT stairs, made by CUSP in Tasmania’s north west, were made out of eucalyptus nitens, which Dylan explained is also ground breaking. The plantation eucalyptus nitens were planted to be chipped and exported. The Tasmanian timber industry along with the University of Tasmania’s Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood (CSAW) have been working to create higher grade products from that resource.
The second major stairwell in the building needed to be build out of concrete as it was a designated fire escape.
“Fire engineering in the space of mass timber is developing and I’ve heard it said by some of the industry experts that the regulation and all the necessary red tape is taking some time to catch up. What you might’ve been told was impossible two years ago could well be possible now, or it may be possible by the time your project kicks off. I think more than ever that is true.”
Heated Blue Gum Floors and Acoustic Hanging Hoods
Another innovative use of Tasmanian timber in the Rivers Edge Project was the inclusion of heated bluegum floors. Dylan told the podcast that timber laid over heated floors has a history of warping and distortion, however with the help of Greg Nolan from CSAW, they have developed a system that resolved the issues of the past.
“[Greg] was really keen to be a part of the process with his team [at CSAW], working with Wardle Studio and the engineers to come up with a solution that we can have confidence in. A scale model was put in place, we heated it for a period of time and they tracked exactly what was going on, both visually and in more detailed observations with probes.”
The stunning floor isn’t the only interesting use of timber. Fairbrother’s joinery division, who do everything from solid timber furniture to joinery and feature wall linings, created solid timber acoustic wall panelling and Tasmanian oak acoustic hoods that hang from the ceiling. As well as being an important part of the buildings sound quality, the hoods add a dramatic sculptural element to the building drawing the eye to the skylights in the ceiling.
“The River’s Edge acoustic wall panelling stores carbon but also gives a beautiful aesthetic to the space.”
Click to listen to Dylan Graham’s interview go to: Original Thinkers Podcast.
Tasmania’s Northern Transformation Project
The University of Tasmania’s (UTAS) new buildings are part of the $300m Northern Transformation Project. The university states that:
“This once-in-a-generation project aims to improve educational outcomes by providing increased access to flexible study options, offering new regionally-distinctive courses, and transforming our teaching, learning and research approach in the North.
The Inveresk campus is part of a shared precinct which enables collaboration with the city, community and industry, helping build and support the region into the future.” (UTAS)
www.tasmaniantimber.com.au has published articles on the architects, designers and the collaborators of these extraordinary buildings. To read more on these projects follow the links below:
