After a huge effort by the team at TimberLab Solutions, the last few loads of structural Glulam elements have been delivered to The Pā Project at the University of Waikato Hamilton campus.
One of the largest Glulam structures completed to date in NZ, the project saw some 350m3 net of complex, prefabricated components delivered to site from our East Tamaki facility.
TimberLab was initially engaged by the project team to work alongside the designers in an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) capacity, to assist with developing a structural solution that was efficient to manufacture.
After appointment of the head contractor Hawkins, TimberLab were contracted as a supplier and over the preceding 12 months we collaborated with Hawkins and their other main subcontractors and suppliers to develop an accurate 3D model of the entire structure.
Over 2000+ CAD/CAM draughting hours went into developing the accurate 3D model, a working drawing set of over 120 pages of plan views, sections, and elevations as well as 72 different details. Some of these required up to 4 pages of information to correctly portray the complex connections and installation sequencing involved.
Over a thousand pages of shop drawings were created for CNC processing and manufacturing of all the timber and custom metalwork items.
Manufacturing of the project involved the laminating and CNC processing of 395 glulam parts of over 190 different types.
TimberLab engaged with our trusted steel fabrication partners to supply a total of 520 custom-made brackets; nearly 200 of which were factory-fitted prior to delivery to site. In total, 56 tonnes of brackets were fabricated for the project.
A total of 20,700 fixings were used to complete the connections; approximately half of these were factory fitted into the components.
All Glulam was finished to a sanded “A Grade” appearance and coated with a penetrating oil stain.
Feature struts were supplied in Saligna (Eucalyptus Saligna, a.k.a Sydney Blue Gum), an imported durable Australian timber species.
A new TimberLab record was achieved on this project, our longest ever Glulam beam. 6 of the main roof rafters on the project were produced at an enormous 36.4m long, with a section size of 990x180mm. These beams were over 3.2 tonne each, a great challenge happily accepted by our manufacturing and logistics team.
Completing large and complex mass timber projects has long been a part of TimberLab’s value offering to the construction industry and our highly experienced team still enjoy a culture of learning and continued improvement.
Our commitment to being leaders in delivering these types of projects means we make use of every project to refine our systems and explore new technologies to help make the construction process better for our customers and project collaborators alike.
