There has long been discussion and speculation in regards to Melbourne becoming home to a timber high-rise building.
While developers Grocon had great ambitions to deliver the flagship building, they were stalled in the delivery of their highly innovative Delta building, leaving Lend Lease the opportunity to create their very own interpretation of this structure.
Lend Lease’s 10-storey building, Forté,is finally taking shape in the Victoria Harbour are, ‘topping out’ last week.
The structure is expected to become the tallest timber building in the world at 32 metres. According to Lend Lease, the building will set a new standard in architectural feats, with Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) used throughout the building, opening up new opportunities for industry Australia in terms of both aesthetic and functional potential.
Delta by Grocon
For this reason, Lend Lease has labeled the project and its base material as the ‘most significant form of innovation in construction technology that Australia has seen in many years.’
Industry heads are expecting the use of CLT panels to increase in the market, with many citing the unique aesthetic the panels create and the material’s overall performance as strong positive factors.
CLT has already found favour in the UK after being used as a basis for the country’s first ever timber development and former tallest timber development in the world, the eight-storey Stadthaus by architectural firm Waugh Thistleton.
Now that Forté’s structural components are complete, the building is fast approaching its completed form, something both developers and industry Australia are awaiting with great anticipation.
The building’s performance in terms of durability and sustainability will be closely watched, with the potential of a completely new timber-foucsed sector resting on the success of this flagship building.
