Month: July 2026

ARC Advance Timber Hub Project 6.7 “Performance Based Architectural Design and Optimization Using Biomaterial and AR Assisted Discrete Assemblies” is developing new digital‑to‑physical design and construction workflows for timber buildings, integrating performance‑based design, biomaterials, augmented reality (AR) and human–machine collaboration to improve efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability in construction.

Dr Nic Bao, from RMIT, updated ARC Advance Timber Hub Stakeholders on the research via a webinar presentation on the 20^th May 2026. Dr Bao showcased how the project explores how advanced computation, artificial intelligence (AI), and immersive technologies can support lighter, more material‑efficient timber structures and enable more precise on‑site assembly.

The project has four key objectives:

• Design and Optimize Prefabricated Timber Design through computational design and topology optimisation, reducing material use and structural weight
• Integrate Discrete Assemblies for Modular Architecture, developing digital tools to designing processing workflows and assembly methods
• Use AR‑assisted assembly tools to improve accuracy and efficiency in the construction of modular timber components, aiming to reduce construction time and errors
• Establish a centralised information workflow, that integrates design, fabrication, and construction data to optimise design-to-delivery of prefabricated timber buildings.

Research Progress and Activities

The project team has delivered and tested multiple timber prototypes demonstrating performance‑driven structural optimisation and discrete assembly logic. Earlier prototypes explored optimised timber structures with advanced joint systems, AI‑assisted assembly strategies, and robotic handling of timber components. Recent work has expanded into human–machine collaborative construction, combining:

• AR‑guided assembly using head‑mounted displays
• Self‑developed robotic systems to assist with timber placement in inaccessible areas
• Real‑time structural feedback during assembly, linking physical construction with digital performance models

These workflows have been demonstrated through international workshops and conference‑linked fabrication activities, including a 30‑day collaborative assembly project completed by a small student team, combining on‑site and remote participation.

Engagement, dissemination and outcomes

Project outcomes have been widely shared through:

International conferences, workshops and exhibitions, including the recent CAADRIA 2026 (Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia Annual Conference 2026 “Humanistic Computation and Intelligence”)

CAADRIA 2026 – Human–Machine Collaborative Timber Structure Assembly Using Relative Robotic System

During CAADRIA 2026, the project team led the workshop “Human–Machine Collaborative Assembly Using Relative Robotic System”, which explored robotic modular assembly for timber structures. Due to travel-related constraints, the workshop was adapted from an originally in-person format into a hybrid model, combining on-site AR-assisted assembly with remote robotic operation using our self-developed relative robotic system.

The workshop was led by Dr Ding Wen ‘Nic’ Bao and Prof Yi Min ‘Mike’ Xie, and the teaching team Harlan Zhaonan Guo, Jason Zhan, and Yang Yu. Together with the participants, the team constructed two small-scale timber prototypes using 3D-printed joints, mixed-reality guidance, and robotic assembly workflows. The prototypes served as testbeds for the broader research agenda within the ARC Advance Timber Hub, particularly under the Manufacturing Innovation research node 6.7 Project, which investigates future pathways for timber architecture, adaptive structures, and scaffold-free construction.

The workshop introduced participants to relative robotic systems, a construction approach in which robots navigate directly on partially assembled structures rather than relying on fixed ground-based reference frames. This enables more adaptive, mobile, and spatially responsive assembly processes. Participants worked in groups to develop assembly strategies for a modular timber truss system, using parametric design tools, robotic simulation, mixed-reality workflows, and on-site prototyping to evaluate feasibility.

A related peer-reviewed paper, “Parametric Joint Design for Irregular Timber Mixed-Reality Integration for Adaptive Human–Machine Assembly”, by Harlan Guo, Nic Bao and other co-authors, was accepted and presented at CAADRIA 2026.

Publication link:
https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/caadria2026_508.pdf

Workshop link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hdpIZliaQX8TCNz-Ti24pKDMc3rZxYRJI-lLOKhdI64/edit?usp=drive_link

Workshop leaders: Dr Ding Wen ‘Nic’ Bao, Prof Yi Min ‘Mike’ Xie
Teaching team: Harlan Zhaonan Guo, Jason Zhan, Yang Yu
On-site AR fabrication lead: Harlan Guo (on site)
Remote robotic fabrication lead: Jason Zhan (remote)

Fabrication Team:  Fabrication Lead: Harlan Guo
Participants: Huanyang Li, Juntao Li,Kwong Lau Hung, Masaya Tanaka, Mengdi Mao, Mohamed Aboeloyoon, Pok Yin Victor LEUNG, Sakiko Noda, Samuel Leder, Sherlock Tsai, Ting-l)
Tsai, Yi Ru Liao
Technical support: Fologram and Karamba3D
Academic support: RMIT University RMIT Architecture RMIT College of Design and Social Context National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

In addition, Dr Nic Bao was honoured to have been re-elected as the Secretary of CAADRIA for another term, and advised “It is a privilege to continue serving the CAADRIA community and supporting the development of computational design research across the Asia-Pacific region.”

International conferences, workshops and exhibitions, cont.

1. News on Wood Central Platform – Future ‘Out-of-Grade’ Timbers Can Be Used in Long-Span Structures – https://woodcentral.com.au/future-out-of-grade-timbers-can-be-used-in-long-span-structures
2. Melbourne Design Week, Reimagining Timber – https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2025/apr/return-to-melbourne-design-week
3. World Conference on Timber Engineering Expo, Reimagining Timber – https://www.advance-timber-hub.org/hub-news/reimagining-timber-adaptive-structures-from-out-of-grade-wood

Peer‑reviewed publications

1. Conference Paper: REIMAGINING TIMBER: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH OF RESOURCE EFFICIENT FABRICATION PROCESS FOR TOPOLOGICALLY OPTIMISED CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER SLABS
2. Conference Paper: ARCHITECTURAL TOPOLOGICAL FORM-FINDING INTEGRATING SOLID STRUCTURAL PERFORMANCES
3. Journal Article: TRANSFORMING ARCHITECTURE: THE ROLE OF INTERDISIPLINARY COLLABORATION IN DESIGN AND FABRICATION.

Industry Impact

This project positions timber as a high‑performance, digitally enabled construction material for contemporary architecture. By demonstrating integrated workflows from design through to assembly, and by combining AR, robotics, and performance‑based optimisation, the research demonstrates how emerging technologies can:

• Reduce material use and structural weight in timber systems
• Improve construction accuracy and reduce on‑site errors
• Enable more flexible, modular, and scalable timber architectures
• Support future digitally enabled construction practices in Australia and internationally

Next steps

The project team is progressing toward larger‑scale assembly demonstrations, expanded robotic integration, and further industry‑relevant prototypes, alongside continued HDR training and international collaboration. For more information, please view “Performance Based Architectural Design and Optimization Using Biomaterial and AR Assisted Discrete Assemblies”.

Image credits / above image: CAADRIA 2026 / Harlan Guo 

ARC Advance Timber Hub Project “An Open-Data Framework for Forest-to-Building Value Chain Mapping” is addressing a major challenge for Australia’s forest and wood products sector: how to better understand, visualise and coordinate data across the entire value chain – from forest resource through processing to buildings.

Project Leader, Associate Professor Joe Gattas, from The University of Queensland School of Civil Engineering, presented at the FWPA Webinar – Navigating a Changing Landscape: Challenges, Opportunities, and Innovation in the Timber Industry, on the 21^st April 2026.  Below is a summary of the projects research outlined in the webinar presentation.

Why this research matters?

Research and data relevant to timber supply, processing and use are currently spread across many institutions, projects and datasets. This makes it difficult for industry, government and researchers to:

• See how domestic timber resources are really being used
• Identify inefficiencies and lost opportunities across the supply chain
• Test how changes in forestry, processing or building design affect outcomes such as resource efficiency, supply resilience and local manufacturing capability

This project responds by creating an open, integrated data framework that supports clearer communication, better decision‑making and more coordinated action across the sector.

What the project has achieved so far?

Measuring Timber Consumption

Early work has explored different ways to measure timber consumption in buildings.

• A geospatial “Timber Tracker” mapped timber volume per building across regions, helping separate housing density from timber use. While visually powerful, it offered limited insight for decision‑making.
• A “trees per building” material flow analysis followed timber from forest through sawmilling into a typical house, revealing the significant gap between the timber seen in a finished building and the processing effort required to produce it. This highlighted how grade recovery and product choices significantly affect resource efficiency.

Together, these early studies helped reframe timber use as a system‑wide issue, not just a building‑level metric.

Complementary Models

The project has now progressed to linking two complementary models:

• A production model, tracing timber from forest resource to recovered products, including sawn timber and co‑products such as panel products and mill residues.
• A consumption model, tracking how much timber is used by different building types.

By linking these models, the framework can trace timber flows from forest resource through to specific building outcomes, bridging established construction markets (such as lightweight timber framing in detached and low‑rise housing) with mass‑ and hybrid‑timber applications.

Frame-and-Truss Fabrication Data

A major advance has been the use of detailed frame‑and‑truss fabrication data, developed in collaboration with industry partner Multinail.

Using data from 53 real residential projects, timber use has been analysed by:

• Structural subsystem (walls, floors and roofs)
• Component type
• Size, length and grade of timber

The findings – now being prepared for publication – shows where timber is used within typical housing and confirms the dominance of machine‑graded pine (MGP). This level of detail enables far more accurate modelling than previous high‑level estimates.

What-If Scenarios

With production and consumption models now linked, the framework can be used to explore “what if?” scenarios. For example:

• How would changes in framing design alter sawmill input requirements?
• Could fibre or grade substitution increase timber use while reducing overall processing effort?

This capability gives sawmillers, fabricators and builders a shared, evidence‑based platform for practical discussions about improvement, and provides the foundation for commercial case studies being taken forward with industry partners.

What is next?

The next phase of the project will focus on:

• Finalising and publishing the detailed fabrication data analysis
• Applying the framework to additional building types, including mass‑ and hybrid‑timber projects
• Working with industry partners to test real‑world scenarios to support investment and design decisions

By making timber flows clearer, comparable and open, the project is helping industry and policymakers understand how changes at one point in the system affect the whole – supporting smarter use of Australia’s domestic timber resources.

Learn more

Conference Paper: TIMBERTRACKER: AN OPEN-SOURCE WEB FRAMEWORK FOR VISUALISING SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN FUTURE CONSTRUCTION TIMBER VALUE CHAINS

For further information or to follow project progress, visit the project page:
An Open-Data Framework for Forest-to-Building Value Chain Mapping – ARC Advance Timber Hub

An Open-Data Framework for Forest-to-Building Value Chain Mapping

Through its project Performance of Building Components – Fire Safety Design of Open Plan Timber Compartments, the ARC Advance Timber Hub is addressing a critical knowledge gap in the fire safety design of modern mass‑timber buildings: how exposed timber ceilings behave in large, open‑plan compartments such as offices and commercial buildings. These spaces are increasingly common, yet current fire design guidance is largely based on testing of timber in floor‑like (face‑up) orientations, not ceilings.

The project, led by Associate Professor David Lange and incorporating the research work of PhD candidate Josh Madden, from The University of Queensland School of Civil Engineering, brings together researchers and industry partners to generate new, design‑relevant evidence to support safe, performance‑based fire engineering solutions for timber buildings. Associate Professor Lange presented to ARC Advance Timber Hub Stakeholders a project update via a webinar series on the 26^th May 2026.

Project Design

The project focuses on a key gap in fire design guidance, which is in understanding how timber ceilings ignite and how flames spread once ignition occurs in large spaces, without significant internal separation, such as offices and commercial buildings.   The project is designed to provide the experimental evidence needed to reduce the uncertainty of how timber behaves through a unique multi‑scale experimental program with three key test areas:

1. Bench‑scale testing

Small‑scale laboratory tests are being used to study:

• Ignition delay and critical heat flux of timber in both face‑up and ceiling (inverted) orientations.
• The influence of gas flow velocity, representative of ceiling jets, on ignition and flame spread.

2. Intermediate‑scale compartment testing

The research then scales up to a one‑eighth scale compartment, allowing rapid testing of many variables under controlled conditions. These tests examine:

• Fire size and flame impingement on ceilings
• Ventilation and ceiling jet velocities
• The influence of ceiling obstructions (e.g. beams)
• Different fuel types and fire scenarios

A controlled gas burner is used to generate repeatable fire plumes, with detailed instrumentation measuring temperatures, gas velocities and heat fluxes beneath the ceiling.

3. Full‑scale fire testing

Full‑scale compartment tests are being prepared at the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) live fire and heavy rescue training facility at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy (QCESA), located on Whyte Island at the Port of Brisbane. These tests focus on fire dynamics rather than structural performance, using full‑size CLT ceiling panels to confirm that the mechanisms observed at smaller scales remain valid in realistic building conditions.

A total of 32 CLT slabs donated by Next Timber are being heavily instrumented with thermocouples and heat‑flux sensors. The full‑scale program is designed to validate the experimental framework and provide confidence for real‑world application.

Key findings to date

Results emerging from the project demonstrate that:

• Orientation matters: Timber ceilings behave differently from timber floors. Critical heat flux for ignition is similar for both orientations; however ignition occurs later and more variably when timber is installed as a ceiling.
• Ventilation and ceiling jet velocity are critical: Flowing hot gases significantly increase flame attachment and flame spread along ceilings.
• Multi‑scale consistency is achievable: The same governing fire dynamics can be observed from bench scale through to full scale when experiments are carefully designed.

Industry engagement and outcomes

This project has strong and ongoing industry involvement, with partners contributing to experimental design, interpretation of results and application to practice. Key outcomes to date include:

• Peer‑reviewed journal papers accepted in Fire Safety Journal on timber ceiling ignition and fire safety strategy.

1. ORIENTATION EFFECTS ON THE IGNITION OF MASS TIMBER CEILINGS: A BENCH-SCALE INVESTIGATION
2. THE FIRE SAFETY STRATEGY

• Conference presentations in Australia and internationally:

1. IGNITION OF A TIMBER CEILING: ANALYSING CONVECTIVE AND RADIATIVE HEATING EFFECTS
2. COUPLING FIRE AND MASS TIMBER STRUCTURES: A CHALLENGE FIRE SAFETY DESIGNERS MUST ADDRESS
3. BURNING BEHAVIOUR OF A TIMBER CEILING: A BENCH-SCALE INVESTIGATION
4. A METHOD TO STUDY IGNITION OF INVERTED COMBUSTIBLE SURFACES
5. RETHINKING FIRE SAFETY FOR TIMBER BUILDINGS: IGNITION, SPREAD, AND PERFORMANCE-BASED DESIGN

• Regular project meetings that keep industry partners closely engaged as results emerge.

The project team is continuing testing through 2026, with design‑focused guidance and publications expected as results are consolidated.

Learn More

For further information or to follow project progress, visit the project page:
Fire Safety Design of Open Plan Timber Compartments – ARC Advance Timber Hub
https://www.advance-timber-hub.org/project/fire-safety-design-of-open-plan-timber-compartments/