The University of Queensland and the ARC Advance Timber Hub were proud to host and organise the World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE 2025) which was held in Brisbane, Australia from the 22^nd to 26^th June 2025 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

WCTE 2025 is the major event within the timber engineering society held in a biennial rhythm with consecutive conferences in Europe, America, Asia & Pacific. This was the first time it was held in Australia — and Brisbane embraced the honour with open arms. Attendees enjoyed sunny winter days, vibrant dining experiences, and exciting day trips that showcased the best the region has to offer.

WCTE 2025 attracted more than 950 delegates (inclusive of 280 students) from 44 countries, with more that 730 presentations, including 700 papers accepted for Proceedings. Notably, Australia led the attendance with 250 participants, followed by Japan (127), Canada (68), the U.S.A. (60), New Zealand (52), and Germany (44).

Participants had the opportunity to share ideas on nearly any subject related to timber engineering and architecture, from codes of practice, regulations, and legislations, to innovations, new practices, and future trends of bio-based sustainable and circular building materials used in construction. WCTE 2025 reflects the start-of-the-art in timber engineering.

As Professor Keith Crews, WCTE 2025 Chair, and ARC Advance Timber Hub Director, said is his closing remarks, “I hope that you will leave this conference having met new colleagues and made new friendships that will support you in your future “timber” career. As I have said this on many occasions: “effective networking” based on building trust and helping one another is essential for producing excellence in timber buildings – and having fun doing it!!

Whether it is undertaking research and development or designing and constructing innovative projects – maintaining effective collaborations and friendships nationally and internationally is (I believe) the singularly most important factor for this to occur.”

To see the full breadth of what WCTE 2025 had to offer, please view the WCTE 2025 Program.

WCTE 2025 Theme

The principal theme of the conference “Advancing Timber for the Future Built Environment” deliberately linked to the ARC Advance Timber Hub’s overarching deliverable, which is to develop the resources, enablers, and drivers to advance sustainable timber, as a natural resource, to be the material of choice, leading towards a net zero future for Australia’s built environment.

This inspired a comprehensive WCTE 2025 technical program, which includes papers and posters presented, and is now published on Proceedings.com, covering the following extended themes:

• Material Performance & Durability
• Sustainability and Timber in a Circular Economy
• Timber Engineering & Structural Performance
• Timber Architecture & Biophilic Design
• Education, Innovation & Challenges
• Exemplars & Construction Case Studies

WoodSolutions Australian Timber Design Competition

A special moment during the week was the recognition of future leaders in timber design. WoodSolutions sponsored WCTE 2025 as the Gala Dinner Sponsor and winners of the WoodSolutions supported Australian Timber Design Competition – a competition that saw students from across Australia design adaptive timber housing for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Athletes Village were announced at the dinner and acknowledged on stage. Congratulations to the winners — Charlie Bradley-Tasser, Tamara Birtasevic, and Ruiyan Li — for their outstanding work

Photos / Videos

We’re also pleased to share a selection of photos from the event and a highlight videos capturing some of the most memorable moments:

📸 View Photos:

WCTE 2025 Images 1          WCTE 2025 Images 2           WCTE 2025 Images 3           WCTE 2025 Images 4 – images from our WCTE 2025 community

🎥 Watch Videos:

WCTE 2025 Gala Dinner Highlight Video           WCTE 2025 Closing Ceremony Video            WCTE 2025 Images Video

Looking Ahead

As WCTE 2025 concludes, the focus now shifts to WCTE 2027 in Edmonton, Canada, and WCTE 2029 in Coimbra, Portugal. Brisbane has set a high bar—delivering not only a robust technical program but also a memorable cultural and social experience. The conference sparked new ideas, inspired fresh partnerships, and further strengthened the global momentum behind timber as a cornerstone of sustainable construction. The conversations and collaborations will no doubt continue to shape the future of timber engineering, as the industry moves toward a more sustainable and resilient built environment.

In the Media: WCTE articles worth a read

Here are some of the top articles and insights relating back to WCTE 2025, you can also see more posts by following the World Conference on Timber Engineering 2025 via LinkedIn:

• Brisbane shines as world celebrates the best in timber engineering
• WCTE 2025 – Timber Engineer’s Paradise
• WCTE 2025 celebrated innovation and sustainability
• World’s top timber engineers visit Queensland’s Wild Horse Mountain
• All students receive free access to CLT Toolbox software worldwide
• Atlassian wows engineers as ‘plyscraper’ rises over Sydney Station
• Coimbra chosen to host the world’s largest conference on timber construction in 2029
• Conversations in Timber: Marc Woodbury Reflects on WCTE 2025
• Pacific Lumbar Inspection Bureau: World Conference on Timber Engineering 2025
• Lei Han at the World Conference on Timber Engineering 2025