The ARC Advance Timber Hub are pleased to advise we have a HDR Opportunity available at The University of Queensland- St Lucia Campus.
Hub Node: Design for Extended Building Life
Hub Project: Circular (re)design to enable disassembly and reuse of mid-rise timber buildings.
Program: PhD
Location: The University of Queensland- St Lucia Campus
Research area:
This research project aims to advance the understanding and adoption of circular design strategies in timber construction by examining the relationship between architectural design, circularity levels, and environmental impact in Design for/from Disassembly of mid-rise mass timber buildings (MTBs), and identifying implementation pathways suited to the Australian timber construction sector, including the development of frameworks, design guidelines, and tools.
Key research areas include:
Circularity Assessment: Exploring design for adaptability, disassembly, reuse, and other circular strategies to extend the lifespan of MTBs and optimise resource efficiency.
End-of-Life Scenarios: Evaluating the deconstruction, disassembly, and reuse potential of existing mass timber structures to assess long-term sustainability and resource recovery.
Research by Design: Applying and validating new fundamental knowledge to develop more integrated design approaches for circularity in MTBs.
Calling alltimber industry professionals who design timber structures and joints in Australia. You are invited to complete aSURVEY to help establish the current understanding of connection design and common joint details in Australia. The survey results will inform research for the ARC Advance Timber Hub Project – “Connection Systems for Extended Building Life“, led by Dr Lisa Ottenhaus, with the aim to provide clear technical guidance and input for the revision of AS/NZS 1720.1 Chapter 4. Your participation is voluntary, anonymous, and the survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete.
In a collaborative initiative between The Advance Timber Hub,Aurecon & The Engineers Australia Structural College Board, Brisbane recently hosted an exclusive technical seminar on the seismic design of timber structures, delivered by internationally acclaimed expert Professor Massimo Fragiacomo from the University of L’Aquila, Italy.
Professor Fragiacomo, who stayed on in Brisbane after attending the 2025 World Conference on Timber Engineering—thanks to an invitation from Professor Keith Crews and financial support from the Advanced Timber Hub—generously offered to share his expertise with the local engineering community before continuing his travels to New Zealand. His presentation drew strong interest from structural engineers. The focus of the afternoon was on the recent, comprehensive updates to the Eurocodes, highlighting key changes in Eurocode 8 (design for earthquake resistance) and its alignment with Eurocode 5 (timber structures). The seminar facilitated rich discussion and a highly engaged Q&A session, with participants eager to explore how these updates could be applied in local design contexts.
The seminar marked a successful exchange of global knowledge with local impact. Attendees gained deep insights into seismic design strategies for timber structures, enhancing their understanding of evolving international standards and their practical application.
About the Speaker
Professor Massimo Fragiacomo is a Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of L’Aquila and Director of the Centre for Research and Education on Earthquake Engineering (CERFIS). An expert in timber and earthquake engineering, he has authored over 470 papers, holds two patents, and has led numerous international research projects totalling over €2 million in funding. His significant contributions to the field were recognized with the Frederick Palmer Prize in 2012. He is also a long-standing member of several Eurocode development committees.
The ARC Advance Timber Hub, represented by Director, Professor Keith Crews, is a standing member of the Queensland State Government’s Timber Supply Chain Ministerial Stakeholder Roundtable, established in May 2025, which includes representatives from Timber Queensland, AgForce, Queensland Farmers’ Federation, the Housing Industry Association, Forestry Australia, HQPlantations, Australian Forest Contractors Association and leading timber companies (such as Hub Partners, AKD & Hyne).
The Queensland State Government has committed to delivering a landmark timber action plan, the Queensland Future Timber Plan (QFTP), to ensure the State has access to the timber required to build one million homes over the next 20 years. The Timber Supply Chain Ministerial Stakeholder Roundtable aims to assist in the design of the action plan. The role of the Roundtable (over 12 months in line with the QFTP development timeline) will be to provide views to Government on the challenges and opportunities in ensuring a sustainable timber supply to support current and future construction needs.
Professor Keith Crews advised “This is a great measure of the impact that the ARC Advance Timber Hub is having and will have for Queensland Communities.”
DRAFT QUEENSLAND FUTURE TIMBER PLAN
Last week the Queensland State Government released a draft Queensland Future Timber Plan, which had preliminary input from the Roundtable, and is seeking feedback by the 3rd September 2025.
Have your say on the 25-year Queensland Future Timber Plan—your insights will shape the 5-year action plan. Public consultation is now open!
The QFTP will focus on 5 key areas:
Securing sustainable timber supply for housing, construction and infrastructure, and other industries.
Establishing supply chain competitiveness on an international scale.
Developing better regulation that the community sees benefits in.
Building and retaining a viable fit-for-purpose workforce in rural and regional economies.
Modernising and innovating the Queensland forestry and timber industry through research, development and extension.
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 22nd to 26th 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.
In order of appearance: WCTE 2025 Chair – Professor Keith Crews (The University of Queensland / ARC Advance Timber Hub), WCTE 2025 Executive Secretary – Kelly Rischmiller (The University of Queensland / ARC Advance Timber Hub), WCTE 2025 Keynote Speakers – Katharina Lehmann (Blumer-Lehmann Holding AG), Guy Gardner (Gardner Vaughan Group), Ralph Belperio (Aurecon), WCTE 2025 Deputy Chair – Professor Greg Nolan (University of Tasmania), WCTE 2025 Keynote Speakers – Professor Philipp Dietsch (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology), Professor Jan-Willem van de Kuilen (TU Munich / TU Delft), Jodie Bricout (Aurecon) & Harry Mills (Built by Nature)
Chair, QLD Primary Industries and Resources Committee: Stephen Bennet MP, WCTE 2025 Chair: Professor Keith Crews, WCTE 2025 MC/Keynote Speaker: Jodie Bricout and WCTE 2025 Keynote Speaker: Philipp Deitsch
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 Proceedings
WCTE 2025 Proceedings
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
Charlie Bradley-Tasser, Tamara Birtasevic, Ruiyan Li and Dr Lisa Ottenhaus with Kevin Peachy – Head of WoodSolutions and Andrew Leighton – CEO of FWPA and team members. (Photo Credit: Supplied by Wood Central / Image Consult, the host photographer and videographer for WCTE)
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. Please also note the full gallery of event images can be seen at the bottom of the page:
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:
The project REIMAGINING TIMBER was launched during Melbourne Design Week from the 15th to the 25th of May, at the Level 1 Foyer, RMIT Design Hub. The exhibition featured a small-scale prototype that served as a testbed for a broader agenda under theARC Advance Timber Hub, Manufacturing Innovation research node exploring the future of timber architecture and structures.
This project reimagines out-of-grade timber as a high-performance, customisable structural material through an intelligent design and construction methodology that integrates architecture, computational design, structural engineering, behavioural algorithms, and advanced manufacturing. The project establishes a real-time material processing system that forms a closed-loop feedback mechanism for structural adjustment and adaptive reuse. This approach fundamentally rethinks conventional sequential workflows in architecture and construction.
The exhibition showcased a series of scaled prototypes that explore this methodology, demonstrating its potential for long-span, large-scale timber structures. These prototypes highlight efficient fabrication workflows that leverage discrete assembly techniques, enabling precise construction while fostering closer collaboration between architects and structural engineers. By challenging traditional classification systems and fabrication constraints, the project envisions a future where timber construction is not only materially efficient, but also structurally expressive and technologically integrated.
The Reimagining Timber project was also proudly featured at the World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE) 2025, held in Brisbane from June 22nd to June 26th. This global event brought together leading experts, researchers, and industry professionals to explore innovative approaches to timber design and construction. Showcasing this project on such a large international platform highlighted its contribution to pushing the boundaries of sustainable architecture and advancing the role of timber in the built environment.
Above image: Nic Bao, Lingju Wu, Tyler Wang, and Abbie Lin.
The ARC Advance Timber Hub is pleased to share a recent Blog from Calvin Jones in relation to ARC Advance Timber Hub Research Node: Socio-Economic Opportunity
The ARC Advance Timber Hub are pleased to advise we have a HDR Opportunity available at the University of Tasmania.
Hub Node: Building Performance for Occupants
Hub Project: The bio-hygrothermal performance of mid-rise non-residential timber framed façade systems
Program: PhD
Location: University of Tasmania
Research area: This project aims to explore hygrothermal interactions for advanced wood-product-based mid-rise façade systems. This project will generate new knowledge regarding wood-product based façade system design that adequately manages inward and outward flows of energy and moisture. Knowledge will be generated via computer-based bio-hygrothermal simulation and observations from prototype constructions. Expected outcomes will include new methods to use plantation grown wood products within the façade system of mid-rise buildings in Australia. This will enhance Australia’s architectural, engineering, and construction capabilities to design low embodied energy mid-rise buildings and will significantly benefit the greater use of low-carbon intensive plantation wood products.
The ARC Advance Timber Hub are pleased to advise we have a HDR Opportunity available at The University of the Sunshine Coast.
Hub Node: Performance of Building Components
Hub Project: Role of moisture in the long-term performance of mass timber building elements
Program: PhD
Location: The University of the Sunshine Coast
Research area: Moisture intrusion in mass timber buildings has important implications for both physical performance and risk of biological degradation (Mould and Decay). Mould is a significant issue, and it affects both mass timber and light weight timber systems. This project will build upon previous research to better understand moisture ingress pathways and the implications of wetting on building elements, as well as help identify methods for excluding or removing moisture once it has entered a structure.
The ARC Advance Timber Hub members are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Colin MacKenzie; a stalwalt of the timber industry in Australia. To learn more about Colin, please view the Timber Queensland tribute to Colin MacKenzie aka ‘The Timber Expert’.
