28
Oct
Professor Keith Crews Featured in The Courier Mail: “Flatpack Village Could Build a Lasting Olympic Legacy”
The ARC Advance Timber Hub is proud to share that our Director, Professor Keith Crews, was recently featured in The Courier Mail (17 October 2025, page 5- to view the full article a subscription to The Courier Mail is required and can be viewed on this link), in an article highlighting innovative housing solutions for Brisbane 2032 and beyond.
In the article, titled “House About a Flatpack Village,” Professor Crews discusses the potential of rapid flatpack modular construction—a method described as “IKEA on steroids”—as a sustainable and efficient way to deliver housing for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Athletes Village at the RNA Showgrounds.
Unlike traditional concrete construction, which can take up to a month to cure and reach full strength, modular housing can be assembled and disassembled in a matter of weeks using prefabricated materials. Professor Crews notes that this approach offers not only speed and efficiency during construction but also lasting value for the community after the Games.
“What we’ve been saying to the state government is this is a great opportunity to build some high-quality apartments that have a legacy life for Queensland,” Professor Crews said. “The conversion from athletes and officials’ accommodation into high-quality apartments is a relatively simple thing to do.”
As Director of the Australian Research Council’s Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment, Professor Crews leads more than 30 research projects exploring timber’s potential as a sustainable alternative to traditional materials such as concrete.
“Our mission is to get timber into the built environment for environmental and sustainability reasons,” he said.
The article also highlights the growing success of prefabricated construction in Australia, referencing a recent nine-storey apartment project in Spring Hill completed in just nine months; less than half the time it would take using concrete.
Professor Crews’ insights reflect the Hub’s ongoing commitment to advancing sustainable, innovative, and scalable construction solutions that support Queensland’s housing future and the nation’s transition to a low-carbon built environment.
Image courtesy of Emma Cross