PRESENTATION – “Design of a 10 Storey Cross Laminated Timber Building” by Daniel Moroder

Presentation

When – Thursday 23 November 2017

Australia has joined the world in pushing the boundaries of timber construction. In recent years several tall all timber buildings have demonstrated the significant advantages of mass timber construction, especially in multi-unit, multi-level residential buildings. Recent modifications to the National Construction Code of Australia have provided a deemed-to-satisfy pathway for timber structures of up to 25 meters (or 8 stories), further accelerating the adoption of tall timber buildings.

As these buildings become more commonplace, it is natural that architects and clients begin to push the boundaries of structural form. This leads to increasing spans, irregularities and openings. One such structure is a ten storey aged care facility currently under construction in Sydney, Australia. The entire structural system is composed of engineered wood, predominantly of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), with the exception of the steel framed balconies, sitting on a two storey reinforced concrete base. The architectural design required large open spaces and expansive glazed façades. Economies gained from importing the CLT panels from Europe limited the design team in possible panel dimensions.

These challenges meant that innovative solutions and design approaches were required, supported by learnings from past projects, both in Australia and around the world. This paper provides an overview of the design challenges and discusses a range of solutions to issues including the incompatibility of ‘standard’ European brackets with Australasian architectural layouts, modelling of limited size wall panels, analysis of diaphragm response and problems of floor dynamics.

A collaborative design team ensured that these challenges were overcome, enabling what will be one of Australia’s most exciting mass timber buildings.

Cross Laminated Timber Building Design

Biography - Daniel Moroder

Daniel Moroder is a structural engineer at PTL Structural Consultants and is specialized in the design of multi-storey timber and timber buildings in general. Originally from Northern Italy, Daniel obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Bologna, including specific seismic engineering study in Chile and UC San Diego. Following several years in industry, he obtained his PhD at the University of Canterbury working on multi-storey timber buildings.
In 2015 Daniel returned to structural engineering consultancy with PTL where he is continuing to push the boundaries of timber design. He is also committee member of the NZ Timber Design Society and co-editor of the Timber Design Society Journal. Daniel is also involved in NZ and European Timber Design Standards.