The FWPA brand WoodSolutions’ Mid-rise Advisory Program is celebrating an Australia-wide expansion, following many successes over the last several years
Thanks to a show of support in the form of additional funding commitments from industry partners, the pilot program’s traditional Victoria and Queensland work will be significantly extended. The program will now provide services to all of Australia’s east coast states, along with additional limited coverage for South Australia and Western Australia.
The exciting development is a strong endorsement of everything the Mid-rise Advisory Program team has achieved over the past three years, developing a strong reputation for providing expert, impartial advice and support to building and design professionals, and decision makers.
In partnership with key industry sponsors, the unique and innovative program engages and educates the construction industry on the benefits of timber. Composed of Australia’s leading technical specialists with experience in architecture, structural engineering and costing, the team uses information based on the most up-to-date research findings to accelerate the adoption of timber in mid-rise construction.
Since 2016, the team has worked to ensure decision makers are fully aware of the many advantages of wood as a construction material, while dispelling timber-related myths and misconceptions.
In under three years, the program’s achievements include:
- Timber being selected in place of conventional materials in 36 substantial building projects across the nation, from government housing to hotels and offices
- A further 30 pending projects reporting the timber option is strongly supported by their design teams
- A total of 580 projects expressing a strong interest in making the switch to wood
The team’s work has focused on promoting the merits of both lightweight and engineered timber, including cost savings, faster delivery, fewer disruptions, improved safety and environmental benefits.
Gerard Neylan, Lead Program Development Manager for Mid-rise Construction at WoodSolutions, said the expansion of the program is a positive show of support and recognition of the value the program brings to both the forestry and construction sectors.
“As we expand across Australia, our focus will remain on providing encouragement and inspiring the confidence needed to commit to designing mid-rise projects using engineered timber.
“This expansion means we will be able to help more industry members across the country optimise their project’s use of timber, ensuring the right material is selected for the right application,” Neylan said.
