Australia’s tallest timber tower opens in Brisbane

Architects: Bates Smart

From the architects:

Lendlease’s 25 King in Brisbane designed by Australian architecture and interiors firm Bates Smart, takes Australia to the forefront of innovation in timber construction design.

The 10-storey, 45-metre tall open-plan office complex – the tallest timber structure in Australia – establishes new frontiers in the design of commercial buildings, bringing a clear expression of its exposed timber structure to the building’s transparent envelope and promoting a warmer, more natural workplace environment of the future.

25 King heralds a move away from steel and concrete towards the more sustainable resource of timber. Acknowledging historic principles of timber construction, the structure combines Glulam (glued laminated timber) and CLT (cross laminated timber) – embodying Bates Smart’s research into engineered timber technology and typologies to meet modern-day demands of function and sustainability.

The engineered timber structure is substituted for concrete or steel but with a significantly lower carbon footprint, with sequestered carbon locked within the timber structure. 25 King incorporates a range of fire safety measures in accordance with the National Construction Code and relevant Australian Standards. Durability requirements are as per traditional construction forms – same design life, warranties and performance criteria of the building code.

Combining honest expression of structure and materials with a sustainable ideology, the building is part of the 22-hectare Brisbane Showgrounds regeneration district. It was commissioned by international property and infrastructure group Lendlease for Impact Investment Group and will be anchored by global engineering firm Aurecon.

Philip Vivian, Bates Smart Director, says that each time an engineered timber project completes, architects learn more about CLT’s potential as a new building material and how to work and innovate with it on all types of buildings.

“This building marks a genuine commitment to CLT from the industry. It’s exciting to see the ideas take hold and evolve across the globe, and we’re happy to contribute with the lessons we’ve learned on 25 King.”

Raised on massive exposed timber v-columns and with the south facade expressed as a ‘verandah’ of engineered timber, 25 King covertly references the wooden vernacular of the ‘Queenslander’ building type as well as nodding to the historic pavilions of the Showgrounds district.

Nine levels of open-plan office space, serviced via a north-facing side core, are balanced above a ground floor shaded timber colonnade hosting cafés and restaurants, which open up the building as part of the public realm.

Internally, the use of an exposed CLT timber slab for ceiling soffits has eradicated the need for a suspended ceiling system, opening up the floorplates to a lofty ceiling height and creating a warmer interior aesthetic with softer surfaces and acoustics, which maximise the psychological benefits associated with timber in interiors.

The structure and highly flexible floorplates evolved from extensive research and testing of engineered timber typologies. It employs a 6 x 8 metre grid in terms of both optimum distribution of columns and ceiling heights, which are determined by the span of the Glulam ceiling beams (building services ducts run parallel without the need to penetrate). 

The arrangement of columns creates a more intimate open-plan scale while allowing flexible and efficient spatial organisation of office floors. It also minimises the size of the exposed Glulam columns, allowing them to register almost as joinery rather than structural elements.

25 King’s innovations in rapid modular CLT construction provide significant economic and environmental benefits for clients. The extensive pre-construction design process and off-site fabrication led to a significantly shortened and cleaner on-site construction programme with minimal waste. The building was constructed in 18 months, with the facade envelope following structure in a floor-by-floor sequence.

The building is projected to achieve a 6 Star Green Star Design and As Built v1.14 and a NABERS Energy 5 Star rating as well as a WELL v16 Platinum rating. In addition to employing responsibly sourced timber, 25 King maximises natural daylighting to the floorplates through its south-facing facade while incorporating sunshades of folded aluminium on other facades to reduce heat build-up. Further sustainable features include rainwater harvesting, energy efficient lighting, optimised air-conditioning and a green wall in the entrance lobby.

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Tom Roe