University of Queensland - GHD Auditorium

Project Team
Architects: Richard Kirk Architects, Hassell
Engineer: Aurecon
Builder: WATPAC Construction Pty Ltd

Products
Beam 17
Beam 21

The 5 Green Star rated Advanced Engineering Building (AEB) at St Lucia is a collaborative project funded by the Australian Government, Queensland Government, and The University of Queensland, with philanthropic support from GHD. It houses a state-of-the-art 500 seat auditorium, one of the largest teaching spaces in the university.

The decision to construct the auditorium entirely out of timber was not only rooted in the aesthetic interaction between the natural environment, but also the structural functionality and environmental impact of the building.

The auditorium's 215-tonne roof is supported entirely by impressive timber members that span the entire 30-metre-wide space - an engineering feat that is habitually achieved using steel. The space is held by four 30m long timber trusses forming a series of dramatic zinc profiled vaults. The pre-fabricated timber trusses, all locally harvested, milled and engineered in Maryborough, consist of glue laminated hardwood flitch sections with a structural steel plate sandwiched in-between.

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Construction Time-lapse

The trusses were fabricated off-site, transported, assembled in place and lifted in a single day.

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