An East-Auckland company has quietly fashioned a huge reputation for creating large-span composite portal frames, using plantation timber, engineering skill and lots of Kiwi ingenuity, while operating on a global scale.
Whether it is for an over-water restaurant in Abu Dhabi which calls for two laminated intertwining trapezoids with curved corners, or a pod-shaped Warkworth tree house, in either case, TimberLab delivers stunning solutions, on time and within budget.
From Devonport to Dubai, TimberLab’s Glulam structures are providing designers with an economical solution for free-spanning structures. Applications range from commercial and institutional buildings with complex curves, to large, long-span sporting facilities and heritage projects.
TimberLab composite portal frames made an impressive showing in the recently completed Wanaka Recreation Centre project. The massive Glulam frames provide the backbone of the structure and allow for heavy snow loads and high winds; whilst enhancing the aesthetics of the building.
TimberLab was involved in the early stages of design and assisted with developing a workable solution for some of the tricky details. Roof members are continuous Glulam beams; 27m long – 1530mm deep and 280m wide. Each one weighs about 5,000kg with some of the structural steel brackets laminated into the core of the beams. Columns are a similar size but tapered to 800mm at the base.
Connecting the roof beam to the columns are 2 massive steel hubs that required precise accuracy to fix the 24 threaded rods at each end of the columns and rafter to exactly match the big steel brackets.
The result is one of Wanaka’s largest buildings, with the massive beams visible from the swimming pools below.
With 60 years of experience under their belts, TimberLab has produced many award-winning projects with engineered timber structures.
Learn more about the benefits of TimberLab’s composite portal frame technology and see some of the work delighting clients and users at: www.timberlabsolutions.com
