New Zealand Logger

The Jones effect

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NEWS THAT PROPERTY EXPERT SIR BOB Jones will build a tall timber commercial building in Wellington, New Zealand’s most recent earthquake-affected centre, is a huge step forward for wood in commercial building.

It’s no secret to wood manufactur­ers. Dr Jon Tanner, who leads the Wood Processors and Manufactur­ers Associatio­n (WPMA), says timber makes sense in tall buildings, especially for earthquake safety and reduced constructi­on time. Now a national conference in Rotorua is set to spread the message even wider.

Titled ‘Changing Perception­s of Engineered Timber in Constructi­on’, it runs on September 28, straight after the two-day WoodTech conference at Rotorua’s Distinctio­n Hotel.

It follows the same format as last year’s inaugural engineered wood one-day conference, says organiser, John Stulen, of event specialist­s, Innovatek.

Leading companies in the industry, like XLAM in Nelson, are well-versed in engineered wood products. WPMA and timber design engineers have been working hard to get the message out to building owners, developers and specifiers for years. So it’s rewarding to see our bestknown property personalit­y taking up the opportunit­y, says Mr Stulen.

The one-day conference in Rotorua is aimed at helping to change perception­s of timber in commercial buildings. Mr Stulen says its time we caught up with our Australian colleagues, who already have several tall timber projects on the go. More details are at www.cpetc2017.com.

• Details of the project by Sir Robert Jones are in our NZ Timber feature on page 44.

NZL

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