One of the outcomes of the State Government’s Plan Melbourne is to increase the density of housing in the middle suburbs. 

This increased density can take many forms including medium rise housing of around five levels. This type of construction can only occur if it is economically viable for a developer to undertake the project. 

Prefabricated timber panel systems have become the preferred building method in residential construction by Australand Property Group, with a 57 apartment, five storey building in Parkville completed in only 11 months. 

This project will be a topic of discussion at the Frame Australia 2014 Conference and Exhibition to be held at Park Hyatt Melbourne on Monday, 19 May titled ‘Prefabricated Timber and Engineered Wood in Construction’.

“In particular the light-weight prefabricated floor cassette system is a fast and safe method of structural floor erection that results in a significant reduction in construction programming, and lowers overall development costs,” said Craig Muse, Australand’s Development Director – Built Form.

“This method of construction takes full advantage of utilising domestic labour and materials, which in turn produces more cost effective building developments for large scale residential projects,” he said.

“We achieve savings in the order of up to 25 per cent when compared to concrete. This cost advantage will bring more medium rise, pre-fabricated timber apartment buildings to the suburbs and revitalise sites previously unviable, and can create affordable housing choice that middle Australia can afford to buy.”

At the Frame Australia conference, Australand will be presenting construction details of their five storey timber framed Parkville project, along with presentations by designers and suppliers of the engineered timber panel systems used.

For more information visit www.frameaustralia.com