Slated to open later this year, the $1.45 billion, 39-storey ‘plyscraper’ will eventually contain more than 30,000 cubic metres of timber — shipped by European giants Stora Enso and Wiehag — across 21 storeys of the tower, with seven four-storey’ timber habitats’ sandwiched between steel-and-concrete mega floor plates above a seven-storey concrete podium.

And the glass panels going up are anything but conventional.

Spanish BIPV manufacturer Onyx Solar — working through Australian building products supplier Metz — is installing 1,794 crystalline silicon solar louvres across the tower’s active facade as part of a bespoke 247 kWp system. Speaking to PV Magazine Australia earlier this month, Onyx Solar revealed that each unit carries 28 mono-crystalline cells in a 4+4 mm glass configuration and produces 138 Wp at peak output. “The louvres also form a self-shading system that cuts direct solar heat gain internally,” Onya Solar said, turning the tower’s skin into a “vertical power source.”

Designed by BVN and New York-based SHoP, each ‘habitat’ comprises four floors of timbered space stacked inside a steel exoskeleton, eliminating the need for internal columns. “The timber floors are connected to the concrete floors via drag straps,” said Tim Allen, timber structural lead for TTW, who spoke at Timber Construct — Australia’s only timber construction conference — in late 2024. “Why build a 39-storey building partly out of timber?” Allen said. “Because it comes down to using the right timber for the right application.”

Whilst in October last year, Peter Morley, the Dexus project director overseeing the build, said the team had “broken the back on the most technical, structural phase of the project,” with the hybrid timber approach allowing the developers “to bring the building up quicker and get the façade on quicker than a more traditional build.”

“That’s because we’re jumping up five levels every time, and while we’re going up, we’re coming back and infilling with the timber within each of those five-storey zones,” Morley said. Atlassian Central is co-owned by Dexus and Atlassian, with Built and Japanese construction giant Obayashi appointed as builders, confirming the building remains “on schedule” for a 2026 opening, with the tech giant expected to take over five of the seven habitats in late 2028 following a full fit-out.

At street level, crews are also well advanced on a new pedestrian connection from Railway Colonnade Drive to the Devonshire Street Tunnel entrance — the heritage passage running beneath Central Station between Lee Street and Devonshire Street — which will, for the first time, allow pedestrians to access the tunnel directly from the colonnade as part of Central’s broader Third Square redevelopment.

That is according to the latest ABARES Agricultural Commodities Report, published yesterday, which revealed that the gross value of forestry (GVP) production is expected to reach $2.23 billion in 2026-27 — a 3 per cent nominal increase or a 1 per cent real increase. And over the medium term, the GVP is projected to drop back $2.1 billion, with no material growth expected until at least 2030-31.

By the numbers, total gross value production in forests has dropped by 36 per cent over the past eight years — from about $3.4 billion in 2017-18 — with softwood relatively steady at about $1.5 billion, hardwood plantations flatlining at $0.5 billion and native forest continuing what is now a 20-year decline.

According to Diana Hallam, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association, whilst the topline figures point to the vital role of sustainable forestry in producing essential products, the report also identified serious challenges and headwinds for the sector.

“Some of these challenges and risks include high manufacturing and energy costs, greater use of structural steel in residential and mid-rise construction, as well as a growing amount of imported timber products of varying quality flooding the Australian marketplace, including from China,” she said.

Hallam said the new estimates also reaffirmed the importance of aligning the government’s policy with Australia’s Timber Fibre Strategy, which outlines opportunities for the industry to make a greater contribution to national goals in carbon, innovation, and housing construction.

Softwood up, hardwood down, native at historic lows

The value of softwood plantation production is forecast to increase slightly in 2026-27, driven by short-term movements in detached housing demand. But ABARES warns that a gradual shift toward higher-density dwellings is expected to temper timber demand over the medium term, whilst projected increases in softwood log availability will ease unit prices.

Hardwood plantation production, however, is heading the other way.

And that’s because ongoing shifts in global paper markets are placing downward pressure on woodchip demand, whilst Vietnam’s growing share of global trade — combined with projected exchange rate changes — is continuing to erode Australia’s competitiveness overseas. ABARES expects Australian hardwood woodchip exports to settle at similar volumes but lower unit prices, with Australia holding a smaller, more specialised role in the market.

And then there is native forestry, where production has now fallen to historically low levels following 20 years of contraction driven by the transfer of multiple-use public native forests to nature conservation reserves and increased harvest restrictions.

A $570 million downward revision

ABARES has slashed its forestry forecast by more than $570 million — a 21 per cent revision from its December report — with exports the major driver of the writedown, down more than $619 million amid weaker production and prices.

It comes days after this masthead reported on a new white paper from the Rozetta Institute arguing that Australia needs a national roadmap to boost forest productivity and encourage new capital into the market.

On Friday, Wood Central spoke to the white paper’s lead author, Steve Walker, Principal of Terrafolia Advisory, and co-author Dr Lyndall Bull, who revealed that Australian plantations produce just 15 to 18 cubic metres per hectare per year against international benchmarks of 30 to 50.

And on Monday, Walker went further, telling Wood Central the sector’s decades-long focus on cost discipline had come at the expense of genuine value creation. “Lifting productivity on the land already planted is the fastest and most scalable opportunity,” Walker said. “International benchmarks in Brazil, India, Vietnam and China demonstrate that 30 to 50 cubic metres per hectare per year is achievable using proven technologies already available.”

“If we can do this, we can ultimately strengthen our capacity to produce more competitive engineered wood products like LVL and other EWPs,” he said, adding that the downstream benefits could add tens of millions of dollars to regional communities.

• For more information, including the ABARES full March 2026 Agricultural Commodities Report, visit the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.

That is, according to new ABS data analysed by IndustryEdge, which revealed that Australia’s imports of prefabricated and modular buildings have lifted to a record $326.4 million for the year to November 2025, a staggering 51.1% uptake on the last 12 months with modular steel ($75.8 million, up 246.8%) and prefabricated steel and other non-wood products ($227.3 million, up 28.9%) making up more than 92% of imports.

The data comes amid growing public and political interest in prefabricated and modular construction as a potential lever for addressing Australia’s housing supply shortfall. Yesterday, Wood Central reported that a major Australian developer is now partnering with a major Chinese construction firm to bring prefab expertise to address Sydney’s housing crisis, whilst the AustChina Institute is looking to establish a trade corridor for prefab to help close the gap.

But how much of these building materials are going into housing?

The ABS data paints a more nuanced picture of what is actually arriving at ports. The figures do not distinguish between industrial and commercial buildings and dwellings, making it difficult to determine how much of the record growth is being driven by residential demand. The formal product descriptors are published on the Border Force website under the 9406 Prefabricated Buildings classifications, with longer versions contained in the monthly ABS data series.

A closer look at the largest import category — 9406.90.00.04, covering steel and other non-wood prefabricated buildings — tells the story.

At $227.3 million, it accounts for nearly 70% of the total, and it is made up almost entirely of commercial and industrial products. The category contains no information on the value of dwelling imports. What it does list is cold rooms, spray booths, operating theatres, carports, greenhouses, interpreter booths, pod offices, observatory domes, vaults, laundries, showers, kitchens, bathrooms, and workshops — a long way from the housing conversation that has dominated the prefab narrative in recent months.

Wooden prefab buildings make up just 7.1% of all imports by value

Inevitably, most interest in the timber sector will centre on imports of prefabricated wooden buildings. The value here lifted $5.5 million, or 31.0%, to $23.3 million (FOB) over the year to November 2025. It’s a strong growth rate off a modest base — wooden prefab buildings still account for just 7.1% of total prefabricated building imports by value. Imports are spread across the states, reasonably consistent with population size.

On the supply side, mainland China accounted for 66.1% of total prefabricated building imports, or $215.9 million (FOB), for the year to November 2025. The picture shifts when specifically isolating the wooden prefab. China supplied 43.0% of imported wooden prefabricated buildings by value, with Estonia contributing 20.7% and Latvia 9.5% — a reflection of the Baltic states’ established expertise in timber construction and their growing footprint in the Australian market.

That Baltic connection is also worth watching. European timber producers have been actively diversifying their export markets since EU sanctions on Russian and Belarusian timber disrupted established supply chains from 2022. As Wood Central has reported, the reshaping of global timber trade flows has opened new corridors — and Australia’s wooden prefab import profile increasingly appears to reflect that shift.

There is no question that political and commercial interest in prefab housing is growing. But the import data suggests the reality has not yet caught up with the ambition. The bulk of Australia’s record $326.4 million in prefab imports is going into commercial and industrial applications, and for the timber sector, wooden prefab remains a small but growing corner of the market at $23.3 million a year.

The gap between where the conversation is and where the numbers are remains significant.

Capacity utilisation is widely viewed as a key measure of how intensively manufacturers are using their production lines, and the latest figures suggest a broad‑based slowdown. In addition to the drop in wood manufacturing, Statistics Canada also reported that “furniture and other related product manufacturers” saw utilisation fall by more than 4.9 per cent over the same period, sliding from 79.1 per cent in November to 74.2 per cent in December.

The downturn comes as Wood Central reported last month that Canada’s lumber industry is being pushed to rethink long‑standing production practices — including the potential abandonment of the imperial system in favour of the metric system.

For decades, the U.S. has absorbed the overwhelming majority of Canada’s softwood lumber. But with duties rising and political tensions escalating, Taylor said the industry’s dependence on the American market is no longer sustainable. “This over‑reliance on the U.S. lumber market could not have come at a worse time,” according to Russ Taylor, a global expert in wood trade, who pointed to a surge in trade restrictions since Donald Trump took office.

As a result, he said, sawmills are now being forced to consider retooling for markets that use the metric system rather than North America’s imperial dimensions. And whilst many mills can technically cut both ways, the broader supply chain is not configured for metric‑driven production. “North American construction sizes and grades do not fit many, if not most, end‑use applications in offshore markets,” he said, adding that logs would also need to be cut to metric lengths to meet European and Middle Eastern specifications.

• To learn why Canadian lumber producers are now eying Japan, China and South Korea to grow their export trade, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.

“This change allows us to focus our resources on priorities that best support our customers and our future direction,” said James Davenport, Managing Director at Metsä Wood UK, who stressed that the company remains committed to the UK market. “We remain focused on delivering high‑quality products and services to our wider customer base and on building strong, sustainable partnerships aligned with our long‑term strategy.”

As it stands, the Boston facility manufactures a broad range of timber and panel products, including softwood, MDF mouldings, door linings, sheet materials and fire‑rated solutions. In addition to the Boston plant, Metsä Wood also operates a plant at King’s Lynn — home to Finnjoist I‑beam production and pressure‑treatment services for the merchant and DIY markets — which is not believed to be affected by the latest restructure.

Davenport said the company’s “immediate priority is our people, and we are fully committed to supporting colleagues through this change while continuing to operate responsibly within the Boston community.”

Metsä Wood’s wider product portfolio includes Kerto® LVL, birch and spruce plywood, and further‑processed sawn timber. The company converts Northern wood into high‑quality, material‑efficient products that store carbon throughout their life cycles. Last year, its global sales totalled EUR 0.5 billion, and it employed around 1,600 people. Its parent company, Metsäliitto Cooperative, is owned by approximately 90,000 Finnish forest owners.

“The current building does not meet the standards required by Formula 1 and the motorsport governing body, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, to host a Formula 1 event,” according to Development Victoria, the statutory body overseeing the project, revealing that the new build will help secure the flagship for the next decade. “The pit building is being redeveloped to ensure Melbourne can continue to host the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix through to 2037.”

Wood Central understands that the new complex will be framed inside a giant mass-timber superstructure—one of Australia’s largest mass-timber installations in design—and will join a growing roster of F1 facilities that are swapping steel and concrete for hybrid cross-laminated timber systems.

Early works commenced last July, with Icon Construction crews mobilising to carry out geotechnical investigations, utility relocations and preliminary earthworks. These preparatory activities ensure the site is primed for full-scale construction immediately after the 2026 event.

“What excites us most about this design is how it elevates both elite motorsport and grassroots community sport under one roof,” according to Bruno Mendes, of Woods Bagot, the design lead for the project. “We’ve engineered a facility that doesn’t just host one of the world’s premier racing events—it actively gives back to the local sporting community every day of the year.”

Inside the timber canopy, 12 Formula 1 team garages and two additional bays for officials will be situated alongside state-of-the-art race control suites, media workrooms, and administration offices. Expansive hospitality terraces—framed by cross-laminated timber beams and full-height glazing—will offer unrivalled views of the circuit and lake for 5,000 additional spectators.

A key feature is the building’s dual-use ambition. When Grand Prix teams pack up, the pit complex will seamlessly convert into a community sporting hub complete with indoor courts and clubrooms for local football, netball and basketball clubs. “We’re not just building for the Grand Prix,” a project spokesperson added. “This facility will be a year-round asset for Albert Park and the surrounding suburbs.”

The redevelopment is a joint initiative between Development Victoria, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Parks Victoria, the State Sport Centres Trust and the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, with full funding committed by the Victorian Government. Major construction is scheduled to run from mid-2026 until just before the 2028 Grand Prix week, with race operations continuing uninterrupted throughout. Development Victoria has pledged that “works will not affect the running of the event.”

Wood Central understands the changes would affect the entire composite‑wood supply chain — from panel producers and furniture makers to RV manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, testing labs, and professional service firms involved in certification and compliance. The proposal also covers the laboratories and certification bodies that test and verify composite wood products, and the EPA seeks to align several scope and definition sections with updated industry standards.

The rulemaking, published in the US Federal Register yesterday, would revise the voluntary consensus standards incorporated by reference in 40 CFR part 770 under TSCA Title VI and introduce a new quality‑control test method.

Public comments are open until March 13, 2026.

EPA is proposing to update the referenced editions of several standards used for product specifications and formaldehyde testing, including ANSI A190.1‑2022 for structural glulam, ASTM D5582‑22 for desiccator testing, ASTM D6007‑22 for small‑scale chamber testing, ASTM E1333‑22 for large‑chamber testing, BS EN ISO 12460‑3:2023 and ISO 12460‑3:2023(E) for gas‑analysis methods, and NIST PS 1‑22 for structural plywood.

The agency also plans to incorporate ISO 12460‑2:2024(en) as an additional small‑scale chamber method for quality‑control testing under 40 CFR 770.20(b)(1). EPA says the method would expand manufacturers’ analytical options, including the use of laser absorption spectroscopy. California’s Airborne Toxic Control Measure recently adopted the same standard, a development EPA cites in its justification.

The move brings EPA’s testing methods closer to those used in other major jurisdictions, including the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, all of which rely on the updated ISO 12460 series standards. However, the broader TSCA Title VI framework remains unique to the United States, with no equivalent national certification or import‑control regime elsewhere.

So far, more than $240 million has been spent on building the campus, with Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Helen Bartlett cutting the ribbon on three new buildings in April 2024, bringing the total to 16,000 square metres of teachable space on Queensland’s fastest-growing university campus.

“Seeing the campus highlights how timber construction is already delivering high-performance, working buildings at scale,” according to Dr Sam Van Holsbeeck, who is organising the Field Trip – Building with Timber Construction, Performance and Design Life, which involves a tour of USC’s National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life and a trip to iTreat’s timber treatment plant.

Last year, Wood Central tracked the progress of the massive project, which used more than 2,000 pre-finished interior AC-iHoop and Ariaply throughout the buildings. At the time, Scott Matthews, the Joint CEO of Austal Plywoods, revealed that plywood was “cost-effective and delivered ready to install.”

Built by Badge Construction and designed by KIRK Studio – at the forefront of Australia’s push to embrace mass timber design—and Cottee Parker, the three buildings each use a prefabricated mass timber superstructure, combining HESS Timber’s glulam and Xlam’s cross-laminated timber.

According to Richard Kirk, principal of KIRK Studio, using both prefabrication and mass timber “has proven to sequester carbon using renewable timber feedstock to significantly reduce construction time, reduce waste, and support safer and quieter construction sites.”

Kirk is Queensland’s pre-eminent expert in mass timber design and has been responsible for the design of almost all mass timber buildings in Queensland. “The exposed timber structure, generous windows and large light-filled atriums produce an entirely new open typology for UniSC — fit for a young university unconstrained by traditional ways,” KIRK Studio said, adding that “the design showcases the University as an active, growing campus and produces a sense of gravity – drawing in students, staff and community members alike.”

As one of the country’s leaders in timber research, USC was invited to join the University of Tasmania and the University of Melbourne in establishing an Australian Forest and Wood Innovation Centre focused on indigenous and agroforestry opportunities in Northern Australia.

So far, more than 4,700 students are studying at UniSC Moreton Bay, and Professor Bartlett said the campus is exceeding expectations. “There was enormous demand for a university campus at Moreton Bay before UniSC arrived, and we continue to see many non‑school leavers enrolling as well as the traditional school leaver cohort from local secondary schools,” she said.

Popular programs at the campus include Nursing Science, Primary Education, Social Work, Biomedical Science and the university’s Tertiary Preparation Pathway. Mayor Peter Flannery said the campus is reshaping opportunities for local residents. “Over 40 per cent of students at the Moreton Bay campus are the first in their families to study, and 70 per cent are Moreton Bay residents. We know this demand will just grow,” he said. “Co‑locating start‑ups, entrepreneurs and innovators alongside students and researchers is a way for businesses to connect with their future workforce and drive additional opportunities for collaboration.”

Full Program for the Forestry Australia field trip

• 9.15 am – Meet at UniSC Moreton Bay Campus
• 9.30 am-11.00 am – Introduction and guided tour of the UniSC Moreton Bay Campus, showcasing timber buildings, mass timber and prefabricated construction, and sustainability outcomes.
• 11.00 am -12.00 pm – Presentation by the National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life on timber durability and exposure trials, including display samples and discussion.
• 12.00 pm-12.45 pm – Lunch
• 12.45 pm-1.00 pm – Travel to iTreat Timber
• 1.00 pm-2.30 pm – Visit to iTreat Timber, including a guided tour of the facilities and an overview of timber treatment and preservation processes.

The complex, delivered 30 days ahead of schedule, brings together cross‑laminated timber panels, glulam beams, and low‑embodied‑carbon facades across residential and communal buildings. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)—responsible for New York City’s Moynihan Connector—the “self‑sustaining neighbourhood” is fully kitted out with solar panels, roof gardens, and infrastructure designed for rapid conversion after the Olympics.

And like the Paris Athletes Village – occupied by 14,000 athletes during last year’s Summer Olympics – SOM is looking beyond the thousands of athletes occupying the village during the games: “Rather than ceasing to be of use after the Olympics, the Porta Romana Olympic Village will ultimately become a vibrant, self‑sustaining neighbourhood built around the principles of social equity, environmental commitment, wellness, and inclusivity,” said Colin Koop, a partner at SOM. “The village adopts the rhythm of the area’s streetscape, creating a porous urban block with a variety of public spaces and communal anchors that will enhance Milan’s vibrant tapestry of ground‑floor experiences.”

“We were compelled by the opportunity to design a project that is purpose-built for one usage, and that then will transform for another permanent purpose – and to do so in the most sustainable and urbanistically responsible way possible,” Koop said, adding that the athletes’ village is located on a former railyard and the studio drew inspiration from the area’s industrial past when designing the new buildings.

Olympic organisers are now looking to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo for guidance.

Wood Central understands that SOM’s design included retrofitting two historic structures on site and constructing six timber buildings to accommodate athletes during the games. After the games, these buildings will transition into student and affordable housing. Predominantly built from mass timber in a linear bar format with terraces, the buildings draw inspiration from historic Milanese architecture while utilising contemporary materials, such as low-embodied-carbon facades.

Led by developer COIMA, the village is creating a sustainable urban community with a range of green credentials. According to Manfredi Catella, COIMA founder and CEO,“The 2026 Olympic Village will represent a new urban laboratory for Milan, the first to be designed and built in its future configuration with spaces, functions, and materials already designed for their conversion, meeting NZEB principles.”

And once the games are over, the village will be turned into Italy’s largest affordable student housing complex, comprising 1,700 beds, ready in time for the 2026/27 academic year: “The Olympic Village sets a new benchmark for sustainability – not just in terms of its low environmental impact but for its enduring legacy after the Games, when it will provide high-quality, affordable housing for students,” Catella said.

Wood Central previously reported that phase one reached practical completion in September, and can now reveal that the second and final phase of the 85,000‑square‑foot Performing Arts Centre — the Caribbean’s largest timber structure — remains “on track” to open in mid‑2026.

The first phase — which includes a “meanwhile use” venue — was developed in collaboration with StructureCraft, one of the world’s leading timber engineering firms. Together, the team designed the pavilion around an enormous 80‑foot‑tall wood compression truss, the world’s largest all-wood compression truss.

“Achieving the 80‑foot clear span over Barbados’ new centre stage presented a unique opportunity: an all‑wood truss, no metal, no screws,” Lucas Epp, senior engineer at StructureCraft, revealed in a Wood Central article earlier this year. “The truss transfers 120,000 pounds of tension entirely through timber, replacing steel connectors with enlarged Okkake‑Daisen‑Tsugi joints drawn from centuries‑old Japanese joinery.”

“Structural optimisation transforms the traditional tension‑compression webs into pure compression — a truss reimagined as an arch,” Epp added. A recent StructureCraft post further revealed that slender cables brace the sloped glulam columns to their foundations, creating a visible lateral‑force system capable of withstanding hurricane‑force winds while celebrating timber’s natural elegance.

Designed for longevity in a region exposed to tropical storms, the pavilion incorporates timber elements that will be reused in the permanent performing arts centre — a strategy that reinforces its low‑carbon, climate‑responsive design. The component‑based construction system also enabled the entire structure to rise in just four months, demonstrating the efficiency of prefabricated mass‑timber assembly at scale.

When complete, the Barbados National Performing Arts Centre will include a 1,500‑seat auditorium, rehearsal studios, public terraces, and a suite of cultural amenities. The timber pavilion now standing on the site serves as the primary structural element that will remain in place, transforming what began as a temporary installation into a permanent venue built to last decades.

Please note: Lucas Epp will further discuss themes of timber innovation, computational design, and structural craft as a guest speaker at Design‑Tech Talk 8.0, an upcoming online event organised by PAACADEMY on January 10–11, 2026. The two‑day program brings together architects, engineers, and researchers to explore how advanced design tools, AI‑driven workflows, and digital fabrication are shaping contemporary architectural practice, extending conversations like those used in the Barbados project.