One of Australia’s best-kept secrets, a custom-built timber cabin built from repurposed electricity posts that go back to Australia’s first European colonists could be one of the worlds best examples of repurposed timber architecture…with the Marra Marra Shack, “floating above” a steep elevation at the junction of the Hawkesbury River and Berowra Creek – less than an hour from the centre of Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designed by Leopold Banchini Architects, the BAL-FZ-rated 2-bedroom, 1-bath dwelling is a past winner of the Australian Timber Design Awards\u2014Recycled Timber Category (sponsored by Kennedy Timbers)<\/a>. It combines recycled ironbark telegraph poles and spotted gum in the exposed floor and ceiling post-and-beam system with pine plywood manufactured into laminated veneer lumber (LVL) to create a lightweight floor floating the waterway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The shack is almost entirely constructed from timber,” according to the Swiss-based Leopold Banchini, who said two carpenters could only access the work site via boat: “The materials had to be small and light enough to fit on a barge and lifted without heavy machinery, timber was the perfect choice.”<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n