A series of seminars presented by Forest and Wood Products Australia’s Wood Solutions in conjunction with Planet Ark provided an informative and inspiring look at wood and wood products to participants.

Presented by keynote speaker Professor Alex de Rijke, the seminars saw an audience of leading design, engineering construction and property developers increasing their awareness of wood products through current case studies. Prof de Rijke also discussed the future of wood and wood products in the built environment.

Increasing awareness of the use of innovative engineered wood products is an essential part of ensuring market acceptance of these high volume potential solutions. From cross laminated timber (CLT) to laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and Glulam, engineered wood products have a range of advantages that have led many experts to predict that they will become a dominant building product during this century.

Prof de Rijke has a record of pioneering the innovative use of engineered wood products. In his presentation titled ‘Experiments in Engineered Timber’, Alex shared his practice’s fascinating journey through a decade of working on high-profile engineered timber projects.

The half-day seminars in Perth and Sydney also included high profile local presenters with case studies designed to provide the audience with practical information they could apply to their current and future projects.

Satisfied at the generous turnout of so many builders and developers as well as engineers and architects, FWPA’s marketing and communications manager Eileen Newbury described the seminars as vital steps in linking the industry’s supply chain with the needs and expectations of customers throughout the design and specification process.

Speaking on behalf of Planet Ark who presented the Melbourne seminar titled ‘Cities of the Future, the Property Industry’s Move to Mass Timber Construction’, their Head of Campaigns Brad Gray said that the environmental contribution of wood was a valuable bonus of the trend to wood and wood products.