A market assessment and evaluation of structural roundwood products from hardwood pulp plantations

This project assessed the market for using small diameter roundwood (such as pulp logs and thinnings from sawlog plantations) as innovative building products. Using steam the poles are bent around a form to produce arched structural members providing a wide range of design options. Roundwood products have a range of advantages over sawn boards such as: improved strength attributes for equivalent cross-sectional area; reduced processing costs, lower embodied energy and reduced wastage due to minimal processing activities.

Senior architecture students from the University of Queensland produced designs for roundwood structures. Some of these concepts were included in a survey emailed to over 1,200 stakeholders representing a broad cross section of forest growers, designers, specifiers, engineers, timber industry representatives and users. The results provided an optimistic view for the potential of small, roundwood structures with 87% of respondents indicating that they liked the overall impression of the designs and concepts, versus 13% who were neutral.

Reference Number:
PRA154-0910

Findings Report:
FINAL_Report_Roundwood_pre-study_20091214.pdf

FWPA publishes the industry newsletters, R&DWorks and ForWood. In addition, we have the WoodSolutions newsletter addressing design and build specifiers – architects, building designers, engineers and others involved in specifying the choice of building materials, as well as the Wood.Naturally Better. ™ Partner Update. ForestLearning is FWPA’s quarterly newsletter that provides information on Australian forests and forest-based products to teachers and educators, school children and the public.

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