Projects | Murdoch University Boola Katitjin, Perth, Australia

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Boola Katitjin is an award-winning mass engineered timber building that has demonstrated that designing for Country, with circularity, collaboration and innovation at the forefront, results in outcomes that benefit both people and the planet.

In recognition that tertiary education is a major driver of economic competitiveness in a knowledge-driven global economy, Murdoch University set out to reflect their sustainability values in the built form.

Working in collaboration with Aurecon, Multiplex, Lyons and Norman Disney & Young, Murdoch University created Western Australia’s first mass engineered timber (MET) building, Boola Katitjin, at their South Street Campus. The story of Boola Katitjin – Western Australia’s first mass-engineered-timber (MET) building – has been captured in a breathtaking film produced for Aurecon and Murdoch University by BBC StoryWorks.

The Boola Katitjin film produced by BBC StoryWorks was premiered on Tuesday, 29 August on campus at Murdoch University, followed by a panel discussion on the role buildings can play in social and environmental sustainability. Watch the full panel discussion.

Constructed from glulam and cross laminated timber sourced from sustainable suppliers in Australia and Europe, Boola Katitjin, meaning ‘lots of learning’ in the local Noongar language, pays homage to its bush setting and location on land that has been a place of learning for over 60,000 years.

Boola Katitjin represents Murdoch University’s commitment to:

Creating an iconic building that is an exemplar of timber building design and construction
The university’s vision for a sustainable and student-centred future
Achieving sustainable campuses by 2030 as part of its strategic plan
Providing a welcoming, collaborative, technology-enabled informal and formal learning, teaching and experimental space for students and staff through its innovative design
Respecting and acknowledging First Nations people as part of the university’s goal to become the University of Choice for First Nations people
Enhancing the health, wellbeing, and productivity of occupants through biophilic design (connecting with nature)

Location

Whadjuk Country
Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Client

Murdoch University

Partners

Lyons Architects, Norman Disney & Young, Multiplex, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) – as part of robotics trial

Aurecon's Role

Civil and structural engineering, pedestrian modelling, traffic audits, robotics engineering, circular economy

Expertise

Building Design, Roads & Transport Networks

Complete

2023

Murdoch University Boola Katitjin, Australia’s tallest commercial engineered timber building. Image courtesy of Murdoch University.

Growing tall with experts in timber design

Aurecon’s experience in the design and construction of MET buildings, such as Australia’s tallest commercial engineered timber building 25 King Street in Brisbane, Australia’s tallest residential engineered timber building Monterey Apartments in Brisbane, and one of the world’s largest MET buildings at 40,000 square metres, Nanyang Technological University's Gaia in Singapore, meant the team had a wealth of knowledge on which to draw for this project.

Pushing the boundaries of timber construction with a circular approach

Decreasing reliance on finite materials to prioritise renewable resources, such as timber, is a key concept of the circular economy. When mass engineered timber is harvested from certified sustainably managed forests, it can play an important role in the circular economy and can have a lower carbon footprint than traditional building materials.

MET also allows for modular design and construction, helping to design out waste and pollution at the start. Modular timber buildings are assembled from prefabrication which reduces waste and can support disassembly at end-of-life, enabling components to be re-purposed.

MET Engineered timber used in supporting structure of building.

Timber is a powerful enabler for circularity for sustainable buildings and resilient infrastructure

Murdoch University required design for disassembly for Boola Katitjin, in line with circular design principles, to reduce waste at end-of-life. Circular, sustainable approaches included:

Standardised sections/sizes were used and each connection uses a simple bolted/pin connection, meaning members can simply be disassembled at the end of its life and re-used elsewhere
93 per cent of construction and demolition waste was diverted from landfill during construction and any waste/offcuts were repurposed as wayfinding signage
Boola Katitjin was designed to achieve a 6-star Green Star Design and As-built v1.3 certification with the Green Building Council of Australia, representing world leadership in sustainable design. It will be the first 6-star certified education building in Western Australia

Boola Katitjin uses ~3000 tonnes of MET. For comparison, Aurecon designed the exact same building using concrete, demonstrating that ~9000 tonnes of concrete would have been required – three times the amount of construction material. Based on data from the suppliers, the amount of timber used has already been renewed in the forests from which it was sourced
Structural steel and concrete have been minimised, however, where concrete was required, it contains recycled steel reinforcement as well as low carbon ‘green’ concrete to reduce the total carbon footprint
The mass timber structure is a major contributor to radically reducing the overall embodied carbon within the project by ~55 per cent. The massive gable roof incorporates industrial scale renewable energy production, via a 450kW array of PV cells which, combined with the other low energy systems within the building, reduces the overall operational energy footprint by ~90 per cent
Defining features of the facade include 75 per cent of the exterior as operable entry or window openings, and external sun shading to reduce heating and cooling requirements
A project-specific Climate Change Adaptation Plan was also undertaken – a building servicing strategy that ensures the building can be fully electrified and operate with 100 per cent renewables

A platform for industry / academia collaboration

This project is a showcase for creating a sustainable, circular building, incorporating world-leading technology, and more importantly, enabling projects of this type to flourish across Australia and New Zealand. This involved testing assumptions and pushing boundaries, incorporating innovation on a high-profile building to demonstrate the economic viability and sustainability of MET.

Recognising it as a catalyst for Western Australia’s timber industry to emerge and scale up, Aurecon engaged with suppliers early, by organising a state timber forum – a day-long workshop with the local timber industry from across Australia and New Zealand, to identify risks, challenges and opportunities with timber construction.

The question asked in this forum was, 'How do we go from a tree, into a building? What is the journey map while getting from A to B?' This was an extremely insightful workshop that allowed the design team to deeply understand the timber industry and the challenges it faced.

Boola Katitjin has many multi-purpose spaces for private study and collaboration.

Innovative robotics trial potential to modernise construction industry

Aurecon was also engaged by Murdoch University as their Innovation Partner to deploy a fully autonomous robot as a trial to install screw fittings in the building – a world-first achievement. The deployment of robotics on Boola Katitjin was led by Aurecon, leveraging an Aurecon Design Academy research thesis on robotics in timber construction.

The world-first robotics technology trial was used to install up to 100 timber screw fixings as part of a proof of concept. There were between 200,000 and 300,000 screw fixings required for Boola Katitjin which is an important, but labour-intensive task.

The robotics trial, a collaboration between Aurecon, Murdoch University and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), aimed to determine if automation of some on-site construction activity would help to increase productivity and drive efficiency of the construction programme, thereby reducing cost.

Importantly, the trial aimed to demonstrate how workers' OH&S could be improved, and advance innovation in the construction industry. The modular nature of timber construction particularly lends itself to the automation of some construction processes.

The robotics trial at Murdoch University is a collaboration between Aurecon, Murdoch University and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

The innovative robotics technology used at Murdoch University has the potential to modernise the construction industry.

The robotics technology trial has been used to install up to 100 timber screw fixings as part of a proof of concept to increase productivity and automate some of the construction process.

The robotics technology used at Murdoch University supports and encourages students in the learning, social and professional spheres of their lives.

The robotics technology used at Murdoch University gives students an opportunity to gain hands on experience in the construction industry.

The robotics trail has been a hands-on collaboration between Aurecon, Murdoch University and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) students.

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The robotics trial at Murdoch University is a collaboration between Aurecon, Murdoch University and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Being the first of its kind, the robotics technology trial presented considerable challenges, which were resolved through creating a digital twin and using 3D simulations.

The robot is equipped with a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) navigation system for autonomous travel. A workflow was devised by Aurecon whereby the UTS team exported Aurecon’s structural BIM model and inserted it into their robotics software (Gazebo), creating a digital twin of the building, allowing the robot to understand its location in space relative to the building grid references.

This workflow has redefined digital twins, which have previously been considered from a construction/built environment/infrastructure perspective. A workflow relatable to robotics has now been created, enabling a new offering to two industries. This workflow and navigation system methodology enabled the robot to install the screw fixings to within +/-5mm accuracy, which exceeds the accuracy of manual installation.

It is estimated that robotics technology could reduce timber construction schedules by 15-20 per cent and is replicable for other similar construction scenarios.

Quality and integrity of design

Aurecon produced a high-quality set of documentation that allowed Multiplex to build with minimal queries and issues. Quality assurance became especially important due to collaborating with three separate timber suppliers, due to there not being one single supplier that could provide the timber needed in the timeframe.

Aurecon led the collaboration efforts with HESS (Germany), Xlam Dolomiti (Italy) and Australian Sustainable Hardwood (Melbourne), which required meticulous planning and high-quality control. Murdoch University, Aurecon and Multiplex built a full-scale prototype, which provided invaluable insights into the design, connection detailing and overall aesthetic, to ensure the different timbers from the various suppliers worked together.

This visual prototype allowed Aurecon to engage with local timber subcontractors to assist with upskilling, giving them an opportunity to assemble the timber frames, test different methods and experiment, prior to construction.

The crescendo of this project is the column free Northern Events Space. In this space, the portal frame, which was prototyped and tested at the Advanced Engineering Building at the University of Queensland, spans 30 metres, allowing an openness to the building that fosters an environment for social connection between students, staff and the community.

Intelligent and sensitive design

Timber is the hero of this building and the structural design responds intelligently and sensitively to the architectural intent by using contemporary construction systems to blend seamlessly into the design of the existing campus buildings.

Boola Katitjin incorporates spaces where occupants can spend time engaging with others, inevitably leading to more collaborative teaching and innovative learning outcomes. It aims to attract community members to visit the campus, consequently becoming a contributing element of the precinct by demonstrating the value and importance of well resolved sustainable design principles.

Construction was completed in early 2023.

Award-winning

The project has won the following awards:

Winner: Engineers Australia Excellence Awards 2023 National Division – Project of the Year
Winner: Australian Timber Design Awards (ATDA) 2023 – Engineered Wood Product
Winner: Australian Timber Design Awards (ATDA) 2023 – People’s Choice

Winner: Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Annual Awards 2023 – Innovation Award
Winner: Engineers Australia Excellence Awards 2023 Western Australia Division – Project of the Year
Winner: FIDIC Project Awards 2023 – Outstanding Project of the Year – Small to Medium
Winner: The Australian Financial Review (AFR) BOSS Most Innovative Companies 2023 – Professional Services
Highly Commended: Property Council of Australia Innovation & Excellence Awards 2023 – Award for Project Innovation

Growing tall with experts in timber design

Pushing the boundaries of timber construction with a circular approach

Timber is a powerful enabler for circularity for sustainable buildings and resilient infrastructure

A platform for industry / academia collaboration

Innovative robotics trial potential to modernise construction industry

Quality and integrity of design

Intelligent and sensitive design

Award-winning

TAGS

We would love to work with you to bring your ideas to life, so get in touch and we'll get back to you.

Growing tall with experts in timber design

Pushing the boundaries of timber construction with a circular approach

Timber is a powerful enabler for circularity for sustainable buildings and resilient infrastructure

A platform for industry / academia collaboration

Innovative robotics trial potential to modernise construction industry

Quality and integrity of design

Intelligent and sensitive design

Award-winning

TAGS

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