World's Tallest Timber Apartments Wins Environmental Excellence Award

The world’s tallest timber residential building,

Lend Lease's

Forté in Melbourne’s Victoria Harbour, has won the 2014 Australian Property Institute award for Environmental Excellence at the Victorian Excellence in Property Awards.

The award winners were announce at the Awards Gala dinner, held at Central Pier in Melbourne’s Docklands last Friday, 12 September.

The awards showcased some of the state’s finest projects and celebrated innovation and leading practice within the property industry.

The development was recognised as a stand out among the entries from across Victoria, and was acknowledged for its excellence in innovation and environmental sustainability.

Forté sits amongst the highest concentration of green buildings in Australia and is the second apartment building in Australia to achieve the coveted 5 Star Green Star As-Built rating by the Green Building Council of Australia.
Related Article: Inside Forté: The World’s Tallest Timber Apartment Building
As Australia’s first Cross Laminated Timber building, Forté has set new benchmarks for innovation, sustainability and productivity.

Lend Lease’s Head of Timber Solutions, Andrew Nieland

said they spent over three years exploring Cross Laminated Timber from both a technical and commercial perspective for the award-winning development.

“Forté being awarded the Environmental Excellence award is acknowledgment that CLT offers a viable alternative to traditional construction options like concrete and steel, which are carbon intensive,” Mr Nieland said.

“It is a significant innovation for Australia’s construction industry and demonstrates how Lend Lease is leading the way.”

Mr Nieland said that Forté was designed and produced in a factory and was 30 per cent faster to build. The use of CLT was also safer, more precise, and reduced C02 equivalent emissions by more than 1,400 tonnes, when compared to steel and concrete.

“The equivalent of removing over 345 cars from our roads for a year,” Mr Nieland said.

Forté is not only good for the environment, its residents will experience CLTs better thermal performance, reducing their energy usage.

“Overall, the smart design elements in Forté reduce energy and water costs by around $300 per year or up to 25% less than a typical code-compliant apartment.”

“Forté shows a real appetite for a new sustainable way of living and working,” Mr Nieland said.