The world’s tallest timber apartment building and the first Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) constructed building in Australia has earned a commendation in the Multi-Density Residential category at the 2014 Sustainability awards.

Forte by Lend Lease was one of two commendations awarded by the judges in the strong category, which was won by ‘The Commons’ by Breathe Architecture.

“As the world’s tallest timber apartment building and the first Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) constructed building in Australia, this project is a game changer,” said the judges about Forte.

“With a 5 Green Star as built rating and the apartments all sold and occupied in a very short time frame, it is evident the appetite for such an approach is high, and should encourage similar projects in the future.”

“This has the opportunity of reducing the embodied carbon of our building stock and as well as providing opportunities for a stronger Australian timber industry to develop.”

Forté challenges current building practices in Australia by delivering a product that is better for people’s health and the environment. As the first on-market 5 Star Green Star as-built residential building in the country, Forté’s 23 boutique apartments in Melbourne’s Victoria Harbour tower over 10 storeys.

Key Initiatives:

  • First residential building in Australia to achieve on-market 5 Star Green Star as-built rating
  • Fully sold and occupied
  • The building not only stores approximately 700 tonnes of carbon in its structure but a further 700 tonnes of carbon has been prevented from being emitted into the atmosphere had the building been created using concrete and steel– the equivalent of removing 345 cars from our roads
  • Further environmental benefits of CLT include improved thermal performance with the building averaging a 7-star thermal performance rating and reduced greenhouse gas emissions and noise during construction due to the prefabricated nature of the building and speed of construction
  • The construction of Forté proved CLT could be used in the Australian market and has unlocked a new, more sustainable form of construction for the broader industry. If 2% of Australia’s homes were constructed from CLT each year it would equate to 19,174 cars off the road for a year
  • CLT can be recycled at the end of its life. Furthermore, there is zero waste in the CLT production process – all off-cuts, wood shavings and sawdust are used as biomass pellets and these generate CHP for KLH factories
  • The shift to green technologies and materials, such as CLT, is paving the way for the future of sustainable development that will enable the concept of ‘green’ to go beyond buildings to how we create liveable, sustainable communities and cities

Click here for to see all the winners and commendations for 2014

All the finalists can be viewed in the video below: