Dock Square Library and Community Centre

The building

The first public building in Australia to use Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) technology, Dock Square is the most modern public library and community centre situated in a spectacular setting at Docklands Victoria Australia. The Dock Square Library has set new environmental standards achieving a 5 Star Green Star rating under the Green Building Council of Australia.

Australian Timber Design Award 2014 Winner of the ‘Excellence in Timber Design – Public or Commercial Buildings’.

The approach

A holistic fire engineering risk approach was adopted to allow the extensive use of engineered timber technology in the form of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glulam structural beams and columns throughout the community library building. Occupant egress solutions were developed and assessed on a performance basis to accommodate the egress design particular to the unique nature of the occupancy. Extensive structural analyses and human movement simulations were used to demonstrate effective fire safety performance was achieved for occupants and fire fighters. The project was successfully delivered by the Scientific Fire Services team of engineers and construction was completed in 2014.