Hong Kong – Hines, a global real estate investment, development, and property manager, recently announced that the firm’s flagship T3 Collingwood development, the first Hines timber building in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, will reduce carbon emissions by 34 percent^[1] compared to standard concrete and steel construction.

Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific Ray Lawler said, “T3 Collingwood is a ground-breaking, sustainable evolution of old-fashioned office buildings. The timber we use is rapidly renewable, sustainably sourced, cleaner to construct and helps keep carbon out of the atmosphere.”

T3 (Timber, Transit, Technology) projects replace traditional structural systems like concrete and steel with prefabricated solid wood systems. T3 Collingwood will use 2,358 cubic metres of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) from XLam Australia and a further 874 cubic metres of Glue Laminated Timber (GLT) from Australian Sustainable Hardwood (ASH), both Victorian-based manufacturers.

Located at 36 Wellington Street, Melbourne, the 18,200-square-metre, 15-storey heavy timber creative office building is scheduled to be completed in 2024. It aims to be one of the country’s tallest all-timber office towers, the tallest of its kind in Melbourne, and will add to the Hines global portfolio of 26 T3 assets in various development stages in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Spain – the most of any real estate company.

Research^[2] shows employees in office environments with exposed timber have more positive associations with their workplace, higher levels of well-being and take less leave. Wood is correlated with higher levels of concentration, improved mood and personal productivity. Another distinct advantage of timber is faster and quieter construction. 

“Timber is not only 100 percent renewable, recyclable and non-toxic, it also has productivity and wellness benefits. T3 Collingwood will have state-of-the-art connectivity systems, with collaborative working spaces and wellness-inspired amenities," said Lawler.

"Collingwood was chosen to be our first T3 project in Asia Pacific because of its excellent transit connections and the local restaurant and shopping scene this area of Melbourne is famous for."

Hines developed the T3 concept in response to evolving tenant requirements and the firm’s ongoing dedication to sustainability, most recently emphasised by the firm’s target of reaching net-zero operational carbon in its building portfolio by 2040. 

^[1]The IFC (Issued For Construction) documentation indicates a 34 percent decrease in embodied carbon, as determined by the Green Star Design & As-Built Review methodology. This reduction pertains only to embodied carbon, and not to the carbon footprint over the entire lifecycle.

^[2]Sources: E Hamadyk et al 2020 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 410 012034); Pollinate, February 2018.