Launceston Timber Tower

This new headquarters for health insurer St.LukesHealth will be a built manifestation of their vision for Tasmania to be the healthiest island in the world. The 5,500m² project will be the most sustainable and carbon positive office development in Tasmania, and the targeted 40% reduction in carbon will be one of the first Net Zero Carbon projects in Australia. The project accommodates office tenancies, end of trip facilities, a café, flexible commercial and community spaces, all critical elements of a contemporary work environment that is central to St.LukesHealth’s vision for a healthy community.

The proposal’s mass timber construction method targets the removal of 7,665 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere – the equivalent emissions of 2,141 cars driving 20,000km per year. In addition, a life cycle plan guides the timber configuration and details how the structure can be re-engineered and re-used at the end of the building’s useful life.

At an urban scale, a new high-rise in the city of Launceston gives opportunities specific to a city where the topographical setting means that key views to buildings in the valley are often looked down on when viewed from ridge conditions adjacent. Not only does the form and character of the roof of the building (the ‘fifth elevation’) need to be considered and understood in that context, but the relationship of the building massing as seen from above needs to be considered in that broader urban and topographical context. The building is capped by an outdoor room on the upper two levels complete with a Tasmanian native garden; a landscape in miniature that is experienced in conjunction with the wider Launceston landscape beyond.