Original Thinkers Podcast

Designing The Forest, the University of Tasmania’s flagship Hobart campus.

This stunning project in the centre of Hobart's CBD, includes a glass forest dome, with over 3,500 plants including mature trees and a disappearing tarn.  
Through the reuse of original materials and the use of low-carbon construction methods, including timber and carbon-negative Hempcrete, the Forest is Australia’s first carbon-neutral university campus.

"The university targeted a minimum carbon reduction of 30%, measured against a typical 'business as usual' benchmark building. For this project, The Forest, they achieved a bit more than 40%, and that was a driving factor behind almost all of the key decisions we made when designing."

When Daniel Hodge measures a tree, he’s not just collecting data; he’s part of a decades-long commitment to protecting some of the largest living organisms on the planet. As Senior Stewardship Advisor at Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) and manager of Tasmania’s Giant Tree Program, Daniel oversees the identification and protection of giant trees within the state’s production forests.

"People love big trees, and in Tasmania, we are very special in that we’ve got some of the largest trees in the world. So STT recognised that and has had a policy in place to protect these trees and make sure they stay within the Tasmanian forest. And we’ve had that policy for over 20 years now."

originalthinkers.com.au/daniel-hodge


Links & Show Notes:

• Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT)
• Forest Management
• STT’s Giant Tree Policy
• PTPZ – Permanent Timber Production Zone
• Regeneration Burns
• IPCC – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Forest Practices System
• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

When Dr Marie Yee arrived in Tasmania over two decades ago, she came with an ambition to contribute to biodiversity conservation through applied science, to make a positive impact from within the industry instead of hurling stones from the outside. 

“I realised they were very progressive, the people who put those practices in place were scientists who worked within the industry, within the regulator, like the Forest Practices Board and Authority at the time. And I thought, this is a really progressive place to work, and that's why I sought to get a job with Forestry Tasmania [now STT], after I finished my PhD.”

Today, as Senior Conservation Planner for Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) and ecologist, Marie's story offers a compelling scientific perspective on one of Tasmania's most debated industries, one that architects and timber specifiers need to understand when making material choices.

"In our forest, we do have a lot of threatened species in our managed landscape, and that's because biodiversity has come back into those areas."

originalthinkers.com.au/marie-yee


Links & Show Notes:

• STT – Sustainable Timber Tasmania
• Sustainable Forest Management
• Forest Succession
• Forest Practices System
• FPA – Forest Practices Authority
• IPCC – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
• Acoustic Monitoring Project
• Tasmanian Threatened Species List

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

Dean Sheen is the Fire Manager for Sustainable Timber Tasmania, one of Tasmania's three firefighting agencies responsible for fuel reduction burning, and regeneration burns within Tasmania's forests.

"We are mimicking nature. Eucalypt forests rely on fire to regenerate. If you see an area that's been burnt by wildfire, you'll see afterwards that the forest comes back. It regenerates. We know the land, we know our bush, we know how it works. We know fire. Managing these forests sustainably like we do, we return them to what they can be; a young, fresh, vibrant forest that has the best start in life."

originalthinkers.com.au/dean-sheehan


Links & Show Notes:

• STT – Sustainable Timber Tasmania
• Sustainable Forest Management, explained
• PTPZ – Permanent Timber Production Zone
• Regeneration Burns
• Tasmania's Forest Practices System
• Tasmania's Managed Forests
• Coordinated Smoke Management System
• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

Michael Lee is a technical expert in Tasmanian Timber. Mick, as he's known within the sector, has over 30 years experience in research, timber production, and systems. He works with builders, designers, and architects to create solutions that benefit the environment, the economy, and the community.

"The stadium build for instance, in Hobart, called for 40-metre roof beams. No one in Australia could make a 40-metre roof beam. Could we make two twenties? Of course. So it's just changing the ethos and getting the right engineering involved to change the design parameters to suit our products. There's nothing that can be done anywhere else in the world that we can't do here. We have the capability of producing it on island – so it's buy local, local supply. We have the product. There's nothing stopping us. There really isn't."

originalthinkers.com.au/michael-lee


Links & Show Notes:

• Tasmanian Timber Technical Helpline
• Fraser & Partners’ C6 – World’s Tallest Hybrid Timber Residential Tower (Dezeen)
• Cusp Building Solutions
• Terroir’s St Luke’s Timber Tower Project
• Timberlink Australia
• UTAS Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood (CSAW)
• TouchWood
• Article: Woodsmith
• Woodsmith Engineered Flooring

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

Gerard Reinmuth is a Director at Terroir Architects and the inaugural Professor of Practice in the School of Architecture at the University of Technology Sydney, and Philip Oldfield is Head of the Built Environment School in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture at the University of New South Wales.
They are both co-authors on a paper recently published in Sustainable Cities and Society, titled 'Towards net-zero embodied carbon: Investigating the potential for ambitious embodied carbon reductions in Australian office buildings'.

"From my perspective - I'm an educator and a researcher - the thing that keeps me awake at night, the research question I'm interested in, is how can we create buildings that are necessary for society? We know 3 billion people globally don't have access to adequate housing. United Nations say we need to build 96,000 new homes a day. How can we achieve that within planetary limits? How can we  achieve that without screwing the environment? And it's a paradox. How can we effectively double building stock while getting down to net-zero?"

originalthinkers.com.au/gerard-reinmuth-philip-oldfield


Links & Show Notes:

• Towards net-zero embodied carbon: Investigating the potential for ambitious embodied carbon reductions in Australian office buildings
• Philip Oldfield (UNSW)
• Philip Oldfield (IG)
• Gerard Reinmuth (UTS)
• Gerard Reinmuth (IG)
• Terroir
• Article: Launceston's mass timber building a glimpse into the built environment future
• [Related] Original Thinkers: Scott Balmforth (Terroir)
• [Related] Potsdam Institute: Buildings can become a global CO2 sink if made out of wood instead of cement and steel
• [Related] Original Thinkers: David Rowlinson (Planet Ark)

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

Paolo Aschieri is director at Theca Timber – a firm that is committed to transforming the way we build, by leveraging timber's natural strength and durability to build a low carbon sustainable future.

"Every single state, every single nation has a different appetite for timber. If you travel to the Scandinavian countries, their appetite for timber is just outstanding. It blows my mind when I go there, and I like it, I really like it. It's going beyond the technical capacities, or beyond the technical efficiency of timber versus steel. But if you've got the right reasons, why not? If it's worth it for sustainability, why not do it?"

originalthinkers.com.au/paolo-aschieri


Links & Show Notes:

• Theca Timber
• Rubner Group
• Sydney Fish Market by 3XN
• Nuoto Venezia | Piscine e Palestre del Centro a Mestre
• Upper House by ARIA
• Westhills Stadium
• Planet Ark - Wood: Nature Inspired Design
• The Eric Tweedale Stadium
• IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) Working Group III, Chapter 9: Forestry

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

Stephen Geason is Director at Cykel Architecture. Stephen has an expertise in designing for people living with dementia. He's a registered architect in Australia and a Churchill fellow, and was heavily involved with presentations for the Built Environment for the Understanding Dementia MOOC at the Wicking Dementia Center at the University of Tasmania. Stephen was the fireside architect for Korongee Dementia Village, a project that he managed from inception to completion.

"A colleague and a friend of mine came to us as a client, had a PhD in dementia care, was very well respected in it. And he would say to me, 'you architects Stephen, you tell a good story, but you don't deliver'. But his point was, as an architect, you've got the confidence you're designing, you're going to sell the idea. He was saying there was no substance behind what people were telling him were good for people with dementia. I kind of took the challenge on, you know, cups of coffee on the deck of the house that we designed and worked with him over many years was a part of this ongoing conversation around architecture, built environment, design for dementia care models; I took him to task and got him to assist me and we started to get really deeply involved in how it unfolded, and he was my referee for my Churchill Fellowship. So I got an interview; one of my interview panel says to me, 'Stephen, so how do you feel that one of your referees said that there is no architectural expertise in the design of dementia in Australia?' and I said, 'it looks like I'm sitting in the right seat, doesn't it?' "

originalthinkers.com.au/stephen-geason


Links & Show Notes:

• Cykel Architecture
• Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre - University of Tasmania
• Korongee Dementia Village
• UTAS Article: Korongee Dementia Village
• Hydrowood
• Churchill Fellowship
• Christopher Alexander - UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design
• Planet Ark - Wood: Nature Inspired Design
• Robert Morris-Nunn
• Corumbene Care by Cykel Architecture
• National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines
• The Dignity Environmental Assessment Tool (Dignity-EAT)

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

Tim McAllister has been a designer for 26 years based in Northern Ireland. He's the creative director of local agency Bennett and the designer behind the multi award-winning original Tasmanian Timber brand. Tim has extensive experience in developing brands for the built environment, from residential developments selling a lifestyle to commercial projects that require way finding and consistent brand application within.

"I remember just trying to get your head around it all and all the different species and the different aspects to the brand and all the products, and so it was really interesting to be involved in the industry and just to see the importance of it in Tasmania. So it's going back to finding out the purpose of it and where it's going to, and a big part of what Tasmanian Timber is, is the original aspect of it. And everything we do even seven years on, is all about that originality, 'cause that's what really makes it different. There's so much noise in the marketplace from all these imports that we thought, well, this is the product that was used in the shearing sheds, way back in the day, this is the Original, this is the one that's lasted. [It's the product that built our nation.] Yeah, it is. And so let's celebrate that."

originalthinkers.com.au/tim-mcallister

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber

The Agent: Nina Schubert is a real estate agent and the Director of Insitu Property. Insitu Property is a dynamic and innovative real estate agency dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and tailored property solutions. Focusing on property management and sales, Insitu Property leverages a deep understanding of local markets to deliver outstanding results for clients. Under Nina's leadership, the agency prides itself on its integrity, professionalism, and commitment to exceeding client expectations.

"If you just buy ticking those boxes but it doesn't feel good and you are the only buyer in the mix, is it a good buy? Because down the track you want to be able to sell it again. It's really interesting because investors will say, "I just want to buy brick and tile because it's going cost me less to maintain in the short term", but I genuinely believe that those homes with soul and with heart will always achieve a much better result down the track. So, I've bought both investments and homes for myself, and I always go with heart no matter what."

originalthinkers.com.au/nina-schubert


Links & Show Notes:

• Insitu Property
• Article: Lexus Showroom
• Timber Acoustics
• Selling Statistics: Carpet vs Floorboards
• Timber Species: Tasmanian Oak
• Edith Emery

Episode Sponsor:

• Tasmanian Timber