Join this free webinar exploring the design and delivery of one of Sydney’s most ambitious timber projects: The Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve.
Beneath the green expanse of Barangaroo Reserve, a raw concrete cavern has been transformed into one of Sydney's most ambitious cultural venues. At the heart of this $100 million fitout are 13 monumental sculptural timber trees: freeform glued laminated structures rising up to 17 metres, each assembled from as many as 115 precision-crafted timber pieces weighing between 7 kg and 950 kg.
In this webinar, Cassandra Halpin-Smyth of fjcstudio and Tyson Infanti of HESS TIMBER present The Cutaway as a case study in the design and delivery of complex timber architecture at civic scale. From early design vision through to fabrication, shipping and installation, the session explores how an architectural concept rooted in First Nations cultural expression and sustainability was realised through advanced timber engineering and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Cassandra discusses the project's inception and architectural vision, including how the design team drew on Connecting with Country principles in collaboration with Shannon Foster of Bangawarra and artist Jake Nash. She covers the design rationale for the curved, cave-like interiors referencing giba gunya (rock shelters) and the sculptural timber trees evoking the space beneath the Damun (Port Jackson Fig), along with the geometry, materiality and the process leading up to contractor engagement.
Tyson provides an overview of the timber structural design, material selections, 3D modelling and shop drawing development, and the key challenges encountered in design, fabrication and international shipping. He reflects on the lessons learnt in delivering a technically and aesthetically demanding freeform timber structure within the constraints of a complex below-ground site.
This session offers architects, engineers, builders and specifiers a detailed look at what it takes to deliver sculptural timber at scale: where design ambition, digital fabrication and cultural meaning converge in a landmark public building.