UTAS Masters of Advanced Timber Fabrication and Manufacture

The School of Architecture and Design and the School of Engineering from The University of Tasmania are preparing a new Masters of Professional Engineering unit in timber design.

It’s being launched in recognition of the information and skills vacuum that exists in the engineering and architectural profession to cater for the increasing demand of prefabricated timber buildings.

In developing content for the course units, they have been working closely with industry partners in the software and equipment sectors to cover the most up-to-date timber construction approaches for design professionals, builders and the fabrication sector.

According to Gregory Nolan, Director, CSAW at University of Tasmania it will cover the broad gamut from the manufacture of materials, and the manufacture of wood products through to their end use in building.

“Most engineers and architects only have a passing understanding of what’s possible with timber prefabrication, and we’re splitting the course into different parts. Initially we’re dealing with the building as a design object where the building is conceived, and that design needs to be conceived in such a way it can then can be then converted into a prefabricated or offsite system. In effect, it’s having the architects and engineers understand the concept of what prefabrication is, its limits, and the opportunities it presents,” said Nolan.

The usage of BIM is also explored where an existing design is to be converted to a BIM model, and that model then has to be optimised for a range of particular outcomes. It further includes the ability to prefabricate, and additionally optimising systems approach the prefabricator wants to deploy.

For course information see: www.utas.edu.au/courses/master-of-professional-engineering-specialisation