Timber high rise Forté off to a quick, quiet start despite inclement weather

Timber high rise Forté off to a quick, quiet start despite inclement weather
Jonathan ChancellorJune 7, 2012

Wind and rain briefly caused mild disruption to construction, but the Forté project by Lend Lease in Melbourne’s Docklands is heading skywards rapidly – comparative to the norm.

Works only began last Saturday after the timber residential tower project was unveiled in late May. Construction is quieter than in more traditionally built developments.

It’s set to be a 10-storey timber building, the tallest of its kind in the world, in the Victoria Harbour precinct.

Known as Forté, the $11 million will be built at 807 Bourke Street.

It will be Australia’s first timber high-rise building. Set on an elevated concrete podium, the building will rise to 32 metres and will be built with prefabricated wooden panels made from cross-laminated timber and will feature 23 apartments.

Site work commenced in February with a targeted completion date of October – quicker than it takes to build some single-family houses.

{module Would you buy an apartment in a timber building?}

Property Observer photographer Alistair Walsh will undertake a photographic timeline study.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

Editor's Picks

Coronation Property Group breaks ground at new Chatswood apartment development
MAYD kicks off construction of ultra-luxury ONE Burleigh apartment development in Burleigh Heads
TOGA installs first tower crane at Macquarie Rise as construction gathers pace
Olympic infrastructure fuels residential boom in Maroochydore City Centre
Australian Federal Election 2025: How Labor and Liberal plan to fix the housing crisis