The mass timber structure is now complete at Mount Alvernia College’s new Library, an important milestone in creating a four-storey hub for learning, creativity and gathering at the heart of the campus.

The new timber levels sit lightly on the library’s original concrete frame, reducing the need for demolition and minimizing embodied carbon. Prefabrication helped limit disruption to daily school life while enabling a rapid construction. Most of the glue-laminated timber (GLT) and cross-laminated timber (CLT) will remain exposed in the finished building, giving the learning spaces and Lecture Theatre a warmth that reflects the College’s Franciscan values and connection to the natural world.

Realising a precise timber structure on an existing building has relied on close collaboration from the outset. Big thanks to Hutchinson Builders, Bligh Tanner, Savcon, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH), NeXTimber and BridgeFab for their care and commitment.

The project has also become a place of learning before its doors open. Through Hutchinson Builders’ Pathway to Construction program, Mount Alvernia College students visited the site in August to see their library taking shape and hear how design decisions move from drawings into the build.

Over the coming months, the building will begin to reveal its finished scale as scaffolding comes down, terracotta cladding begins, joinery is prototyped and work continues on the artist collaborations by Megan Cope + Kim Ah Sam that will be part of the library’s interior.

Thank you to Mount Alvernia College for their trust in the project. We’ll share more as the building nears completion.