Sustainable non-residential development model – A shift in material decision-making towards mass timber

Nguyen, Le Hong Thuy

Sustainable non-residential development model – A shift in material decision-making towards mass timber

Nguyen, Le Hong Thuy

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2025

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Nguyen, Le Hong Thuy
dc.date.accessioned	2026-04-10T04:42:57Z
dc.date.available	2026-04-10T04:42:57Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/194634
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	The construction industry accounts for 30 – 50% of raw material consumption and significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. While steel and reinforced concrete dominate non-residential construction, sustainable alternatives like timber are gaining interest. The production of engineered wood products (EWPs), also known as mass timber, requires less energy, emits less greenhouse gas emissions, and can generate bioenergy from offcuts, sawdust, and end-of-life waste, which offers substantial sustainability benefits. This study explores Australian construction practitioners' perceptions of mass timber in non-residential development. Semi-structured interviews indicate key benefits, obstacles, and strategies for broader adoption. Findings of the interviews are categorised into key performance indicators: cost, quality, and environmental performance, which are used to develop a sustainable non-residential development model. To validate the model, an actual concrete office design was compared with an alternative mass timber redesign. The results demonstrate that mass timber delivers comparable quality, costs, and energy efficiency, while considerably reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel depletion. Furthermore, demolition of mass timber structure requires less energy, equipment and labour, and results in less waste than concrete, which highlights mass timber’s potential for sustainable non-residential construction in Australia.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/194634/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2025 Le Hong Thuy Nguyen
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Sustainable non-residential development model – A shift in material decision-making towards mass timber	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

The construction industry accounts for 30 – 50% of raw material consumption and significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. While steel and reinforced concrete dominate non-residential construction, sustainable alternatives like timber are gaining interest. The production of engineered wood products (EWPs), also known as mass timber, requires less energy, emits less greenhouse gas emissions, and can generate bioenergy from offcuts, sawdust, and end-of-life waste, which offers substantial sustainability benefits. This study explores Australian construction practitioners' perceptions of mass timber in non-residential development. Semi-structured interviews indicate key benefits, obstacles, and strategies for broader adoption. Findings of the interviews are categorised into key performance indicators: cost, quality, and environmental performance, which are used to develop a sustainable non-residential development model. To validate the model, an actual concrete office design was compared with an alternative mass timber redesign. The results demonstrate that mass timber delivers comparable quality, costs, and energy efficiency, while considerably reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel depletion. Furthermore, demolition of mass timber structure requires less energy, equipment and labour, and results in less waste than concrete, which highlights mass timber’s potential for sustainable non-residential construction in Australia.

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