Advancing long span timber floor performance

Advancing long span timber floor performance

Friday 29 May 2026

The ARC Advance Timber Hub is delivering new insights to support the confident use of long span timber and hybrid floor systems in commercial and multi storey buildings.

Through its project Innovative Long Span Timber and Wood Based Hybrid Floors for Vibration Performance and Acoustic Compliance, the Hub is addressing one of the key challenges facing modern timber construction: ensuring floors are comfortable for occupants while meeting vibration and acoustic requirements, particularly as spans increase and structures become lighter.

Professor Hassan Karampour – Griffith University, alongside project PhD Candidate Adam Faircloth, convened a highly engaging and collaborative project team workshop at Northrop Consulting Engineers in Sydney on the 13th of May 2026 to share findings from an integrated program of laboratory testing, field measurements, occupant perception studies and industry engagement.

Key progress to date includes:

Testing of multiple long span timber and hybrid floor systems, including CLT, timber–concrete composite, timber–steel hybrids and lightweight joisted systems
Measurement of vibration and acoustic performance at different construction stages, from bare structure to fully fitted out and occupied buildings
Direct comparison of engineering metrics and human perception of vibration, informing future assessment approaches
Identification of practical, low risk design and retrofit strategies to improve floor performance without increasing structural mass

More >>

Source & image credit: Advance Timber Hub

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