Brandon Park Primary School Gymnasium

Unlike Glulam, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) is made from peeled logs to make thin veneers which are glued under heat and pressure.   In this build LVL was used in an unconventional way to create horizontal truss members which was a first for Vicbeam.   When the laminated veneer lumber is placed horizontally it provides a width and depth profile vastly different from a conventional truss.

These LVL trusses were placed on their flat and designed to show no fixings from the underneath so all holes were counterbored and then plugged to show a seamless bottom chord. The steel connections were all set inside the truss by 20mm to highlight the timber and in the webbed connections, screwed dowels were installed to showcase the timber and no bolts are visible.

The trusses were built in 3 sections and then stitched together and loaded onto the truck. Delivering a full length of 24m out the gates was a logistical challenge requiring pilot cars and blocking a couple of roadways and going over some roundabouts, but the delivery went smoothly.

This project was built and delivered during the tricky COVID era which presented pressure with LVL supply and other difficulties. Vicbeam are immensely proud of the final product and look forward to the next ‘odd’ truss design.