Keith Crews

WCTE 2025 Chair

The University of Queensland

Chairperson – WCTE 2025

Keith Crews is currently Professor & Director of the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment, hosted at the University of Queensland. He specialises in the research and design of large scale timber structures and is internationally recognised as an expert in the area of Sustainable Infrastructure – particularly in regard to bridge safety, structural assessment and timber engineering for non residential buildings and physical infrastructure. Keith has extensive experience initiating and managing large scale, multi-disciplinary research projects undertaken for Government and industry.

Keith is Director of the UQ Centre for Future Timber Structures, formerly on the ARC Future Timber Hub Board; and previously lead of University of Technology Sydney (UTS) External Engagement that managed multidisciplinary research teams addressing complex industry problems. Keith is currently CI on an ARC Linkage Project for an engineering-architecture collaboration on circular building design.

Keith’s proven experience at initiating and managing large scale, multi-disciplinary research projects for government and industry, including the $9.8m Structural Timber Innovation Company consortium that progressed timber engineering into Australian design guidelines and enabled the first construction of timber mid-rise buildings.

Keith’s internationally recognised expertise in timber engineering solutions has been instrumental in the development of National and ISO Standards for testing and design of structural timber products, with a strong national profile from engaging industry and policy makers on the benefits of innovative timber solutions.

Keith has published extensively, having authored over 350 papers and technical reports relating to the use, assessment, safety and reliability of bridge and timber structures and buildings – including co-authoring the Australian Timber Design Handbook. He is an Editor for the Construction and Building Materials Journal and has received numerous awards for his research, including being a recipient the RW Chapman Medal in 2004 and the IEAust Structural College Eminent Speaker award for 2009.

Related Websites
ARC Advance Timber Hub
Professor Keith Crews

Jodie Bricout

Circular Economy Lead, Aurecon and Board Member, Circular Australia

Aurecon

PRESENTATION TITLE:
The role of timber in a circular economy

PRESENTATION:
This presentation will explore the vital role of timber in a circular economy. It will address the latest policy developments surrounding sustainability and explore how the concept of a circular economy is changing the way we think about resource management.

The circular economy aims to design out waste from systems, retain assets, products, and materials at their highest value and regenerate nature to achieve long-term sustainability.

As a renewable, bio-based, low carbon material, timber plays a crucial role in achieving these objectives. But to be truly circular, innovation around modularity, manufacturing, assembly and disassembly, end of life solutions and more are required.

Through a series of case studies Jodie will highlight where timber is helping design out waste, retain assets longer, and regenerate nature – and where we need to go further.

This presentation aims to inspire and encourage further exploration of timber’s role in building a sustainable and circular future.

BIOGRAPHY:
Jodie is a globally recognised expert in the circular economy and life cycle thinking and is international design, engineering and advisory company Aurecon’s Circular Economy Leader.

She has a profound knowledge and experience working with partners ranging from leading corporates, emerging innovators to governments and academics in the circular economy field across Australia, Dubai and Europe.

As one of Australia’s leading circular economy experts, Jodie has trained hundreds of professionals and worked with governments and businesses big and small to develop circular economy projects and strategies.

Jodie is a board member of Circular Australia and member of the Cooperative Research Centres Advisory Committee, the Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Innovation Advisory Committee and the Australian Circular Economy Hub’s metrics working group.

Related Websites
Australia and New Zealand can benefit from Europe’s lead on circular economy
Boola Katitjin film produced by BBC StoryWorks
Circular Economy: Circular procurement in action
Expertise | Circular Economy: Powerful framework for achieving decarbonisation (aurecongroup.com)

Ralph Belperio

Major Projects Director

Aurecon

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Boola Katitjin, the award winning academic building with sustainability at its heart

PRESENTATION:
Boola Katitjin, Murdoch University is a multi-award-winning mass engineered timber building. It has demonstrated that designing for Country with circularity, collaboration, and innovation at the forefront results in outcomes that benefit both people and the planet.

Constructed from glulam and cross laminated timber, sourced from sustainable suppliers in Australia and Europe, Boola Katitjin provides an absolutely stunning architectural and engineering, educational environment. Boola Katitjin means ‘lots of learning’ in the local Noongar language, and there was certainly lots of learning during and in this amazing project.

Learn all about the design, fabrication, and construction of this stunning, innovative, biophilic-rich, sustainable timber building.

BIOGRAPHY:
In a career spanning 4 decades, Ralph is a recognised industry expert in the design and delivery of Mass Timber Structures.

Ralph leads Aurecon’s Timber Expertise capability, having worked with the timber industry across his long consulting career. He has carried out research in glue laminated timber reinforced with Carbon Fibre, Modular School Buildings and the Development of Applications for Robotics in Timber Construction.

Ralph is an Executive Board Member and Partner Investigator at the Advance Timber Hub, hosted at the University of Queensland, and is active in several of the research initiatives underway.

Related Websites
Australia and New Zealand can benefit from Europe’s lead on circular economy
Boola Katitijin in The Spaces that Shape UsMurdoch University • 1.3K views5:38 Pub Choir sings ‘Running Up That Hill’ (Kate Bush)Pub Choir • 343K views4:41 5 Minutes for the Next 50 Years – Mathhew McConaughey Motivational SpeechLife Advice • 3.2M views5:19 Life as an Aurecon Graduate: Charlotte
Circular Economy: Circular procurement in action
Expertise | Circular Economy: Powerful framework for achieving decarbonisation (aurecongroup.com)

Philipp Dietsch

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Can timber construction experience limits to growth?

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:
The provocative question “Can timber construction experience limits to growth?” is discussed from several perspectives. How do we manage to react sustainably to the increasing demand for wood products? Is it possible to reflect the future diversification of available wood species in timber construction? Can timber construction provide credible answers to new requirements in the design for reuse? Which innovations cater towards the objective of reversible timber connection systems? How can designers respond responsibly to the increasing size of mass timber buildings and thus timber components? How do we ensure the adequate training of a sufficient number of skilled workers for the design, manufacture and execution of timber structures? On these questions, personal suggestions for action are presented, hoping to spark discussion and interchange amongst WCTE participants.

BIOGRAPHY:
Philipp Dietsch studied Civil Engineering at TUM from 1999 – 2005. His studies were accompanied by an academic year at McGill University, Montreal and a scientific exchange to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

During his time as research associate at the Chair for Timber Structures and Building Construction, TUM, Munich, he focussed on the structural research on wide-span timber structures, e.g. robustness of systems. He contributed to the expertise on the Bad Reichenhall ice-arena collapse and was part of most activities at the chair related to the assessment, repair and reinforcement of existing timber structures.

After finalizing his PhD in 2012, Philipp Dietsch became Team Leader “Timber Structures” at his Alma Mater. In this position, he extended the R&D activities towards mass timber construction and the influence of wood moisture on structural timber elements. For his commitment to teaching, he was awarded the Teaching Excellence Prize by the Ministry of Science. After an appointment as Professor of Timber Engineering at the University of Innsbruck, Philipp Dietsch succeeded Prof. Blaß as Professor of Timber Engineering and Building Construction at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2021. He currently supervises a team of 14 scientists and 8 lab technicians.

Since 2019 Philipp Dietsch is Chairman of INTER (formerly CIB W-18). From 2014 – 2018, he was Chairman of COST Action FP1402 “Basis of Structural Timber Design -from research to standards”.

Related Website
KIT Holzbau und Baukonstruktion

Gerald Epp

President & Chief Engineer

StructureCraft

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Timber Awakening Worldwide

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:
Interest in the use of timber for construction has crescendoed worldwide, in the past 10 years particularly. Historically timber has always held its place, especially in areas where it grows naturally, and where a craft has been developed to harness its unique properties. But it has been somewhat limited in scope, whether that be vaulted roofs for homes and churches, covered bridges, or, more recently, in wood frame construction used so economically (but covered up) in many of our homes.

The current global surge in interest, with a wide variety of application, is a result of three distinct influences:

• Advances in technology, along with development of new mass timber products like CLT.
• An interest in promoting the use of sustainable materials, and the circular economy.
• An architectural interest in exposed structures, and the exploration of efficient timber and hybrid systems that are both economical and beautiful.

This keynote will explore these influences, along with examples to inspire the ongoing worldwide use of timber

Biography:
Gerald has 40+ years’ experience as a structural consultant working with all materials in projects ranging from residential and commercial structures to long span arenas and complex institutional buildings. Along the way his curiosity with the early entrepreneur engineers like Brunel and Eiffel led him to an interest in the “master-builder” concept, and how it could be used to leverage the surging interest in exposed structures. He founded StructureCraft in 1998 to realize this vision.

This began a journey for Gerald as he branched into a more experimental design-build approach to engineering, especially with the fascinating future that could be possible with timber and timber optimized with other materials. A large workshop appended to his engineering office has afforded numerous opportunities for interesting in-house experiments and structural testing, to the benefit of his projects and clients.

Gerald’s projects span three continents, and have won nearly 150 national and international engineering awards, including prestigious awards from the IStructE and IABSE. He is a Fellow of the IStructE, and was named an honorary member of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia in 2010. He serves on the technical committee for the Canadian CSA 086 Timber Design Code.

Related Website
StructureCraft

Guy Gardner

Founding Director

Gardner Vaughan Group

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Monterey, the Multi Storey Residential Challenge.

PRESENTATION:
Monterey is the tallest timber residential building in Australia. It must have the lowest carbon footprint of any residential tower. It ticks all the green, sustainability and ESG boxes. It has been built by a development and building company whose roots are embedded in the use of timber as the primary structural element. So, why did Monterey have so many challenges. Why is the use of timber in multi storey res not gaining momentum? Is there really a future for timber (CLT) in this exploding market? And, will the timber industry take up the challenge?

BIOGRAPHY:
As the founder of Gardner Vaughan Group, Guy has seen the company evolve well beyond anything that he could have imagined. GVG started as a structural engineering consultant, specialising in the design of long-span structural timber buildings (warehouses, churches, swimming pool enclosures).

Over the 32 year journey, GVG has grown into a residential high-rise development company that designs, builds, markets and manages all its projects. It is fitting that a cycle was completed with the completion of their 11 storey Monterey Kangaroo Point project, which is built out of Cross Laminated Timber.

Over GVG’s journey, they have acquired significant expertise in design, construction and marketing and now their focus is the management of our projects, and more importantly, our customer’s expectations and satisfaction

Related Website
Gardner Vaughan Group

Katharina Lehmann

CEO and Owner

Blumer Lehmann (Blumer-Lehmann Holding AG)

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Breaking the limits with timber technologies

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:
The combination of wood (timber), as a renewable raw material, with digital technologies, traditional craftsmanship and industrial production methods is generating excitement around the world. Architecture is currently seeing a trend toward free-formed, organic constructions. The possibilities for building such constructions are constantly evolving. New solutions and forms of collaboration are emerging during the design phase and in engineering, workflow and production. This has completely changed the approach to such complex construction projects, with a clear shift away from sequential workflows in favour of multiple parallel processes. Another noteworthy development in the construction industry is the upswing in modular construction. This is opening up many new possibilities, especially in situations where new spaces are needed quickly or where the architecture has to address changing living conditions in a flexible way.

Swiss company Blumer Lehmann focuses on this area of competing demands and is one of the world’s leading companies in modern timber construction. The company, which has subsidiaries in Germany,

Austria and Luxembourg, owes much of its success to the courage to take risks. After all, as a pioneer within the industry, relying on existing experience isn’t enough; you need to forge new paths yourself.

Katharina Lehmann, CEO and owner of Blumer Lehmann, provides a fascinating insight into the world of digital timber construction.

BIOGRAPHY:
Katharina Lehmann is the fifth generation to head up the family-owned company Blumer Lehmann as CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors.

At the age of 24, she took over the family business when her father had to step down for health reasons. She has now been at the helm of the company for 23 years, during which time it has grown significantly in terms of staff, sales and business activities.

The former sawmill has always been closely linked with timber and has grown continuously since it was founded in 1875. Blumer Lehmann now employs around 500 people at locations in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Luxembourg and is one of the leading companies in timber and silo construction as well as in the Swiss timber industry.

Katharina Lehmann is actively involved in the Swiss timber industry at a national level and is committed to the sustainable management of tropical forests.

Speaker Documents
Blumer Lehmann Brochure.pdf
Blumer Lehmann News 2023.pdf
Free Form Structures.pdf

Related Websites
Bluer Lehmann Tik Tok
Blumer Lehmann AG
Blumer Lehmann Fascination of Wood
Blumer Lehmann Instagram
Blumer Lehmann LinkedIn
Blumer Lehmann News & Media
Blumer Lehmann YouTube

Harry Mills

Campaign Manager

Built by Nature

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Built by Nature: Advancing Responsible Timber Construction

PRESENTATION:
Built by Nature is a not-for-profit organisation working to lead a global transformation of the built environment by accelerating the responsible use of timber and biobased materials for the benefit of climate, nature, and people. This session will share the organisation’s vision, key milestones, and evolving global strategy. It will introduce the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction, developed in collaboration with partners across policy, industry, and civil society, ahead of their launch at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The Principles provide a clear, ambitious, and actionable framework to build trust, align policy, and drive investment, supporting the future of both forests and cities. The session will also preview the 2025 Built by Nature Prize as a platform to demonstrate alignment with the Principles and invite endorsements from across the sector to help build momentum ahead of their launch at COP30. With a COP31 potentially taking place in Australia and the Pacific in 2026, the session offers a timely opportunity to consider how the region might help lead the global transition to nature-based construction.

BIOGRAPHY:
Harry is a designer and researcher focused on bio-based materials in the built environment, with a background in architecture, structural engineering, and forestry. He is the Campaign Manager at Built by Nature, leading the Built by Nature Prize and engagement around UNFCCC COP30. Prior to joining BbN, he was a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Natural Material Innovation, where he remains an affiliate lecturer. He also co-chairs the Bio-based Materials Working Group for the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.

Harry’s work explores timber building product supply chains, from plantations through to construction, and the policy settings that support a transition to bio-based materials. Originally from Australia, he has contributed to design research, applied projects, and policy engagement in Australia, Brazil, China, and the UK. He is a Fellow of the Gottstein Trust and Advance HE, and a member of the Economic North Chamber of the Forest Stewardship Council and the Royal Forestry Society.

Related Website
Built by Nature

Phillip Tondl

Group Manager ‑ Design & Innovation

Lipman

PRESENTATION TITLE:
The pursuit of Stewardship and Productivity.

PRESENTATION SUMMARY:
A review of engineered timber projects and adjacent innovative construction techniques, together with learnings and opportunities from a building contractor’s perspective

BIOGRAPHY:
Phillip is the Group Manager of Design and Innovation at Lipman.

For a long time, the once united disciplines of architecture and building have been parting, to the detriment of both. This is the context of Phil’s career. Detriment is evident in the quality and quantity of contemporary architectural production. Buildings aren’t made like they used to be, nor can they be.

We have an unprecedented challenge to steward resources responsibly. Materials, labour, and energy are scarce. Productivity has nosedived. The consequences of careless consumption are all around us. Yet the basic societal need for buildings is accelerating.

For the optimist, this is a moment of opportunity.

In his work, Phil wants builders and architects working shoulder to shoulder, united in their effort. Add to this collaboration manufacturers, and then the long list of design professionals that are necessary to getting anything built in our cities.

He expects the manufactured component of quality buildings will increase and he hopes this will be a measurable trend over this decade. He is committed to supporting this effort.

Phil believes quality must penetrate the skin to reach the structure and services of buildings because these components last the longest. He is less interest

These have become Phil’s convictions over the last 10 years, predominantly during his work at Lipman. Engagement with the manufacturing sector has been a cornerstone of this formation.

Key projects of this period include the Macquarie University Incubator (2017), Fern Bay Public School (2021), Ryde Secondary College (2023), Oran Park Public School (2023), and Gregory Hills Public School (2024).

Education is dominant in this experience because these clients have been amongst the first to intentionally ask for something different and better. This experience is transferable, and the opportunity in other sectors is becoming increasingly apparent.

Related Website
LIPMAN

Jan-Willem van de Kuilen

Prof

TU Munich / TU Delft

Karl-Heinz Weiss

Director & Key Consultant

Weiss Insights Pty Ltd

PRESENTATION TITLE:
Challenges are opportunities – Timber in a “modern world of c Keynote will focus on the conundrum of the need to improve productivity and efficiencies and the familiarity with the status quo.

BIOGRAPHY:
Karl-Heinz has a strong track record in delivering valuable insights into complex and ambitious problems as well as identifying opportunities to operationalise solutions at scale. He has a key commitment to the importance of building skills and capabilities across the sector and supporting pathways to the adoption of DfMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) and Modern Methods of Construction.

He has extensive knowledge and understanding of resources, processes, applications, assembly methodologies and in technologies and regulatory and certification frameworks to drive continuous improvement and provide zero or low impact.

This expertise has been gained through first-hand experience across the whole construction lifecycle from design, manufacture and traditional construction and development through to his pioneering work in engineered timber technology. This includes all aspects of design from feasibility to architectural and structural design, from customer interaction, all the way through to execution including manufacturing, logistics and site planning and completion.

Related Website
Weiss Insights