2026 site visit

CTEC Building Inspection

The James Cook University Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC) is a recently completed four-storey, 3,500m2 teaching and research facility located in Cairns North, adjacent to Cairns Hospital as part of the Dugurrdja Precinct — the Far North Queensland Health and Innovation Precinct.  CTEC is the first mass timber commercial building constructed outside south-east Queensland, featuring glued laminated beams and cross-laminated timber floor and wall panels. The building is targeting 5 Star Green Star certification, with its timber structure reducing embodied carbon by 60 per cent against a conventional equivalent.  For the purposes of this workshop, CTEC is of particular interest as a case study in moisture management under tropical construction conditions. The building’s timber structure introduces moisture sensitivity that demands deliberate design and monitoring — and the building is already instrumented to track performance in service.  The site inspection will be led by AIRAH members and engineers involved in the project and will focus on the HVAC design strategy, the moisture management approach, and the lessons learned through a design-and-construct procurement process in a hot-humid climate. Attendees will have the opportunity to examine the building’s systems in operation and discuss real-world performance against design intent.