42 Honeysuckle Drive

42 Honeysuckle Drive is a mixed-use precinct which combines commercial office space with the Little National Hotel. The development became Newcastle’s first Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) commercial building, setting new environmental standards for the Newcastle market, with a 6 Star Greenstar rating. The project aims to bring commercial investment and boost the city’s economy.

Holmes provided fire engineering and structural fire engineering services for the commercial portion of the building. The structural fire engineering analysis involved determining whether the mass timber structure is sufficient to maintain stability in the event of a fire. We undertook advanced finite modelling to determine the damage to the CLT floor slabs and glulam timber beams throughout the building. Holmes justified the design and demonstrated the robustness of the timber building under fire exposure.

Our team also developed performance solutions to address several non-compliances in the building which included reduced FRL for the retail areas, rationalised zone smoke control, and undertaking CFD modelling to address rationalised stair pressurisation and travel distances within the carpark portions.

We also assessed the fire risk of the Little National Hotel’s external sky signage, designed with limited combustible materials. Holmes demonstrated that the signage poses minimal risk of contributing to fire spread.