The brand-new USC Moreton Bay campus has a very old feature at its heart – with the campus boardroom centrepiece built from wood recycled from the site.

Almost 100 pieces of recycled ironbark timber from the former Petrie Paper Mill that used to operate nearby have been transformed into a characteristic one-tonne table.

Head of USC Moreton Bay Professor Karen Becker said the table was a fitting monument to the deep history of the area, and the mill that used to process and recycle paper near to where the new campus has been built.

“This boardroom table is an impressive piece of design and workmanship,” Professor Becker said.

“It honours the history of Moreton Bay as we look towards an exciting future, with plans for this precinct to develop into a collaborative learning, research and innovation zone that will benefit industry across the region.”  

The table was designed by USC Architect Zeyad Elkojje and constructed by Narangba recycled timber specialists Kennedy’s Timber.

Mr Elkojje said a team of 15 was involved in sculpting the table.

“The table comprises four separate pieces, each weighing 240kg,” he said.

“Each piece had to be carried individually through the building where they were assembled together in The Boardroom. To support the weight, the table sits on six sets of purpose-made black powder-coated aluminium leg frames that were laser levelled to ensure that the top was true.”

The entire table measures 8.8m in length, 2.4m at its widest point and weights 960kg, almost a full tonne.

A YouTube video of the creation process is available here.