Raked ceilings help create light-filled interiors and refined building forms. However, when designs include large glazed openings, open-plan layouts and minimal wall lengths, conventional bracing often needs to rely on steel.

In response to requests from the design community, engineered timber specialists Prolam have introduced the Raking Portal — an engineered timber portal solution designed specifically for raked and mono-pitch ceilings, including lower pitch designs.

Putting contemporary design in the (portal) frame

“We were seeing more projects where architects wanted the openness and drama of raking ceilings with exposed timber, but traditional bracing has almost always required steel, with no sustainable alternatives,” says Burkley Woodman, Marketing Manager of Prolam.

“The Raking Portal was developed to support architectural intent as well as as engineering and thermal performance, giving designers a versatile structural timber solution that looks great while adding warmth and character to the space.”

Delivered via Specific Engineering Design (SED), each portal is engineered to suit project-specific spans and loads, including wind, snow and seismic forces, in accordance with the New Zealand Building Code.

Crafted from high-performance glulam, Prolam Raking Portals are available in visual and non-visual options, allowing designers to express the timber structure as an architectural feature or integrate it discreetly within the building envelope. Designs can also incorporate Prolam’s industry-leading glulam-steel hybrid PLX20 Beam and PLX Bracing Column.

Design parameters include clear spans up to 8 metres for residential projects and up to 20 metres for non-residential buildings.

From engineering to installation

Beyond structural performance and aesthetics, the Raking Portal simplifies the pathway from engineering through to manufacturing and supply.

Prolam’s in-house structural engineers support architects and designers with a project-specific portal design — delivering consent-ready documentation and a build-ready solution.

The Raking Portal is supplied through merchants as a Prolam glulam kitset, including sloping rafters, vertical columns, and the required timber-to-timber connections for framing members.

A sustainable structural alternative

Manufactured locally from sustainably grown New Zealand plantation timber, Prolam glulam offers a renewable structural material with lower embodied carbon than steel raking portals.

The Prolam Raking Portal represents a new generation of engineered timber bracing — with the beauty, performance, and buildability modern projects demand.