Award Magazine Volume 2 Number 6

AWARD $14.95

Showcasing Excellence In Australian Construction

Volume 2 Number 6

Feature Projects: Sacred Heart Darwin Convention Centre The Inner Northern Busway Melbourne Fire Brigade University of Western Sydney University of Notre Dame

Cover image: University of Western Sydney Courtesy of John Gollings

Volume 2 Number 6 Publisher | Brandon Vigon 03 9600 4786 publisher@awardmagazine.com.au Advertising Sales | Ashley Mardesic, Mario Salvadori, Paul Milnes Editor | Mark Kenfield mark@awardmagazine.com.au Contributing Writers | Mark Kenfield, Olivia Walters, Emily Dane, Spiros Lambropoulos, Dan Stojanovich Professional Corners | Marcus MacLaren, Paul McLeod, George Xinos, Jim Doyle, Clarke Martin, Sarah Bachmann, Julia Lemercier, Romilly Madew, Jennifer Cunich Marketing | Alexandra Beggs, Matilde Ejlertsen Senior Designer | Annette Carlucci Designers | Ian Clarke, Aaron Walker Production Coordinator | Rachel Selbie

contents PROFESSIONAL CORNERS

06 Economic Trends The ‘AUSTRAILIAN MADE” Issue

08

Workplace Safety Corner Queensland Introduces New Building Fire Safety Regulations

14

Technology Corner Designing the Future for Structural Engineering

22

Accessibility Corner Automation and Technology for Access

24

Legal Corner Copyright Law in Australian Design and Construction

29 Worksafe Corner Spend a Buck to Save a lot More

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Award Magazine is published by:

MediaEdge Communications PTY Ltd. PO Box 21081 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne Vic 8011 T: 03 9600 4786 F: 03 9602 2598 www.mediaedge.net.au President | Kevin Brown Subscription Rates: Aud: 1 year, $49.95; 2 years, $79.95 Single Copy Sales: AUD: $14.95 New Zealand: $19.95 Reprints: For information on article reprints or reproductions, please contact the publisher at: publisher@awardmagazine.com.au Editorial suggestion/submission: Do you have a story idea, or would like to submit editorial for publishing consideration, please email: editorial@awardmagazine.com.au © Copyright 2009 Australia Post Publications Mail Pub. No. PP381712102392

Feature SUPPLEMENT

26

Cladding: A Wrap Up

28

Roofing: Australia's Leaking Roof

34

Commercial Insulation: Is Australia Finally Coming in From the Cold?

39

HVAC Systems: Air Leaks and Their Impact on Building Envelopes

Association Corner 57/58

National Precast Concrete Association Australia: Precast Providing New Solutions

Association of Consulting Engineers Australia: Looking For a Consulting Engineer?

Green Building Council of Australia: New Green Guide: Government Policy Supports Green Development

4 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

Property Council of Australia: Green ‘Bonanza’ Beckons for Victorian Economy

FEATURE PROJECT PROFILES

10

Sacred Heart: Sacred Arts

16 Darwin Convention Centre: Pearl of the Harbor

30 The Inner Northern Busway: Building Bus ways In Bustling Brisbane

36

Melbourne Fire Brigade: Burnley VIC

16

40 University of Western Sydney:

School of Medicine

46 University of Notre Dame:

Heritage Site in Darlinghurst

Feature PRODUCT SHOWCASE

40

50

Film Pacific Window Film

51

Cydonia Textural Glass Splashbacks & Wall Cladding

54/55

Danley Systems Cobiax速 void formers Bow-Tie速

52

Innovative Lights LED Technology

PPG PSX 700 Epoxy Polysiloxane

53

56

DTAC Tactile Ground Surface Indicators

editorial advisors and supporters

Award | 5

Economic trends

The “Australian Made” Issue Mark Kenfield

In light of the NSW’s government’s

recently announced decision for all of its departments and agencies to give preference to Australian-made products (in terms of things like uniforms, trains, cars etc.) it seems a particularly relevant time to consider the question of buying Australianmade and the impact and relevance of doing so in the current economic climate.

The economics are relatively simple. When people buy Australian, their money is injected directly into the local economy, which helps to fuel economic growth and generate greater business activity locally, creating a positive cycle of economic turnover.

The primary downside, from a more immediate business perspective, is the increased cost of buying Australian, due to the higher costs of manufacturing and servicing here.

The flip-side of the coin, buying overseas, offers its own set of variables; primarily, cheaper costs and a broader range of products to choose from.

However, particularly given the current economic climate (and outlook) it’s important to consider the follow-on effects this can have. Namely money going overseas that could have gone to Australian companies, this reduces business for these locals companies which in turn contributes to reducing overall economic growth locally, which can flow on to reduce business for the same companies who tried to increase their profits by buying from overseas in the first place.

It’s a simple case of spending a penny to save a pound.

Obviously the problem for local companies faced with the decision of whether or not to buy locally, is that it’s almost impossible to quantify these sorts of flow-on effects. This means that the only real data they have to compare is a cost comparison between buying the local product and buying the imported one. And if buying the imported one works out best for the company’s balance sheets, well then it generally becomes very difficult to argue the merits of the comparative Australian product, the bottom line comes first.

However, support for this sort of “buy local” culture certainly isn’t universal. "This is not the time for Australia to retreat to protectionism," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has already said regarding the NSW government’s decision. There is a disconcerting trend emerging in our local construction industry of builders purchasing copied Australian building products from China, charging their clients the equivalent (or close to it) cost of the Australian products and pocketing the difference.

It’s a touchy subject and obviously an issue that has been around for as long as foreign companies have offered competing products, but given some of the latest trends in our industry, namely the massive reductions in construction activity owing to the global financial crisis, and the current push towards sustainable design and construction, it remains an important subject to consider.

The notion of sustainability is also particularly interesting to examine in regards to this sort of behaviour. Because although the term commonly refers to things like the implementation of green energy and other sustainable building practices, it also refers to capacity of Australian buildings to be sustained and maintained into the future.

And this capacity for maintenance plays a massive part 6 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

in a building’s long-term sustainability; it’s not just the first owners who have to worry about a building’s long-term sustainability, but future owners as well. And in the end, when it comes to the installation of un-warrantied foreign components, it is the client who loses out.

They’re the ones who end up paying out big time when these components break or malfunction.

The biggest issue is, when these building components are purchased from overseas, who is accountable if things go wrong? The suppliers are generally too small to go after and because the components are from places like China, (and despite what suppliers might say) they have no real warranty. You’re very rarely going to be able to get someone from the manufacturer to come out from China to fix things. Warranties on these sorts of components are only covered under the Trade Practices Act, so international goods aren't covered. And in cases where these components relate to safety and compliance for buildings, they can actually delay the opening of buildings.

Financially it makes no sense to risk delaying construction activity, or even playing Russian roulette with safety issues by specifying and purchasing building products that in short term, seem to be more economical - unfortunately, people take them because it's cheaper and they can avoid statutory compliance.

We have to think about the end users in these matters, and the people who will inherent these buildings in the future, as well as the legal ramification they will run into. Building owners can’t just be expected to simply absorb the considerable costs of fixing or replacing cheaper, less-well-made products they find breaking down in their buildings. It’s just not a sustainable system.

Especially when these same components would be either repairable or replaceable under the sort of warranty that any Australian manufacturer would be required (by the trade practices act) to supply.

It’s also worth noting that the essential services requirements for commercial buildings require documentation for the installation and serviceability of all products used in the building. With an imported product the chances of having all of the required documentation are pretty small.

In the end, the only real winners from this sort of behaviour are the builders who are pocketing the savings. The clients are often paying just as much as they would for the Australian product, but are ending up with inferior building components (with iffy warranties and support). The local companies that design, supply and support these components are losing business. And in the end, by directing clients’ money overseas rather than directly back into the local economy, builders are indirectly hurting themselves by reducing the strength of Australia’s economy.

So why are we not holding suppliers to account? If the Australian construction industry genuinely wants to be sustainable, we must have accountability. Accountability for the prices client’s pay, and the quality of what they receive. After all, price is what you pay, value is what you end up with.

ANYWHERE, ANY PLACE, ANY TIME www.awardmagazine.com.au

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Workplace safety corner

Queensland Introduces New Building Fire Safety Regulations Marcus MacLaren Trimevac Emergency Management Services

must be included in the Emergency Procedures documentation.

Training There are three elements to Fire Safety Training that must be taught: 1. General Evacuation Instruction All employees must be provided with evacuation instructions annually, which must include the fire safety reference points specific to the building.

Training must include details of procedures on safe evacuation of building in the event of a fire or hazardous materials emergency.

Each person must be inducted within two days of starting in the building.

A new standard in Occupant

Fire Safety for the state of Queensland has been brought about by the introduction of the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008. The new Regulation supersedes the previous 1991 Regulation and has been developed by the Department of Emergency Services.

There are a number of crucial implications to the new Regulation that are important to know, they include: changes to evacuation signage, documentation for emergency procedures, increased training requirements, and the establishment of a Fire Safety Advisor (FSA) role for buildings and tenants employing more than 30 persons.

Small to medium enterprises (SME’s) will now be judged on a par with large enterprises and major consortiums and will be required to demonstrate full compliance with the Regulations. There will also be a ‘due diligence’ obligation placed on building site management to ensure that each of their tenants are meeting or working towards compliance with the Regulation.

There are four key areas to which changes have been made; evacuation diagrams, emergency procedures, training, and the appointment of Fire Safety Advisors: 8 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

Evacuation Diagrams Evacuation diagrams must show a ‘You are Here’ (YAH) indicator and the route from this indicator to available exits.

Tenants must install evacuation diagrams within the tenancy and not rely solely on the Base Building signage.

Evacuation diagrams must be orientated so that the building and plans are in the same alignment at the YAH points.

Evacuation diagrams must show the route to the designated assembly area from each exit.

Communication devices, manually operated fire alarms and fire fighting equipment must all be indicated on these diagrams.

Emergency Procedures Tenants are now required to ensure that their emergency procedures compliment the emergency procedures for the entire building.

Managing entities have to ensure that their emergency procedures make allowance for the evacuation of secondary occupiers.

Names, phone numbers and emails for the Fire Safety Advisor, Chief Warden, Warden Team and any consultant entity

2. ‘First Response’ Evacuation Instruction All employees must be provided with ‘first response’ instruction every 2 years, and new workers must be provided with it within one month of their starting date.

Training must include both instructions and demonstrations on the use of portable fire fighting equipment.

3. Evacuation Coordination Instruction All wardens must be trained in evacuation coordination annually, with new wardens to be trained one month prior to becoming a warden. Instructions are to be based around the correct implementation of the Emergency Procedures document.

Fire Safety Advisors Building occupiers must appoint a Fire Safety Advisor (FSA) for high occupancy buildings (where 30 or more persons are ordinarily employed).

This Fire Safety Advisor must have a qualification issued by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and complete an “approved building fire safety course.”

There is a phase-in period for FSAs; for existing buildings FSA’s will be compulsory from the 1st of July 2009, and for new buildings they will be compulsory from the latter of either one month from occupation or the 1st of July 2009.

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Project Profile

Sacred Heart Sacred Arts

By Mark Kenfield

A

Location: Somerton Park, SA Project Type: Educational Architect: Tridente Architects Builder: Romaldi Constructions

Images courtesy of Peter Fisher

10 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

Main: The coloured paneling system in cardinal purple offers a spiritual link to the adjacent chapel.

The versatile new performing arts centre at Adelaide’s Sacred Heart College is treading the boards to considerable acclaim, thanks to a blend of excellent acoustics and multi-functional floor space.

seating for around 300 people. And the second; a musical wing comprised of two music classrooms, seven music training rooms, a recording studio, and a reception area with an associated outdoor deck area for both entertaining and outdoor performances. The sheer flexibility of the Centre is what really makes it unique. It is enough to make “To be, or not to be” seem like a manageable question when you have such flexible floor space to work with.

The Brother Debourg Centre also ushers in the first real intrusion of a contemporary building to the senior school’s historically significant precinct.

Paul Boyce, Director of Tridente Architects, describes it as: “A bridging between the existing traditional building stock, the Centre rests comfortably within a grove of established trees in the manicured landscape. And in doing so the building establishes a new design language and palette for future developments to the south-eastern corner of the site and the entry into the college grounds.”

Another consideration for the design team was the fact that the Centre is visible from a major road. So keeping the design appropriate to the grounds was important. The splayed-wing design of the Centre faces into the campus, towards the driveway, and helps to draw people into its glazed glass entry and beyond.

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Environmental Considerations The key environmental considerations that accompanied the construction included the preservation of many of the existing and well-established trees on the grounds, which were incorporated into the landscaping of the Centre, as well as the introduction of a very large underground storm water storage tank. The Centre was also designed in conjunction with an arbourist to help ensure that its construction would not compromise the existing trees.

All storm water collected on site is stored in the large underground water tank for use in maintaining the landscaping around the new building.

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Conceptualisation & Design Designed by Tridente Architects in Adelaide, the Brother Debourg Centre is the first major project to be constructed after a master planning of the entire

senior school campus. The impetus behind the Centre’s development was, as Sacred Heart’s Principal, Dr. Paul Hine describes it: “to develop a modern facility capable of providing the sort of functionality necessary to further develop the school’s performing arts stream.”

To ensure that the Centre met those functional requirements, its design concept was subject to a very broad consultation. Long before any serious work on the Centre began, “there was a great deal of discussion between Sacred Heart’s teachers and the architects at Tridente” Dr. Hines says, “to critique the design concept through and through.”

This allowed the design team to determine more precisely the level of functionality that the Centre would require in order to best cater to all the relevant streams of the performing arts.

These consultations determined that the new Centre ought to be comprised of two wings. One; a multifunctional performance wing that included two integrated theatrically orientated classrooms and an auditorium with

Construction Constructed in the southeast corner of Sacred Heart College’s senior campus, with trees to its south and tennis courts to its north, the Brother Debourg Centre was built over a 15-month period.

One important element to the construction was the use of heavier, more industrial materials, such as the Rigidtex coloured stainless-steel panels, in place of the more traditional stocks found on the campus’s other buildings.

h

As any seasoned performer will tell you, the performance space matters.

Be it the acoustics to carry a voice or music to audiences’ ears at an intended volume and projection; the space and facilities to allow for focused rehearsals; the technical capacity to handle any sound, lighting or mechanical effects necessary; or even just the sort of ambiance in which a performer can feel comfortable presenting their work.

And it is a consideration that has clearly underlined both the design and construction of the new Brother Stephen Debourg Performing Arts Centre, a purposedesigned performing arts facility with incorporated teaching and entertaining facilities, located in Sacred Heart College’s existing Senior School in Somerton Park, west of Adelaide.

Award | 11

Project Profile: Sacred Heart fittings have also been utilised to cut energy consumption.

Due to the acoustic requirements of the performance spaces in the Centre, it was not possible to utilise any forms of passive ventilation in the building and a reverse cycle air-conditioning system has been adopted throughout, with windows generally sealed. To further control running costs and keep energy consumption under control, an economy cycle system has also been implemented to utilise unconditioned external air.

h

Final Outcome For any new building, in any old school, whether it be a new gym, auditorium or performing arts centre, the most important consideration is whether that building has the capacity to complement the rest of the school or not. In the case of the Brother Debourg Centre, it apparently does just that.

The multifunction performance wing of the Centre not only provides a new and improved venue for music and drama performances, but also offers the for S a c r ecapacity d H e a r t C o lto l e g be e P equickly r f o r m i n g Aconverted rts other uses, such as 2 0 parent 0 8 0 5 3 5 5 information 5 nights, audio-visual presentations and assemblies both big and small.

The Centre provides the sort of acoustic flexibility that can help performing arts students excel, because it allows a precision that few can match and an ambiance and environment that much closer to those students will find at university; making it ideal for preuniversity preparation.

As Sacred Heart Principal, Dr. Paul Hine summed up nicely: “The Brother Stephen Debourg Performing Arts Centre does a terrific job of providing the functionality required by the performing arts, but it also fulfills some of our broader needs as well. We have been delighted with the result.”

All of which makes it hardly surprising that the building won the Australian Institute of Architects, 2008 Award of Merit for Public Architecture [SA].

The building establishes a new design language and palette for development and defining the south-eastern corner of the site and the entry into the college grounds.

Illustration courtesy of Tridente Architects.

Construction of the performance wing of the Centre also involved the installation of Lotus manually operable walls to allow for separation between the auditorium and the classrooms in the performance wing. Comprised of large 7.5m tall panels, the Lotus walls form the backbone of the Centre’s flexible layout, and can easily be operated by just two people.

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Fitout/Interior Design The interior design of the Centre was also handled by Tridente Architects.

Who made considerable cost savings through the use of various construction materials and techniques more commonly employed in warehouse constructions.

This in turn allowed greater emphasis to be placed on the facilities and internal spaces of the Centre.

Tridente Director Paul Boyce, knows that achieving a balance between reverence and youthful enthusiasm in the interior design of a school environment is tough at the best of times, and even more so with areas like the Centre’s performance spaces, which are required to serve multiple purposes. “We found that the use of heavy duty materials, more in keeping with industrial or commercial spaces, lifted by rigorous detailing and subtle lighting effects creates an unexpected character in the performance spaces,” he says, “they reinforce the spiritual nature of the College and help achieve that equilibrium and harmony of design.”

And although the materials and detailing used in the fitout of the Centre are undoubtedly modern, the stained timber (Hoop Pine veneer-clad marine plywood coated in Ameron 880 NGR and Ameron 777S Supercat) and robust construction

(from Rigidtex Panels and Random Mintaro Slate) employed throughout the building imbue it with some of the character you would more commonly associate with traditional building stock.

Which is also helpful in that it keeps the new building from appearing too out of place when compared to the rest of the senior campus.

Tridente also referenced the adjacent chapel in their handling of the Centre’s fitout. “A cardinal purple coloured panelling system offers more than just a tenuous link to the adjacent chapel,” says Director Paul Boyce, “it imbues the internal spaces and the cloister with a subtle lilac glow to further reinforce the spiritual and reverential ambience of the performance space.”

Mario Caporaletti, formerly of Caporaletti Consulting, handled the lighting fixtures and air-conditioning design for the Centre. To help reduce energy consumption, wherever possible the use of natural sunlight has been maximised by the use of large sections of glazing, predominately orientated to the south. And elsewhere in the building, compact fluorescent and T5 fluorescent Illustration courtesy of Tridente Architects.

elevation

I east

elevation

I west

12 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects Sacred Heart College Performing Arts 2008053555

Sacred heart project directory Architect

Tridente Architects

Contact: Paul Boyce 203 Melbourne Street North Adelaide, SA 5006 P: 08 8267 3922 F: 08 8267 4946 www.tridente.com.au

As the first major project to be implemented after Tridente Architects master planned the entire senior school campus, the Brother Stephen Debourg Performing Arts Centre at Sacred Heart College demonstrates the schools’ focus and a return to its core philosophy of being a teaching institution of its time, maintaining the provision of services par excellence. Reinforcing the fledgling performing arts stream, the new facility signifies this change by the intervention of a contemporary building into a historically significant precinct and prominent location on the grounds.

Tridente Architects has ensured that the building establishes a new design language and palette for development within the college whilst defining the south-eastern corner of the site and the entry into the grounds. We have procured a facility that provides varied teaching, performance and entertainment opportunities due to the adaptable and multi-functional spaces. It clearly provides the flexibility and neutral background necessary to foster the performing arts.

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Award | 13

Technology corner

Designing the Future for Structural Engineering Paul McLeod Pacific Computing

Since mid 2007, Perth-based

Cardno Buckland has been using 3D modelling software for the design and conception of several of their engineering projects. The company chose 3D modelling in order to support the movement of Australian mining and commercial industries towards using BIM (Building Information Modelling) and 3D models for final delivery.

“We’ve used Tekla Structures BIM software in approximately fifteen projects since mid 2007,” says Daniel Hadfield, chief drafter at Cardno Buckland in Perth. “These include both small projects, which were modifications to existing structures, as well as large commercial projects, such as a shopping centre where we combined concrete and steelwork into one 3D model.”

Cardno Buckland has also used the software for feasibility studies of both small and large processing plants for marine and offshore and mining. With designs that have included both steel and concrete, and ranged from projects requiring 20 tonnes of steel to ones 14 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

requiring 800 tonnes of steel and 1400 tonnes of concrete.

“The main reason we chose to move to 3D modelling was to enable us to clash check designs with equipment and also to check structure access,” Hadfield continues. “We decided to use 3D models because the mining and commercial industries in Western Australia are moving towards BIM and 3D models as final delivery.”

Hadfield estimates that using BIM software saves his company approximately 20% of their project drafting budgets. “This varies with the level of experience the drafters have using the software, and also with structural design. At best we have saved 20%, at worst we’ve broken even,” he says.

“Our original ratio of design engineers to design drafters was between 1:1 and 1:1.5. Since using BIM software, we have found that we need less drafters for every design engineer, so that the ratio is now reversed, and we have 1.5 to 2 design engineers for every drafter.

The efficiency achieved by using the software has reduced our demand for

drafting resources by 50%.” Hadfield also estimates that incorporating the software has seen productivity increase by up to 20%, and efficiency and accuracy increase by approximately 50%. “Accuracy is the biggest improvement in that we now pick up on design errors and clashes earlier, saving time and money down the track.” He adds. “The biggest sign of this increase is in the number of requests for information we receive on projects, which is down by a factor of 10.”

One of these projects was a semimobile crushing plant study. For which the biggest challenge was designing a stable structure that could be split into transportable modules while still remaining accessible. “Being able to accurately model equipment within the structure enabled us to maintain the access requirements,” explains Hadfield.

“We were also able to design inside the transportation limitations by creating models showing the modules in the transport configuration. Having a 3D model enabled us to provide isometric views and images of the structure, enabling our client to better express the modular concept of the design.”

“Our more recent projects have supported the BIM way of working by being able to communicate the entire design in the model, something which is not always easy to communicate via 2D drawings.” Says Hadfield. The other major benefit Cardno Buckland have had with 3D modelling comes in the form of communication, “We have had better results communicating both internally and with our clients thanks to using 3D models; be they Tekla Web viewer models, 3D PDFs, or just a model dumped into AutoCAD or Microstation.” Concepts are much easier to explain using a 3D pictures than they are with 2D projections, and in Cardno Buckland’s case they are now able to use the 3D models/pictures in marketing their services (as they don’t always have access to the final product to obtain photos).

“Ultimately, all of our 3D BIM projects have been successful in project delivery,” Hadfield concludes, “whether it was delivering ahead of schedule, under budget, or with a higher quality result in terms of fewer clashes and fewer queries from detailing and construction.”

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Project Profile

Pearl Of The Harbour: The Darwin Convention Centre

By Olivia Walters

A

Location: Darwin, NT Project Type: Commercial Architect: Hassell & Crawford architects Developer: Sitzler Laing O’Rouke JV

Images courtesy of 3DA

Like a precious mussel just washed on shore, the new Darwin Convention centre realises the ceaseless dream of finding that special pearl that will keep you coming back to the seaside again and again.

Image courtesy of Brett Boardman

Main: A glimpse within: The DCC’s state-of-the-art auditorium Middle: Ground Level foyer of The DCC Bottom: Illuminated exterior wall 16 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

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Conceptualisation In recognition of the opportunities the development would provide, the government made its decision, designating the waterfront area of Darwin as the site on which the development would be located. The area, also known as Darwin Cove, provided sufficient space for future expansions, and offered a picturesque

waterfront, thus making it incredibly marketable to national and overseas tourists. Moreover, due to its location as part of the CBD- it would support trade and neighboring businesses.

The waterside location also allowed for the foreshore to be accessible to the public, whilst offering visitor and local amenities. The government partnered with the ABN Amro-lead Darwin Cove Consortium, which communicated an innovate plan in its proposal including a respectable mix of private and public components, as well as the goal of establishing the convention centre as the focal point for the waterside destination.

With the predominate mandate for the project as a draw card for business travellers and tourists, the DCC has been designed to accommodate anywhere from 10 to 4000 delegates attending exhibition, convention and public assembly functions over two levels. The total floor space of 22,900 sqm includes a basement car park and plant rooms.

The initial design concept stems from a series of drawings created by Stacey Johns of Crawford Architects, these

depicted the shells of mussels, inspired by the idea of Darwin’s indigenous population consuming the flesh and returning the shells to the nearby sea.

Pre-construction Positioned on what used to be mud flats, the DCC required dredging of the mud in order for the landfill pad to be poured. Because the construction process could only commence once the pad was poured, an Ecological Risk Assessment was carried out to ensure the dredging process was carefully managed. In order to avoid any contamination entered the water column, researchers at the Charles Darwin University made regular assessments on the water quality, reinstating that no contaminants were present. Damian Murphy, Associate at Aurecon, was responsible for the implementation of the landfill pad, and admitted that due to its geographical situation, an entire analysis of wave studies and rising sea-levels was required before construction commenced.

In response to Darwin’s potential for natural disasters, it was also crucial

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In 2003, in an attempt to help boost its economy, the Northern Territory Government commissioned a report proving that the exhibition and convention industry was a booming sector. This report suggested the provision of an integrated facility that would allow for Darwin to become a key destination point on the convention and exhibition map, attracting visitors both national and international to the capital city.

Designed by Hassell in conjunction with Crawford Architects, the recently erected Darwin Convention Centre (DCC), which began operational activity mid 2008, is the lynchpin for the $1.1 Billion Darwin Cove Redevelopment project and resides on 25 hectares of aboriginal tribal land held by the Larrakia people.

Award | 17

Project Profile: Darwin Convention centre

h

Interior Fit-Out It was imperative that the centre’s floor space design provides for two distinct types of functions; conventions and exhibitions. In order to maximise the available space, the team at Hassell adopted a shed-like approach; subdividing the space into four main compartments with the capacity to combine them into a single large space. The interior adopted “a clean approach with clean lines and a clear understanding of the space,” explains Hassell Senior Associate Nesa Marojevic, adding that it was also important for the convention centre to be fitted with robust and durable fittings to ensure that “nothing was too intricate or delicate to replace”.

One design challenge during the interior design process occurred in the selection process for the flooring component of the DCC. Responsible for large volumes of traffic, it was essential the flooring material selected be resilient and also catered to the aesthetic needs of the design. After careful consideration, including the allocated budget, the team at Hassell concluded terrazzo as the material of choice. However, due to Darwin’s modest population of 100,000 inhabitants, it was ascertained that while terrazzo was a suitable choice, Darwin could not produce the skilled labour required to install the terrazzo flooring. It was suggested that the project acquire the necessary skilled

h

Construction Initially, the steel fabrication contract component for the DCC was deemed by many to be too large of a project as a local opportunity for Darwin. In attempt to ensure the local skills and labour were maximised, Onesteel Darwin “moved quickly to engage the project managers and local fabricators”, states Anthony Cox of Onesteel Steel & Tube. In light of the success of their efforts, Sitzler/ Barclay Mowlem JV awarded the 1100TN steel fabrication contract to local business M & J Welding.

“Onesteel weren’t only involved in the supply of processed structural steel to the project”, adds Anthony Cox explaining that in order to cater to the air conditioning ducting and Victualic piping system “approximately 10 000m of gal sheeting” was supplied to local business MEC Services who were responsible for the installation of the systems.

Robert Callisto, Associate Director of Bestec and consulting electrical engineer for the project, described that “while the construction process was one of smooth succession, because of its design and construct nature, it was imperative to keep abreast of the changes being made and ensuring we had the right resources to provide electrical contractors, Nilsen, with the updated changes”.

Environmentally Sustainable Design The DCC project demonstrates an array of green initiatives and a commitment to improving its performance environmentally. The integrative design incorporates a range of design elements, including large eaves and positioning that minimises its solar radiation absorption and reduces its

air-conditioning consumption by 15%.

Maintaining its commitment to sustainability, a stringent selection process was implemented in the selection of building fabric and materials, which encompassed the use of low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paints and adhesives, embodied energy, plantation timbers, energy efficient star rating appliances, the provision of recycling material and the use of PVC alternatives in conduits and piping to reduce PVC usage on the project. The DCC incorporated recycled materials into over 70% of its pipe work, reinforcing it against breakage that could ultimately lead to soil contamination.

ESD initiatives at the DCC also include a siphonic roof drainage system and the 50% of the water it collects is returned to the environment, replenishing the centre’s man-made lagoon. The centre also features a highly efficient gas-boosted hot water generation plant which reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Inside the centre, the installation of reduced capacity size dual flush cisterns, urinals and flow control taps reduces water usage by 25%.

18 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

labour from Brisbane, but this proved too costly to coincide with the allocated budget. The construction team at Sitzler Lainge O’Rourke Joint Venture then proposed the use of granite instead, which supported the aesthetic, durability and cost requirements of the flooring, a solution that was welcomed by the team at Hassell.

Conclusion Since its completion, the centre has received several major awards including: • 2009 Australian Institute of Architects (NT) Awards – The Tracy Memorial Award • 2009 Australian Institute of Architects (NT) Awards – The Reverend John Flynn Award for Public Architecture • 2009 Australian Institute of Architects (NT) Awards – Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture • 2008 Master Builders Association National Excellence in Construction Awards – Public Buildings Award – over $50m • 2008 Territory Construction Association Excellence in Building & Construction Awards – President’s Award • 2008 Territory Construction Association Excellence in Building & Construction Awards – Joint Winner – Commercial Construction Over $10m • 2008 Territory Construction Association Excellence in Building & Construction Awards – Winner – Electrical Contracting • 2008 Territory Construction Association Excellence in Building & Construction Awards – Winner – Metal Roofing & Walling Contractor of the Year • Master Builders Association National Building and Construction Awards: 2008 National Excellence Award for Public Buildings over $50M • 2008 Engineering Awards: Joint Winner Structural, Civil, Fire and Mechanical • 2008 Territory Construction Association Building and Construction Excellence Awards: - Winner of the President’s Award - Joint Winner in Commercials Construction over $10M - Outstanding project in all categories

h

that all elements of resistance to natural disaster situations were analysed.

Senior Associate at Hassell, Mr. Nesa Marojevic, construed that “the most challenging aspect to the design stage was the thorough understanding of Darwin’s volatile weather and ensuring the project was structurally cyclone resistant.” Mr. Marojevic also highlighted, that “because of its geographical location, the project was also susceptible to water surges, which have the potential to occur once every 50 years”. For this purpose, the team at Hassell developed an intelligent drainage system that can prevent the DCC from being uprooted in the event of a water surge. The drainage system, integrated into the basement of the project, ensures that no catastrophic damage will be caused to the structure of the building, aside from water damage caused by flooding.

Touted as the “Jewel of the Crown”, the centre’s environmentally sustainable design demonstrates flexibility and functionality whilst protecting its structural integrity.

Created as a solution to boost Darwin’s tourism industry, the multi award winning design marks a new chapter for Darwin’s economy, repositioning itself on the tourism map.

Darwin Convention Centre project directory Architect

HASSELL

Contact: Mark Coventry Level 5, 70 Hindmarsh Square Adelaide, SA 5000 P: 08 2205000 F: 08 203 5200 www.hassell.com.au

The Darwin Waterfront project is a visionary initiative by the Northern Territory Government to convert a former industrial site into a new urban focus for Darwin. The HASSELL master plan, comprises of a mix of residential, business, tourism and recreation facilities.

HASSELL, in association with Crawford Architects, was also commissioned to design the jewel in the crown of the development, the Darwin Convention Centre, providing world-class exhibition, conference and function facilities for 10 to 4700 guests.

The Australian Institute of Architects 2009 Awards citation included, “a masterful piece of public architecture and a proud addition to the Darwin Waterfront”. The project comprises a 1500 seat auditorium, multi-purpose meeting and function rooms, 4,000 sqm of exhibition space, 12,000 cubic metres of concrete, 1,200 tonnes of structural steel, 55,000 concrete blocks, 80,000 tiles covering 3,000 sqm of floors and walls, 320 glass panels for the western façade and 4,200 litres of paint.

3d Artist Impression

Commercial Air Conditioning

Steel Distribution

3DA 3D Visualization & animation

AE Smith

OneSteel & Tube

Contact: Alex Gunawan

21-29 Miles Street

Contact: Anthony Cox

13 Godwin St.

Mulgrave VIC 3170

PO Box 279

Bexley, NSW 2207

P: 03 9271 1999

Port Adelaide, SA 5015 P: 08 8300 3322

P: 02 9556 1430 F: 02 9660 1191

Electrical Services Engineer

F: 08 8300 3366

www.3da.net.au

Bestec

www.onesteel.com

During the early stage of construction of Darwin Convention Centre, 3DA is approached by the project architect Hassell to provide an accurate 3d modelling and several 3d artist impression renderings for the interior of the foyers and main plenary hall. All materials are scanned and photographed, then applied as a texture to a 3d model to give an accurate representation of the finished project.

144 Gawler Place

3DA also assists in creating sectional cutout illustration, coloured floorplans and axonometric drawings for DCC marketing purposes.

Suite 1, 25 Randall St

Adelaide, SA 5000

Structural Engineer

P: 08 8232 4442

Aurecon

F: 08 8232 4244

116 Military Road Sydney (Neutral Bay), NSW 2089

Furniture Fittings & Equipment (FF&E) Consultant

P: 02 9465 5599 F: 02 9465 5598

RGC Consulting Pty Ltd Springwood, QLD 4127 P: 07 3208 2846 F: 07 3208 1212

Supply & Erection of Steel

Images courtesy of 3DA

M & J Welding Contact: Nick Dunne PO Box 2638 Darwin, NT 0801 P: 08 8932 2641 F: 08 8932 3829 M&J Welding and Engineering was established in Darwin in 1976. The company has completed many projects for commercial and domestic applications since it was established.

M&J has CAL accreditation in the NT and specializes in the supply, fabrication and erection of structural steel for sheds and buildings M&J won the contract to supply Sitzler Laing ORourke Joint Venture with the structural steel for the Darwin Convention Centre.

Rendering: Images reflects internal exhibition space.

20 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

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Accessibility Corner

Automation and Technology for Access George Xinos Access Consultant/Occupational Therapist Blythe-Sanderson Group

Many buildings, such as

shopping centres and libraries currently provide automation and technologies to allow ease of use for their occupants. The volume of people requiring access to such buildings is often cited as a reason for this; however other benefits associated with this type of technology are often overlooked, such as the ease of access they provide to people with mobility issues. There are many technologies that are readily available and can facilitate safe access to, from and within buildings.

Commercial and Public Buildings Door Automation Australian standards such as 1428 (Design for access and mobility) Part 1 – 2001 (General requirements for access-New building work) and Part 2 - 1992 (Enhanced and additional requirements – Building and facilities housing) provide explicit requirements with regard to circulation spaces and operating forces required to access and operate manual doors. Design difficulties and external forces such as wind can often lead to many of these requirements becoming problematic for the design team. And even more problematic is complying with the requirements in older existing buildings that predate these standards.

However the standards exempt the need for circulation spaces and operating strengths to be provided in buildings where the doors are automated. This could suggest that even a technology with such wide-ranging exposure as automated doors, might still be underutilised at present.

Hearing Augmentation People with hearing impairment needs have long been ignored in building design and construction.

The implications of such an oversight are potentially severe. Emergency Warning Information Systems (EWIS) and the information provided during evacuations are generally audible, which poses a significant risk to peo22 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

ple with severe hearing impairment or deafness in terms of detecting announcements and sirens. Visual alerts such as flashing lights, screens or monitors, as well as portable tactile alerting systems (vibrating units) are appropriate and available technologies that can augment a standard EWIS. Furthermore, people with hearing impairments can often experience significant difficulties with communication wherever information needs to be exchanged within a building.

Hearing augmentation listening systems allow people with hearing aids to directly amplify audible information as required; such as emergency warnings and announcements as well as information across a counter.

These can be provided either as a ‘loop’ (a coil of wire which generates a magnetic field in the acoustic bandwidth) installed within a larger space such as an assembly hall, or smaller more strategic options; such as portable radio wave or infrared systems, or small ‘loops’ which can be installed at strategic points such as counters and information desks.

An Australian Standard outlining this type of technology is currently in draft form and is soon to be released - 1428 (Design for access and mobility) Part 5 – 2001 (Communication for people who are deaf or hearing impaired).

Steps and Risers Changes in levels often occur within existing buildings. The spatial

requirements of incorporating a ramp can often present difficulties in providing access to elevated areas to people who experience difficulties with mobility. Vertical platform lifts have often been used in these instances. These are currently not referenced in the Building Code of Australia (BCA), however an Access to Premises Standard, which will effectively replace part D3 of the BCA (Access for People with Disabilities) is hotly anticipated. The draft form of this standard does reference these types of lifts, which will see these used more freely in future. Currently, building certifiers generally require an expert in the field to endorse the incorporation of such lifts. This set of circumstances has meant that they are often overlooked.

Health, Aged Care and Supported Accommodation More recent innovations in technology have also seen the inclusion of ‘monitoring’, where an occupant’s activities can be monitored by a series of sensors (not cameras or microphones) to discretely ensure that the person is active and not in need of attention. These include; sensors in beds to alert someone remotely if a person has not left their bed on a particular morning; and motion detectors and sensors associated with use of household appliances, that can report whether a person has been completing the necessary activities of daily living (e.g. cooking, showering, etc).

These are only a few examples of some of the many technologies available to assist in accessing building environments. And with more appearing on the market daily (e.g. advances in audible signage and GPS technologies to assist people with vision impairments with navigation and orientation); designers, developers and builders need to be innovative in their incorporation of these devices into their projects, as their amenity often far outweighs their costs.

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Legal Corner

Copyright Law In Australian Design And Construction Jim Doyle Doyles Construction Lawyers

Copyright

law

creates

incentives for people to invest their time, talent and other resources in creating new materials, particularly cultural and educational materials.

In Australia, copyright law is set out in the Copyright Act 1968 (CTH).

Architectural work falls under the category of artistic works. This means that an architect’s work will be protected if it is original, which simply means that it is not a mere copy of something else.

In Australia you do not need to apply for a copyright, there is no system of registration. Until the 1 January 2005 copyright generally lasted for the life of the relevant creator plus 50 years.

However, under the free trade agreement with the United States, Australia has agreed to extend the general duration of copyright. As a result, the rules are now that copyright generally lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years.

On a global scale, copyright regulations vary from country to country and it is important to ensure that you have the relevant information if your designs or plans are to be produced overseas.

The general rule under the act is that the first owner of the copyright is the creator of the work. The owner of a copyright has the exclusive rights to: • Reproduce the work • Make the work public for the first time • Communicate the work to the public Individual creators also have a set of rights called ‘moral rights’, regardless of whether or not they own copyright.

These are the rights to: • Be attributed as the creator of their work • Take action if their work is falsely attributed as being someone else’s work or is altered by someone else but attributed as if it were unaltered • Take action if their work is distorted or treated in a way that is prejudicial to their honour or reputation.

This was to be tested by world renowned architect Harry Seidler in the federal court in 2003, when the Pig ‘n’ Whistle, a faux-English pub, took over a failing tenancy in the ground floor of Seidler’s Riverside Centre in Brisbane, and made some minor external improve24 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

ments, including; a glass fence, canopy extensions and bucolic trumpet playing pig. Seidler regarded these as offensive to the building’s geometry, he considered the signage particularly vulgar and took the matter to court. However, the legislation only requires the architect to be notified of an intended change, with no obligation whatsoever to accommodate or comply with their wishes. The case was settled out of court, and the settlement remains undisclosed.

An architect subject to the contract between himself and his client retains copyright on the work he is commissioned to produce. The drawings and documentation may only be used for the purposes of the site for which they were produced.

Money makes copyright in property development and architectural plans a common legal issue. The law is that without a client/architect agreement that states in writing the architect’s right to withdraw a license to use their plans

(an express license), the client has an implied license to use the plans (for the site they were originally intended), and that implied license is transferable to subsequent owners and not revocable by the architect, regardless of whether the architect had been paid.

The other important fact in this matter was identified by Kirby J and Crennan JJ, and stated that; “It is important to observe that there are no conditions imposed restricting the development consent to the applicant, the owners of the land, or the effect that the development consent did not run with the land.”

The importance of having an agreement between the architects and the owners of the intellectual property is to ensure that the progression and vision of a project is clear to all parties. A failure to obtain an agreement early on in a project, when both parties share the same vision, can potentially lead to expensive disputes when visionaries no longer share that common interest or vision.

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feature supplement

Cladding: A Wrap Up

By Emily Dane

With carbon restrictions

lurking in the near future, and an increased push towards greener building materials and practices, architects and developers find themselves challenged with meeting new requirements while also complying with strict budgets in volatile times. Cladding is one means that can assist cost savings by optimising buildings’ thermal loads and recycle abilities; it also protects buildings from external factors such as wind, water and chemicals. Today, external cladding has increasingly become a means to differentiate and provide aesthetic appeal for the building.

Fair and Square As a result of the ‘retrospective wave’, which points towards more traditional and responsible materials, the cladding industry reports a considerable increase in the utilisation of traditional nonferrous materials such as copper and zinc. Historically, these materials have shaped some of the most prominent buildings globally; the Statue of Liberty, the Pentagon, Notre Dame Cathedral, and locally; Brisbane’s Town Hall Dome.

The trend of using metal materials for cladding is seen worldwide, with Europe presenting a 20% increase in the usage of copper on buildings since 1992. The advantages of using copper, zinc or aluminium in cladding are immediate, -and withstanding: The life span of zinc based cladding materials is up to 80 years, which imposes substantial long-term cost savings.

With a considerable low melting point (approx. 420 C), zinc uses less energy to melt. It is therefore considered to be the most environmentally friendly cladding material, and thus also one of the most popular today. The popularity of aluminium is partly due to the fact that its lifespan is about 4 times that of steel. The aluminium used today generally consist of 50% recycled materials, often deriving for domestic products such as beverage cans. Copper, has a higher melting point than zinc, however likewise aluminium it is 100% recyclable, and therefore a popular choice in today’s building projects where recycling of existing material is often a necessity. Copper itself has an estimated lifecycle of 30 years, but its 26 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

ability to be recycled allows its durability to stretch between 80-85 years provided it is recycled several times. In fact, a study conducted by Yale University concluded that Sydney is a potential ‘recycling copper mine’, with copper resources to supply 80% of the city’s demand for the next 30 years. To further exemplify the immediate advantages of recycling; Sims Metal Management states that by using a tonne of recycled steel rather that primary iron ore, carbon emissions are reduced by approximately 2.1 tonnes The Challenges In Australia, more than half of the domestic sales of zinc are accounted for in the building industry, where the material is mainly used as protective galvanised coatings for iron and steel. However, as much as copper and zinc used for cladding material present some considerable pros, the cons cannot be excluded. As a direct result of global instability, fluctuat-

ing commodity pricing and the cancellation of warrants; the price of copper used in construction has risen approximately 50% this year.

Another challenge facing the cladding industry in Australia is the labour costs that are incurred from copper and zinc mining. Despite ranking high globally in mining of these materials, according to Architectural Cladding Australia locally mined materials only provide about 10% in Australia, loosing large shares to mainly USA, China and India who offers more feasible labour costs. With an unstable US Dollar, the challenge can, however, quickly become an advantage.

While fluctuating commodity prices and global circumstances remain unsteady, one thing is a given: (Despite the postponing of the carbon reduction scheme) the building industry needs to consider sustainable cladding materials in order to survive in a more regulated and environmentally focused industry.

Feature supplement

Roofing: Australia’s Leaking Roof

By Olivia Walters

As winter approaches, the

industry faces greater pressure in the construction of new properties and developments. The harsher winter weather forces projects and their construction workers to challenge the bleak conditions in order to complete developments to schedule.

The departure of blue skies and warm nights also brings with it the seasonally induced leaking roof. Once constructed, roofs are faced with the constant challenges from the elements; the sun, the rain and the wind all constantly testing their sturdiness and quality.

Moreover, the weight of the mechanical systems integrated into roofing surfaces these days; such as air conditioning units, television antennae, satellite dishes and sign supports; all contribute to the overall condition of a roof. Further damage is often caused by the subsequent installation and servicing of these machines as installers and repairmen take their tools 28 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

and themselves up on to rooftops, all of which can cause additional detriment to a roof.

But while these external forces are just a few of the possible reasons for a well-constructed roof to deteriorate, the Australian roofing industry is now becoming increasingly aware of the problems of leaky roofs caused instead by poor construction techniques, and underdone structural systems; including the incorrect installation of flashing, sheathing and underlay components. Concerned with the derivatives, the Members of the Metal Roofing and Cladding Association of Australia (MRCAA) are anxious about the trend attributing these poor skills as a result of the recently shortened TAFE course, which subsequently ‘qualifies’ apprentice roofers.

Also under scrutiny are the long-term effects that will come from condensing the learning processes of the trade.

The Sydney roof plumbing TAFE course,

initially a three-year course, has had its duration shortened and is now a quick two-year commitment. The course module also predominately focuses on assessments and delineates from practical opportunities; further eliminating the ability of students to apply the knowledge they’ve learnt at a practical level. An additional concern raised by the roofing industry involves the qualifications of owner-builders; it is becoming increasingly easy to obtain qualifications just by completing the short courses available today. These courses boast a shortened two-year duration as compared to the regular four-year course; part of the government’s strategy to tackle the skills shortage, however as new graduates from these courses enter the industry, it appears that the depth and quality of the education provided is falling well short of the mark.

So now, burdened with a surplus of underqualified trades people and a deficit of skilled workers, the industry is beginning to acknowledge the consequences of taking shortcuts where the education of apprentices is concerned. A related example occurred just recently; in late February, where the scaffolding attached to a construction site on a busy intersection in Prahran, in Melbourne, gave way; injuring three workers and destroying six vehicles parked nearby. The incident is just one example of the dangers posed by underqualified workers and offers a reality check on the potential damage they can cause. But that’s not to lay the blame solely with the workers; rather, it belongs to an educational system that rushes them through.

Although challenged naturally by external forces and undergoing habitual wear and tear, there is a disturbing trend emerging in Australian constructions, whereby roofs are becoming dysfunctional and riddled with leaks far too quickly. And it would seem that the government’s decision to fast track trade education, to increase the volume of skilled tradespeople, is largely to blame.

The problem is that although reducing the time spent on education helps to provide more tradespeople to the industry, less training seriously impinges their performance in the workforce. And this is now being clearly demonstrated by poor proficiency and undesirable results.

So when it comes to training Australia’s roofers, we can’t have our cake and eat it too.

Worksafe corner

Spend a Buck to Save a Lot More

By Clarke Martin WorkSafe Victoria

In hard economic times

businesses of all types are looking for opportunities to cut costs and improve productivity. Some believe that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is 'a nice thing to do' but can be dropped or wound-back if other demands require. However nothing could be further from the truth.

The last thing any business under commercial pressure needs is to have a workplace safety incident.

In the construction industry, safety failings are often high profile, attracting media and industrial attention. The damage both to the individuals and the business can be significant and long-lasting.

A recent Victorian prosecution earned two related companies fines totalling $45,000 (and one of them a conviction) when a man became a paraplegic after part of a structure being demolished fell from underneath two workers, causing them to fall. The man who became a paraplegic fell nearly four metres, while the other suffered lesser injuries because he managed to grab a rail. Even so, the second man was off work for nearly a month.

Although the case was in a manufacturing environment, the company told the court it was acting outside its level of expertise when it instructed employees to do the demolition job.

Imagine what your workplace would be like for months following an incident where a well-liked fellow employee has been severely hurt or has died.

Having suitably qualified people involved in workplace health and safety is important, as this can help to minimise the occurrence of such incidents. WorkSafe research has found that many medium-sized businesses have staff allocated to juggle OHS and return-to-work duties on top of their full-time roles.

The key findings are that these workers – WorkSafe calls them ‘jugglers’ - are often poorly trained, have limited (if any) authority to drive OHS within the workplace, do not feel supported in their work and are not happy.

If this is the situation in your business it creates a number of risks. The people in those positions may be at risk of burnout themselves; while juggling different priorities they might miss something important in the OHS area,

and there might not be much attention paid to planning for the future.

The big question is; “How do we get better value from current spending on OHS?” Start by looking at the amount of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) hours dedicated to OHS, your prevention program budget, and external OHS advice and auditing. You may be surprised by how few resources are actually going into safety, particularly if the person or people responsible have other, non-safety, responsibilities. Once you know what the figure is you can begin looking at ways to get the most value out of it.

Just as many businesses have a bookkeeper, they also have a trusted, qualified accountant to audit the books and provide advice from time to time on how to get the most out of the business’ finances. OHS should be no different.

level. It will prevent the creation of lengthy and daunting ‘to do’ lists and help your ‘juggler’ to turn the current role into something more productive for the business.

The OHS professional may not be able to deal with every situation you face – no one knows everything – but as with any good professional, they will bring-in the necessary expertise when it’s needed.

There are many good operators who are not members of professional associations; these groups include the Safety Institute of Australia for generalist professionals and others that cover specialists such as hygienists, ergonomists, and occupational physicians. These organisations require candidates to complete a certification process and maintain their knowledge through proscribed professional development processes. One benefit of using Certified OHS Professionals is

A suitably qualified and experienced OHS adviser should not just have a brief to come in every six months and give your ‘juggler’ a list of things that need fixing. This type of service clearly does not add value to your business, but rather, creates more work and costs.

Establishing a long-term relationship with a suitably qualified OHS professional who understands your business and industry, will get your OHS management plan operating at a higher

your right to raise issues with a third party if you have any problems.

Ultimately, these methods should save you money by improving productivity, and reducing the need to constantly respond to new OHS issues.

They can also help reduce costly incidents, lower premiums and boost morale because people know that their working environment is safe, and that the organisation’s expectations are known and enforced.

Award | 29

Project Profile

Building Busways in Bustling Brisbane: The Inner Northern Busway

By Mark Kenfield

Images courtesy of Christopher Frederick Jones

Location: Brisbane, QLD Project Type: Transportation (Infrastructure) Developed By: INB HUB Alliance

Cities grow and populations expand, it is an inevitable consequence of putting large numbers of people together in this thing we call “society”… they go off and make more people.

But that is okay, it’s natural and expected, it’s promotion of the species, proper meaning of life stuff. The problem is of course; that more people require more space, more services, more resources and heavier-duty infrastructure. You simply can’t fit all of these extra people in and on the buildings, roads and facilities that used to work just fine; there’s just too damn many of them.

So inevitably it falls to governments to address these lacks, and that’s natural too (as society progresses into the future, cities grow and populations expand, inevitably creating the demand for increased space, services and resources). The major issue we run into to with these expansions of services and infrastructure however, is that people still need to use them on a daily basis whilst you are expanding and upgrading them, and since the construction work on these upgrades

30 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

takes a considerable amount of time the provision of these services without significant disruption is no easy task.

But it’s one that the $333 million Inner Northern Busway (INB) project; which runs from Queen St to Upper Roma St in Brisbane’s bustling CBD, and successfully delivered a 1.2km busway; including a 500m tunnel and two new underground bus stations (built within existing city structures); was actually able to achieve.

Commissioned by Queensland Transport (QT), the INB project used the alliance delivery model, which offers an alternative project delivery method to the more traditional forms of contracting. The basic idea behind the model is that the principles of your agreement are centred on the development of collaborative teams, and the associated commercial framework is centred on transparency, and equitable risk share and compensation for the work each team does.

Main: The Inner Northern Busway in the heart of Brisbane Bottom: Leaving Roma Street Busway Station

Appointed in May of 2005, the INB HUB Alliance team comprised of Queensland Transport, Leighton, Maunsell AECOM, Coffey, and Bligh Voller Nield, EDAW AECOM and was supported by Brisbane City Council (BCC).

The alliance model is generally best suited to projects that contain considerable technical risks or time constraints, and also require exceptional quality and outcomes for the stakeholders/ communities involved. And it is a model the INB’s stakeholders seem quite happy with, “I think one of the great things about the alliance was the innovation it brought to constructing this project.” says Dave Stewart, Director General of Queensland Transport, “the INB was a very challenging project – you just have to look around the station. The alliance actually constructed the busway under heavy traffic, through the middle of the city and they did it exceptionally well.”

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Design Queensland Transport initially tried to get the project underway in 2000 without success (the original alliance disbanded due to scope and cost issues).

The original scope for the project was Award | 31

Project Profile: The inner northern busway

Environment Environmental considerations also received considerable attention throughout the project, “the environment wasn’t an afterthought, but central to our approach.” Explains Darren Weir, “we were breaking through new frontiers and challenging civil infrastructure to deliver on sustainability.”

These considerations included; implementing on-site recycling through a planned identification and recycling program (which gave the project an impressive waste and recycling rate of 97%); offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and electricity used during construction by working with Greenfleet, a non-profit organisation, to plant 5,155 trees (representing a carbon offset of 1,300 tonnes of greenhouse gas over the construction period); and by purchasing Energex’s Earth’s Choice Green Power for all project offices, saving around 655 tonnes in carbon dioxide through the use of renewable energy

32 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

(this was quite unusual in the industry at the time). Overall, the INB project managed to save around 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide during construction (which is equivalent to taking 430 cars off the road for a year).

The project also delivered a number of environmental legacies to central Brisbane, including; the enhancement of green spaces along the important Albert St. corridor between the Botanic Gardens and the Roma St. Parklands; restoring the Roma Street Forum park area with better accessibility and the capacity for its waterfall to run on recycled water; and by laying a 500m pipeline which has the capacity to provide for the city’s future recycled water main.

By improving the busway’s footprint, the CBD now has reduced traffic and improved air quality and noise levels, particularly within Albert St. with the removal of the old bus portal.

Conclusion In spite of a modest budget, and the incredible complexities of constructing extensive infrastructure in the middle of a bustling city centre, the Inner Northern Busway has been a resounding success for all involved and a testament to the spirit of cooperation that was fostered in the Alliance. “When I started in 2005,” explains TransLink’s Ray Donato, who was responsible for ensuring the alliance delivered a busway that met TransLink’s requirements, “I was the original alliance sceptic. Well, I’ve definitely changed my mind. I am now a fan and going through severe withdrawal.”

“The Alliance leadership fired up the imagination of the team and opportunities were taken to build much more than a bus tunnel and station.” Adds Dr. Peter Shaw, formerly with Brisbane City Council, “The result is a major contribution to the urban environment of Brisbane’s CBD. What were previously barren, unfriendly holes in the ground in Albert St and Roma St are now inviting, spacious urban spaces that invite pedestrian activity. I am proud to have been a part of this project, which I am sure will be valued by the citizens of Brisbane for decades.”

And it shows. The results achieved on the INB have been recognised with a host of awards including; the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s 2008 Community Relations Award (Queensland); both the Queensland and National CCF Earth Awards 2008 (for projects $75 million and over); the alliance was joint winner of the Queensland ‘Be Constructive’ Trainee Of The Year Award; won the 2008 Alliancing Association Of Australia’s ‘Alliance Team Of Excellence’ commendation, and most recently collected the 2009 Alliance Contracting Excellence (ACE) Award for Major Capital Alliances.

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Construction Perhaps the most significant element of the INB’s construction, was just how little disruption it caused to the daily going-ons of Brisbane’s CBD over the course of its three year construction. “The Brisbane CBD is very busy and the INB was delivered in a very, very seamless way...just superb.” says Dave Stewart.

This seamlessness was delivered in a number of ways.

For example, despite extensive modification to the underground structure of the existing KGS Car Park (about 40% of the car park had to be removed to make way for the busway,

which included the demolition of three of the four levels of floor slab as well as the relocation of all supporting columns within the busway station’s envelope); the alliance agreed not to reduce the capacity of the Car Park below 500 spaces, and innovative construction methods allowed it to continue to operate throughout the busway’s construction.

For the construction of the Albert St. tunnel the alliance “worked around and under every major service within the CBD of Brisbane, which needed to be relocated or adjusted to fit the new busway tunnel” says Chris Dowding, the tunnel’s Structural Design Engineer. This was achieved by using less invasive bored piling methods behind acoustically designed hoardings to protect pedestrian thoroughfares; restricting noisy works to outside peak lunch and evening trade times; using the Queen St. bus station to remove spoil, with most truck movements taking place outside of operational bus hours; and through temporarily converting the vital Burnett Lane (a one-way street that services businesses in the Queen Street Mall) to a two-way street by using the construction zone as a turnaround area.

Another construction element that allowed the Alliance to save both time and money was to re-use and widen (rather than demolish) a Countess St. rail bridge. “We cut the railway bridge in half longitudinally,” explains Chris Dowding, “then separated the two halves and joined them back together to form a wide bridge for buses”.

This included the in situ sliding of part of the bridge structure along with the construction of infill sections to significantly minimise impact on Countess St. traffic.

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based around a much smaller scheme (between Queen St. and Roma St.). For its second attempt however, QT’s request for proposals outlined considerably more in the way of functional requirements.

At first there wasn’t even an agreed concept for the busway link from the new KGS busway station to the existing busway at Countess St. “The original scheme travelled up Roma St. with a poor connection to the Roma St. Railway station and potential bottlenecks for local traffic.” Explains Darren Weir, Leighton General Manager (Northern Region), “we delivered a new, streamlined solution for the final 1.2km alignment after exploring more than 100 options and variations.”

This streamlined solution involved; constructing and integrating 700m of busway into the rail lines running behind the Brisbane Transit Centre (from the Roma St. Forum through to Upper Roma St.); transforming a section of Queensland Rail’s (QR) Roma Street Railway station into a bus and rail interchange with a shared platform; incorporating a multi-level busway station four stories underground, in the still-operating KGS car park; constructing a tunnel under Albert St. to connect the Queen St. bus station to the KGS Car Park; putting bus turnarounds at both ends of the KGS busway station to increase the efficiency of bus operations; constructing a modern underground station in King George Square; and re-using and widening (rather than demolishing) a Countess St. rail bridge for the busway.

All of which allows the INB to now reduce inner city traffic congestion; improve both the consistency and reliability of bus services (through eliminating the impact of congestion on bus services); streamline bus connections between the CBD and the western, northern and southern suburbs; reduce travel times between the Queen St. Bus Station and Upper Roma St. by up to nine minutes in regular traffic and up to twenty minutes at congested times; as well as increasing the capacity for future expansions to bus services in the city centre.

The inner northern busway project directory Hand Rail Fabrication

MTS Stainless and Engineering Contact: Mal Shore 54 Spanns Rd Brisbane, QLD 4207 P: 07 3807 6159 F: 07 3807 6179 www.mtsstainlessfab.com.au

MTS Stainless Fabrications is for all your stainless steel fabrication and manufacturing requirements.

From the design stages through to fabrication and installation, MTS provides you with the highest quality - guaranteed. MTS offer an experienced team of tradesmen and trades assistants for mechanical installation of any industry, completed installations for Smiths Snack Food, Heat and Control Process Systems, Symtech and now the Inner Northern Busway Project, allowing MTS for jobs with all government industry, large construction companies like Leighton's, Abi Group, Baulderstone Hornibrook, MTS fully functional work shop proves to be convenient and useful with mechanical installations. MTS are code compliant to the National Code of practice for the building and construction industry. Members of (Australian Stainless Steel Development Association). MTS Supplied and installed all aspects of steel fabrication for Inner Northern Busway, painted and stainless steel hand rails, various jobs from steel louvers for air ducting for tunnel, even the kitchen sink.

Developer Leighton Contractors was part of the INB HUB Alliance which delivered the Inner Northern Busway (Queen Street to Upper Roma Street) Project.

Leighton Contractors Northern Region Contact: Darren Weir 3/143 Coronation Drive Milton Qld 4064 P: 07 3215 4400 / 07 3215 4352 www.leightoncontractors.com.au

About Leighton Contractors Leighton Contractors is one of Australia’s leading construction, mining, infrastructure, industrial engineering, facility management, services and telecommunications groups with over $8.3 billion work in hand, employing more than 9,000 people across Australia and New Zealand.

Architect

BVN Architecture Contact: Tait Phil 365 St Paul's Terrace Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006 P: 07 3852 2525 F: 07 3852 2544 www.bvn.com.au

Work completed on a major extension of Brisbane’s Inner Northern Busway (INB). BVN entered into a Project Alliance Agreement with QLD Transport, Leighton Contractors, Maunsell Australia, Coffey Geosciences and EDAW Gillespies to design and build the underground section of Brisbane’s Inner Northern Busway system between Queen Street and Roma Street in the heart of the city.

This section of the INB, costing some $330 million, extends the tunnel from Queen Street bus Station under the Myer Centre through King George Square car park with a portal behind Roma Street. Catering for up to 250 buses an hour in each direction the facility is used by around 48,000 passengers daily.

The INB is a paradigm change improvement in bus station; and as the first complete underground facility for Brisbane, with an open, light and informal indoor/outdoor blend. BVN has assisted in setting a benchmark for all future Brisbane infrastructure projects.

Landscape Construction

Microtunnelling

Eureka Landscape Construction Pty Ltd.

Pezzimenti Laserbore P/L

LCD Signage

Contact: Jason McGarry

Contact: Jim Shooter

Metromatics Pty Ltd

PO Box 178

7 Smith St

Contact: Grant Williams

Chermside South, QLD 4032

Emu Plains, NSW 2750

Unit 10, 29 Links Ave

P: 07 3350 8300

P: 02 4735 6676

Eagle Farm, QLD 4009

F: 07 3256 3022

F: 02 4735 6678

P: 07 3868 4255

www.eurekalandscapes.com.au

jim.shooter@pezzimenti.com.au

F: 07 3868 4147

Eureka Landscapes major role in the Inner Northern Busway was to be the major landscape contractor with the responsibility for hard and soft landscaping. The scope of works included blue stone walls, concrete pavements including coloured exposed aggregate finishes, street furniture and irrigation. Large ex-ground palm and trees with shrubs and groundcovers are throughout the landscape adjoining open space areas of lawn. Eureka Landscapes and the staff that constructed the landscape are very proud to be associated with this major infrastructure project.”

In July 2007, Pezzimenti Laserbore was engaged by the INB to microtunnel a 52m long x Ø980mm bore from within the cut and cover tunnel to replace an existing sewer main intersected by the tunnel.

The microtunnelling head exited into an existing sewer manhole and retrieved to the bring pit. Steel sleeves were inserted and then the Ø600 Keramo sewer pipes sliplined through the steel sleeves. All work including grouting of the annulus was completed in 10 days.

www.metrospec.com.au

Passive Fire Protection

Louvres & Sunscreens

Fyreguard

Mulholland Metal Installations

Contact: Troy Bramley

57 Harvey St Nth

8 Hampton Road

Eagle Farm, Qld 4009

Burleigh Heads, QLD 4220

P: 07 3268 1688

P: 07 5593 4955

F: 07 3268 7811

Passenger Information Systems -

Metromatics are proudly the designer and manufacturer of the Metrospec Driver Interface Display and Passenger Information Display LCD Monitors used in the Brisbane Inner Northern Busway project.

The Driver Interface Display has IP65 Casing with an inbuilt camera which notifies the driver which departure gate in the Busway to stop at.

The Video Information from the camera in the Driver Display is then portrayed on the Passenger Information Display showing the destination of the bus.

The Passenger Information Display also provides bus time table and the next departure from that stop.

Contact Metromatics today to find out more about Metrospec LCDs.

F: 07 5593 4349 www.fyreguard.com

Award | 33

Feature supplement

Commercial Insulation: Is Australia Finally Coming in From the Cold?

By Mark Kenfield

There are a few truths about improving the efficiency of building envelopes through things like insulation that are pretty much self-evident. And one of them is to invest billions of dollars in new power stations, just to meet the two or three days of peak power load per year that trouble our poorly insulated Australia, is to perpetuate the wastage and inefficient practices of the past and present.

Late last month there was a meeting in Canberra of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to discuss the changes to be made to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) for 2010, the drafts of these amendments are now available for comment online at the Building Code Board’s website: http://www.abcb.gov.au Although no specific measures for commercial buildings have been detailed, the ABCB has increased the energy efficiency provisions of the 2010 BCA with two key points: 1) A 6-star energy rating, or equivalent, is now required for new residential buildings 2) A significant increase in the energy efficiency requirements for all new commercial buildings 6-star rating requirements for residential buildings offers a quantifiable step forward, the “significant increase” in requirements for new commercial buildings is about as vague as they get. How can we measure any improvements that might be made in the efficiency of new commercial buildings when the yardstick for those improvements is just vague terminology?

To try and make sense of it all, I spoke to Dennis D’Arcy, CEO of the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ), about insulation in commercial buildings and the progress of legislation in Australia to support it.

“In recent years, Australia has seen massive growth in the prevalence of energy efficient materials and technology in both the construction and refurbishment of buildings.” Dennis explains, “But there were NO mandatory efficiency requirements for commercial buildings in Australia until 2005-2006, so only now are buildings actually addressing minimum regulatory standards of any kind.”

So although the drive for greater energy efficiency is perhaps the biggest single trend in our industry at the moment, with tenants expecting it, and clients demanding it, lack of legislation until recently has seen very little actually done to tackle the issue in commercial buildings.

But a lot of this can be put down to the simple fact that measuring the impact and efficiency of insulation on the building envelopes of commercial buildings is pretty much an unknown science. Although tests and reports for residential buildings have become fairly standard, there is still very little around for commercial applications.

34 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

Fortunately, “there seems to be more and more state/federal money being made available for subsidies to improve buildings’ sustainability or efficiency.” D’Arcy says, “So if you want to do a study to see what impact improvements will have on your building, you can receive grants to do so, there are a number of state and federal programs that are available but you have to go looking for them – and they’re not easy to find.”

According to D’Arcy, the other big issue is that, “although there are some rating officials going around rating commercial buildings, there simply aren’t enough. The number of these officials needs to increase substantially if we are going to see the groundswell that the government wants to see.”

So Australia is still well and truly behind the 8-ball in the commercial insulation stakes. However D’Arcy does believe that there’s no future in low rating buildings, “because developers have to find tenants, and tenants are just about demanding it.”

And in the end it’s market forces, more so than anything else, that will drive the change.

DOYLES CONSTRUCTION LAWYERS

Development approvals Project structuring Joint venture agreements Planning appeals

PROJECT PLANNING

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Sydney Level 2, 148 Elizabeth Street SYDNEY NSW 2000

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Phone: (02) 9283 5388 Fax: 9283 8586

Phone: (07) 3034 3333 Fax: (07) 3221 3011

Phone: (02) 9620 0322 Fax: (03) 9620 0422

www.doylesconstructionlawyers.com.au Email: doyles@doylesconstructionlawyers.com

Project Profile

Melbourne Fire Brigade, Burnley Complex

By Spiros Lambropoulos Location: Burnley, VIC Project Type: Government GBCA rating: 5 Star Green Star Architect: Spowers Architects Builder/developer: Abigroup Contractors Pty Ltd Project

North facing exterior façade Images courtesy of ABIgroup

The MFB Burnley Complex is the new Community Safety and Fire Fighting Training Facility for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in Richmond, Victoria.

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36 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au/featuredprojects

designed to introduce a new level of development to the Richmond area and to constitute a bold statement of the MFB’s presence.

This wasn’t always the case; until the fire brigade came along, 450 Burnley Street was Crown land that was used as a tip, and later as a bitumen plant and an abattoir, drawing considerable concern from the EPA. There have also been concerns from fire fighters themselves regarding the site’s use as a training facility, primarily because of an inability to use certain high-pressure hoses due to the site’s close proximity to Citylink and passing traffic.

Green initiatives In June 2005, the then Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Tim Holding, marked the start of building works at the site, he stated “The new MFB Training and Community Safety Complex

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Conceptualisation and Design The project brief for the new facility addressed the MFB’s requirements for accommodation standards and specific training and operational needs; all of which while focusing on the implementation of best practise procedures relating to environmental sustainable design and community integration.

Spowers design response for the 1.87 hectare site was to develop a facility ensemble which comprised of four buildings arranged around a spacious training yard: the office, administration and teaching facilities in building A, the amenities and change rooms in building B, the indoor training hall building C and the training tower building D. The architectural language for all buildings is deliberately independent and disconnected from the surrounding structures. The buildings have been

reduction’s to buildings’ energy output whilst also maintaining healthier, cleaner air for its occupants.

“These five atria punctuate the full height of the northern façade and allow direct solar heat gain and light in winter while rejecting heat and light in summer,” Spowers Architects’ Senior Associate Andrew Rutt explains, “the whole façade is very much designed for ‘mixed mode’ environmental performance and is intrinsically part of the air conditioning and return air functions” The three level building makes full use of the thermal characteristics of efficient double glazing with five ceiling high atriums that link the three open floor plan levels of the structure. The atriums harness the heat rising, much like a funnel, and manoeuvre the airflow between levels thus regulating temperature, maintaining bearable and workable conditions.

The atrium is fundamental to the design of the building in that not only is it aesthetically appealing, but it allows natural light to reach right into the middle of the building. Energy consumption is reduced further by a sophisticated lighting control system that consists of motion detectors and T5 luminaries adjacent to the outside of the atrium switch off when daylight provides adequate lighting, in addition to automatically turning off at the end of the working day.

The vast majority of water use on the site is used through the fire training facility, after all the primary purpose of the MFB is to put out fires. The roof rainwater is collected for this purpose, is recycled after use and returned to the rainwater storage. Seeing as though this is also a fire fighting training facility, good showers were a necessity; fortunately it has a comprehensive solar water heating system for the training facility shower block, preheating some 3,000 litres of hot water per day.

Outcome Upon looking at the completed works on the 1.87 hectare site, you can see

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represents the highest international standards of environmentally sustainable building design“.

This impressive new building will be oriented to take advantage of the warmth of the sun during the cooler months.

Skylights and plenty of windows will see much of the building’s interior bathed in natural light all year around. The building has also been designed with flexibility in mind, meaning it can be used, as needs dictate, by other emergency services organisations, encouraging a collaborative approach towards fire and other emergencies.

These basic natural principles, (long floor plates oriented to the north and south and angled glazing to the north atrium and southern glazing to training and office areas) have been incorporated in the design basics to reduce solar gain in summer and optimise it in winter.

Exposed thermal mass is a key and fundamental component of ensuring comfort to all occupants of this building.

The ability of the hollow-core concrete flooring to provide additional heating/ cooling support also proves beneficial, as each slab contributes to the cooling of the space as cooled air is forced through the cylindrical voids in the slabs, which run north-south across the building. These voids are also integrated into the ducted air conditioning, allowing fresh air into the building and cooled air into the slab.

Since there is no suspended ceiling, the coolness from the slab directly radiates a cooling effect. In addition, the hollow slabs also allow for ease and speed of construction.

The activation of this thermal mass through hollow-core concrete floor planks is like a natural building temperature regulator. These hollow-core concrete floor planks are utilised for air circulation to activate the thermal mass of concrete and when activated, cool the building.

The façade and windows are also designed for thermal performance, with well-insulated metal sandwich panels and high-performance double glazing.

Cooler outside air can be pumped through the hollow core slabs at night. By reducing the temperature of the building using the cooler, outside evening air (and not solely using air conditioning as used to be the norm) power usage is significantly reduced. On hot nights in particular, this process occurs later in the night through activated chilling, whereby an automatic management system monitors the outside and inside air temperatures and then determines the most energy-efficient option for cooling the building.

This process is being used more and more in energy efficient buildings these days and allows for considerable

North corridor

that each of the “key” stakehlders had their work cut out for them. The owneroccupied Burnley complex comprises of four buildings - A, B, C and D, arranged around a spacious training yard close to landscaped car parking areas.

The facility looks simply stunning.

With its vibrant fire truck red and glass exterior there is no mistaking the building’s purpose as a firehouse.

It is a bold statement that affirms the MFB’s presence in an area that was once disused and abandoned. Building A (the focus of this article) is the administration and office building and achieved a certified 5 Star GREEN STAR for Office Design v2 in September 2006.

The three-storey mixed-mode building with integrated fitout, incorporates best practice energy efficient and sustainable design principles.

A holistic stormwater management system which collects all water on site in a 750.000 litre tank and reuses it in fire fighting training programs has been implemented.

“the whole façade is very much designed for ‘mixed mode’ environmental performance and is intrinsically part of the air conditioning and return air functions” Senior Associate, Andrew Rutt Spowers Architects Award | 37

Melbourne fire brigade project directory

Builder

Abigroup Limited

924 Pacific Highway Gordon, NSW 2042 P: 02 9499 0999 F: 02 9499 3822 www.abigroup.com.au

Abigroup completed the 5 Star Green Star rated Metropolitan Fire Brigade purpose-built training facility in November 2007. The high tech facility which won the AIB Professional Excellence in Building Award in 2008, was designed to provide highly specialised training for firefighters. The complex also includes conference areas, amenity provisions, a library, private study areas and a lecture theatre.

The facility’s training yard is unique as it uses a storm water and water retention management system to provide water for the firefighting simulation. Other environmentally sustainable design features include the use of natural lighting and air flow where possible, hollow core floor slabs and roof to provide a thermal mass which reduces energy usage and emissions.

Abigroup Contractors is one of Australia’s leading engineering and building companies. Works are undertaken in areas including roads, bridges, dams, rail, water, telecommunications and mining infrastructure. Abigroup is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger AG, one of the world’s top ten construction companies.

Landscaping

Raglan Meadows Pty Ltd

Contact: Kevin Duscher Unit 52/148 Chesterville Rd. Cheltenham VIC 3192 Ph: (03) 9532 1982 Fax: (03) 9532 2394 Email: info@raglanmeadows.com.au

Raglan Meadows Pty Ltd. is a leading commercial landscape construction company with over 20 years experience working on major commercial building sites throughout metropolitan Melbourne and surrounding districts. The company also contract grows advanced trees and plants in its private nursery.

As a subcontractor to Abigroup on the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Burnley project, Raglan Meadows demonstrated its experience in meeting the diverse landscaping requirements of its clients whilst maintaining its commitment to superior quality, excellence and safety. Working to the architect’s design an aesthetically pleasing, low maintenance, drought tolerant landscape was created using a blend of indigenous and native plants stocked from Raglan Meadow’s nursery. Features of the project included: • rainforest gardens • car parks and surrounds • bio retention swales • installation of complex automatic drip irrigation systems • construction of steep embankments using erosion control matting • supply and fitting of specialized street furniture

Office Furniture

Zenith Interiors Pty Ltd

Contact: Michael Bond 329 Ferrars St. Albert Park, VIC 3206 P: 03 9693 2600 F: 03 96960314 www.zenithinteriors.com.au

Zenith Interiors is fundamentally committed to maximising the environmental performance of our products, services and operations. This also includes the importance of social sustainability aspects of the business and our contribution to the broader community. As such, we at Zenith were delighted when presented with the opportunity to be the specified supplier of workstations, tables and storage for the iconic MFB project in Burnley.

We worked closely with Spowers and Abigroup to understand the sustainability requirements of the project. With the selection of environmentally innovative materials, coupled with the efficient use of materials, durability provisions and other sustainability requirements such as design for disassembly and modularity (that provide for easy reconfiguration, reuse and recycling), the desired sustainability outcomes were achieved, as well as the aesthetic, functional and budget requirements.

Zenith Interiors take this opportunity to congratulate MFB and all involved for their contribution to the state of the art facility.

Surface Restoration & Protection

Door Supply & Instalment

Roofing

DIDYA Group

Aldeck Roofing

Roylston Pty Ltd

PO Box 5317

PO Box 329

Contact: John Aspinall

North Geelong, VIC 3215

Thomastown, VIC 3074

PO Box 173

P: 0402 293 120

P: 03 9359 4300

Belmont

F: 03 9357 2337

VIC, 3216

External Louvres

P: 1800 442 667

Air Grilles

F: 03 5244 2661

17 Glenvale Cr

Caelli

www.roylston.com.au

Mulgrave, VIC 3170

PO Box 21

P: 03 9562 2522

Craigieburn, VIC 3064

F: 03 9562 2586

P: 03 9305 7733

Waterproofing & Tanking

F: 03 9905 7744

38 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

Feature supplement

Under Pressure: HVAC Systems, Air leaks and their impact on Building Envelope

By Mark Kenfield

As building technology

advances, the capabilities and facilities available to new buildings do too. Some of the most impressive of these new technologies come in the form of the latest HVAC systems, which control the heating, air-conditioning and ventilation of a building. These systems have an intricate relationship with their building envelopes as the ability of an envelope’s insulation to retain the heat or cold within a building has a direct impact upon the size and power of the HVAC system required to service it.

An efficient envelope can actively minimise energy usage and wastage and as such, can play a vital role in minimising overheads by allowing smaller, less energy intensive HVAC systems to be installed. Many buildings could save 20-40% on their energy bills if they could reduce the size of their HVAC system.

However you need an envelope that is well sealed in the first place if you hope to reduce the size of your HVAC system. This is because air leakage can have a significant impact upon the efficiency of an envelope and cause excessive energy consumption as HVAC systems are forced to compensate for the lost heat/cold.

It is possible for air leaks to occur directly through roofs and exterior walls, but most of the time it is in assembly joints like: cladding intersections, the junctions between roofs and walls, parapets, and low level soffits when leaks occur.

There are two conditions that are needed for air to leak. Firstly there has to be a hole, crack or gap running from one side of the envelope to the other. Secondly, there has to be an air pressure differential. If the air pressure between the outside and inside of an envelope is the same, movement of that air will be minimal.

There are three primary causes of these pressure differences: wind, the stack effect and HVAC systems.

Photo courtesy Diamond & Schmitt Architects

Wind will pressurise the windward side of a building whilst depressurising the back, roof and sides. This can account for up to a quarter of total leakage and cannot be controlled, only reduced by sealing any holes in the envelope.

The stack effect is a buoyancy phenomenon whereby the warmer air inside a building rises, exerting a continuous pressure against both the roof and the upper sections of the exterior walls. This in turn generates a lower air pressure in the bottom of the building that draws in air from outside.

The other primary cause for these differences in air pressure can actually be the building’s HVAC system itself. Sometimes building managers choose to use their HVAC systems to increase the air pressure at the base of the building in order to stop the stack effect from drawing in outside air. Unfortunately, this has been found to actually increase the air

pressure at the top of the building, resulting in over-pressurisation at the top of the building.

It is not possible to control this overpressurisation at the top of the building and infiltration at the base of the building at the same time. So the only real solution for dealing with these stack effect and HVAC-resultant air pressure issues is to seal any air leaks you may have at both the top and bottom of the building.

Air leaks can have a significant impact upon heating and cooling loads, and place considerable stress upon HVAC systems. So taking care of them should always be a major component of building envelope maintenance. When building envelopes allows air leakage, it’s the mechanical system that has to take the brunt of it - repairing HVAC systems will cost you a whole lot more than simply fixing a hole in the wall.

Award | 39

Project Profile

Medical Complications: The University of Western Sydney’s New School of Medicine

By Mark Kenfield

Location: Penrith South DC, NSW Project Type: Educational Architect: Lyons Architects Builder/Developer: Hindmarsh

Images courtesy of John Gollings

40 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

It’s an interesting thing the skills shortage; just a short while ago it was the term on everybody’s lips. With a particularly strong impact upon the building industry, the nation’s lack of skilled workers was delaying construction work around the country and helping to fuel Australia’s most aggressive immigration program since the end of the Second World War.

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Design The school was designed by Lyons Architects, who won the contract for Hindmarsh through a Royal Australian

Institute of Architects (RAIA) sponsored competition. The design brief was certainly a complicated one: “It was a new school, and they wanted a more modern approach to teaching,.” explains Appleton; “one that focussed on group/project style learning and was set in a more hospital-like environment.

They wanted the sort of student-centred learning that encourages students to say; ‘Here’s a problem, let’s solve it.’” And that played heavily into the design, which revolved around the notion of a central hub surrounded by four 3-level wings that encourage this interconnected learning style. In aid of this, even the corridors were designed as Mode 3 learning spaces (i.e. programmed more like cafés than classrooms) in order to encourage relaxed and productive discussion and learning within those spaces. “The Hub was key,” says Appleton, “the architectural idea was that you’re all under one roof.”

Fitting everything under one roof was a 2-stage process. Stage 1 of the project involved the first 3 buildings: a research building to provide flexible PC2 laboratory space and animal house; a teaching building to provide state of the art teaching spaces and incorporate the latest AV interactive teaching software as well as a certified Anatomy Lab; and an administration building to provide space for academics’ offices and a home for all of the school’s administrative services.

Stage 2 added the final component of the project, the lecture hall.

From a design perspective, the biggest challenge on the project was “Making the hub as elegant as possible.” Says Appleton. “Keeping it iconic, but still making it as light and as cost effective as possible. Economy tends to drive expression out of a project. But our structural engineers (Arup) came up with a very complex but effective design.”

Construction That complexity did come at a cost however. And much of the project’s building envelope had to be redesigned and replanned during construction. “At first glance the design and completed built form of the school appeared simple and conventional,” explains Domenic Staltari, Hindmarsh’s Project Manager for the school, “comprising of precast panels, curtain wall, composite panels, and structural steel structure. However the complexity was in the detail.”

The glazed façade of the buildings was planned to comprise of curtain wall systems on the north and south elevations of the Research, Teaching and Administration buildings. With the link spaces being a shop front system made of glass and composite panels, this would all be interrupted at various levels by projecting timber-clad teaching modules.

However, as construction proceeded, the UWS started to identify and attract researchers with specific needs to the school. These new and specific requirements lead to a major re-planning

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There is however, one industry that is very unlikely to see any reduction in its demand for skilled workers – the Medical Industry. With our rapidly ageing population Australia’s demand for skilled medical professionals is on the up and up.

Which brings us to the University of Western Sydney’s (UWS) new $40 million School of Medicine, built in two stages and incorporating 8120 square metres of research, administration and teaching space. It was officially opened by the Hon. Julia Gillard on in November 2008, and forms the foundation school of medicine for the University of Western Sydney.

It is also the first school of its kind to be built outside the Sydney metropolitan area. “The University felt that it was lacking in a culture of home-grown medical professionals,” explains Lyons’ Design Director, Neil Appleton, “and (we) wanted to build a school that the local population could train in, as well as encourage them to stay in the area and contribute to the local community.”

The University also wished to establish and contribute to a grass roots local and indigenous health service culture, and in its first intake the school had the highest intake of indigenous students of any medical program in Australia.

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Project Profile: University of western sydney

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allow early occupation and to establish temporary service connections to allow for Certificates of Occupancy and the space to function as required,” explains Brady.

“Essentially the structure was built “inside out” due to the unusual amount of rain experienced in the first few months of construction,” Staltari adds. However, in spite of all of this, “Work proceeded on the school with only minimal damage incurred; the quality of the finished product was perfect; no significant cost was incurred; and Hindmarsh managed to avoid approximately 50 working days of lost time,” Staltari concludes.

The other major element of the hub is the terrific looking canopy that covers it. Supported by seven columns and covering an area of approximately 750m2, it lends the hub a distinct “city in the trees” vibe. However, budget concerns forced a rethink of the canopy, with options ranging from simplification right through to deletion considered.

“Ultimately the UWS was reluctant to delete the canopy,” Explains Staltari, “And a rationalised design, that reduced it by approximately 12 tonnes of steel, was tendered.” There were a range of options tossed about in regards to how the canopy would be installed; with

Conclusion It’s fair to say that completing the University of Western Sydney’s new School of Medicine was no simple task.

With budget blowouts, mayor replanning and redesigns performed on the fly, classes being conducted within the unfinished school, and terrible weather coming down on constructions that didn’t even have their exterior walls at the time. And yet speaks volumes of those involved that it still came in on time, on budget, and looking as good as it does.

The project also managed to pick up Certificates of High Commendation, at both the NSW and National levels, at the 2008 Australian Institute of Building, Professional Excellence in Building Awards – Commercial Construction $10 to $50 million.

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of the research building (which was originally based on a generic laboratory design). All of these threw off the initial designs for the façade and required a significant redesign. To address this, a dedicated review and working group was set up with representatives from Façade Innovations (the façade contractor), Lyons and Hindmarsh.

“The construction process was complex due to the Lyons design.” Says John Brady, TBH Director and programming consultant on the project; “The design introduced a façade that involved a number of different materials and also required co-ordination with the hub.

This process was made more complex by the fact that design and budget issues impacted on the timely delivery of the façade elements and resulted in fit-out works progressing ahead of the facade elements.”

These factors posed further difficulties for the design and construction of the new medical school All of which posed some rather significant problems.

Imagine, if you will, losing in excess of 40 working days over a 16 month period due to heavy rain; then imagine all of that rain pouring down on a building that doesn’t even have its exteriors walls yet…; “With the façade running so late, the project took on significant risks with regards to water damage.” Says Brady, “This was managed by a process of temporary waterproofing, selective fitout sequencing, delaying final fit-out and commissioning works to a late-aspossible start basis.”

On top of all this, the university required early access to parts of the building in order to allow on-site teaching to commence.

As such, the building functioned as a public space prior to the completion of construction and the commissioning works. “This was managed by prioritising the construction sequence in this area to

solutions ranging from: a complete assembly of the canopy structure on the ground and then lifting it into place via three 250 tonne cranes, to a more traditional rigging approach utilising temporary ‘Peri’ towers to support the erected sections.

In the end an insulated 80mm composite “border” panel (essentially two layers of Colourbond with insulation in between) was selected for the canopy, its additional layer of Colourbond making it much stronger and allowing it to span greater distances. This increased span helped to determine that “a traditional approach would be the most practical and cost effective solution with the added bonus of having minimal impact on adjacent works.” Staltari explains. “A trial assembly of all the components was undertaken in the workshop to ensure the complex geometry could be assembled easily by the use of the crane and riggers in boom lifts.

The detailed review and continuous refinement of erection procedures resulted in the complete erection of the canopy structure in 6 days, without the use of temporary support towers.

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University of Western Sydney project directory Architects

Lyons Architects

Contact: Neil Appleton level 3, 246 Bourke street Melbourne, VIC 300 P: 03 9600 2818 F: 03 9600 2819 www.lyonsarch.com.au

Consistent with the client’s educational objectives, our key idea was to create an iconic “socioeducational” external hub space. The hub space becomes another pivotal external space, joining with and extending the vocabulary of the other forum spaces dotted throughout the campus. This external room provides a focal point for the three different programmes (teaching labs, office accommodation and research laboratories) to discuss medicine. The strong visual and spatial interconnection of the curved link which forms the external room blurs the programme’s delineation, mixing researcher, educator and students. The curved link structure becomes a super-foyer, more classroom than corridor.

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Contact: David Oliver 71 Constitution Avenue Canberra, ACT 2612 P: 02 6247 4999 F: 02 6248 0751 www.hindmarsh.com.au

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Hindmarsh were appointed construction managers for Stage 1 of the New School of Medicine project by the University of Western Sydney in June 2006. The School of Medicine is a landmark project and achievement for the district of Western Sydney and the University’s Campbelltown campus. The new school of medicine building is the first school of medicine to be built outside the Sydney metropolitan area and is the foundation school of medicine for the University of Western Sydney. The building consists of approximately 9000m_ of research, administration and teaching space. The design consists of three pods each consisting of three levels and incorporates multiple spatial design solutions for a number of functional areas whilst establishing a new architectural language for the Campbelltown District.

As managing contractor Hindmarsh assumed responsibility for the design and delivery of the project including the complete service of design management, authorities liaison, project planning, financial management and complete delivery of the built solution, including the commissioning of PC2 research laboratories.

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Project Profile

Heritage Site In Darlinghurst Sydney Transformed To Atmospheric New Notre Dame University Campus.

By Dan Stojanovich

Images courtesy of Paramount Studios

Imagine for a second that you need to build a new high-tech medical school.

You have an ideal location for it, you even own the land; however the site is currently covered by a series of oversized and underused buildings in poor repair that you can’t tear down because there are heritage listings to contend with. It sounds like you’re in a bit of a pickle doesn’t it?

Well that is the exact position the designers and constructors of Notre Dame University’s new Schools of Medicine and Nursing, in Darlinghurst, found themselves in.

That was until someone suggested taking the 65 tonne heritage-listed mosaic, “The Risen Christ” and moving it.

Have you ever had to move one of those enormous 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles from the kitchen table into the living room? Yes? Well then you know how difficult it is. Now imagine doing that with a jigsaw puzzle that weighs 65 tonnes, and you have some idea of the difficulties the team behind the development faced.

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Conceptualisation The site was originally comprised of three key buildings: The Sacred Heart Church, The Sacred Heart School and the Presbytery. In general, these facilities were oversized for their immediate past uses, and were in poor physical condition.

The design concept was to create a site complex of four buildings, which would form an aesthetically complementary group linked by the use of common building materials (such as brown toned brick walls and terra cotta tiled roofs) and the common modulation of

Location: Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW Project Type: Educational Architect: Marcus Collins Architects Builder/developer: Equiset

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their elevations (windows separated by engaged piers).

According to architect Marcus Collins, the new seven level building on Darlinghurst Road was regarded as a "bookend" to the church, the other bookend being the existing bell tower.

The new building was also envisaged as a complimentary "other side of the gate" to the St Vincent’s Hospital building across Victoria Street from the site. . The new building can be regarded as the “financial engine” of the site, providing the revenue to make the expensive restoration works to the other existing buildings feasible.

The new state-of-the-art facility provides the latest for medical and nursing students. The complex includes features such as simulated wards, practice wet laboratories and clinical skills laboratories, as well as simulated consulting rooms. It also provides student recreation facilities, two large lecture theatres, seminar rooms, tutorial rooms, problem based learning rooms, research and staff offices, an educational resource room, and a modern medical library.

The ground floor level of the new building is devoted to parking and student entry to the building. A second, public entry is located at the Oxford Street level, and the upper six levels contain the teaching and office spaces.

The four buildings thus create a peaceful central court shielded from the very busy surrounding streets. This courtyard is a safe pedestrian oasis within a frenetic inner city precinct.

In addition to the educational assets, the task included the restoration of the 1912 Sacred Heart Church and parish facilities, which have remained the parish church for Darlinghurst.

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The project won Equiset two Excellence in Construction Awards from the Master Builders Association (MBA) of NSW in 2008 for best tertiary education building and for best use of bricks at the University’s Darlinghurst campus.

In accepting the awards on behalf of the building team, Managing Director Lorenz Grollo, said “The planning and construction of educational facilities is a core business for Equiset, and so it is a significant event for us to be recognised by our peers with these awards.”

Fitout & Interior Design The interior design encompassed a very diverse and complex brief, from achieving a very modern feel in the new building; with its lecture theatres, offices and various medical rooms; to undertaking meticulous restoration work in the refurbished heritage buildings.

Brickwork is an important visual theme throughout the campus, and was chosen to continue a recognisable "corporate" campus image in keeping with the University of Notre Dame’s existing campuses, and to create an aesthetically complementary building to the parish complex, as well as the Oxford Street precinct generally. Brick construction was fundamental to achieving these goals and to providing a low maintenance fabric to the building.

The actual detailing of the brickwork in the new building was also very important.

It is designed to provide a contemporary architectural image that reflects its high tech medical education function, whilst still forming a complimentary component to an important heritage site.

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Conclusion According to Mr Peter Glasson, current Pro Vice Chancellor and Founding Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Sydney Campus, “We are very proud of the Darlinghurst site and the work that was done by the University’s Architects and builders in meeting so many challenges, including the adaptive re-use of the old school and presbytery. We believe the new building is an outstanding addition to the streetscape of this significant area in Sydney.”

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, congratulated the team. “The awards are very well deserved for what you have achieved at Darlinghurst,” he said. Joseph Harb, a director of Equiset, also emphasised that "full credit must go to the University, the architect and Equiset as well as the rest of the team, for so seamlessly bringing the project together and so elegantly integrating the existing heritage conditions with the new works.

The whole campus now presents itself as a very coherent and integrated environment. It's a showpiece."

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Environmental Design Moving the historic mosaic was one of the most notable and critical challenges on the entire project, even though the actual move was just 11 metres. It was a crucial part of restoring the historic Sacred Heart Church to its 1912 architectural heritage, and had to be executed faultlessly.

As the project’s architect, Marcus Collins puts it, “The shifting of this very large 1960’s mosaic by the famous Italian sculptor Enrico Gaudenzi, manufactured by the Vatican Mosaic Studio in Rome, without the loss of a single tile, was a major engineering feat.”

He added that “I know from my experience as a heritage architect of 30 years that no previous project has come close to needing the scope and complexity of engineering services, than were required in conserving this building.”

Indeed the engineering challenge was recognised in the prestigious Engineering Excellence Awards, which celebrate the outstanding achievements of engineers in Australia and were initiated in 1935 by Australian engineer John Bradfield who was in charge of the Sydney Harbour

Construction The planning and construction of educational facilities is a core business for Equiset, and this project was a real showcase. “In my experience as a heritage and educational architect” said architect Marcus Collins “no previous project has contained, on one site, such a wide diversity of construction requirements.”

The project was approached in two major stages. The first phase of the undertaking commenced in January 2006 and involved the restoration and refurbishment of the existing church, as well as the conversion of the school and presbytery into offices, lecture rooms, and a medical library. The church crypt was recycled to become a large student recreation room and parish facilities. This phase of the project was completed in February 2007.

The second stage commenced in October 2006 and involved the construction of the new 3,500m2, seven storey building containing the teaching rooms and offices of the new campus.

This was completed in February 2008.

The complex nature of the limited spaces on the site presented some demanding landscaping challenges.

All existing paving had to be removed.

New brick paving was installed and the works also included general landscaping, reticulation, signage, fencing, and an access bridge between the new building and the old school – this also helped define the ground level entry.

The Darlinghurst project is Equiset’s second for the University of Notre Dame in Australia. In 2006, the group completed a $13 million project transforming the historic St Benedict’s church, presbytery and school site on Broadway in inner Sydney to a precinct for 400 students in arts, business, education, nursing and law.

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Pre Construction The 2,633m2 site is on Oxford Street, with a western boundary on Darlinghurst Road and an eastern boundary on Victoria Street. The development has been designed to be visually compatible with the St. Vincent’s Hospital building on Victoria Street.

Not only is it a tight and complicated site bounded by three very busy major roads in the heart of Australia’s biggest city, but the works required were extremely varied - the $24 million project included extensive restoration of the three heritage listed buildings as well as the design and construction of the new 7 storey education building on the western boundary of the site...

So builder Equiset was faced with quite a complex job description that demanded a very flexible and sensitive approach.

The various heritage works provided the greatest challenges on this project.

These ranged from the delicate repair of white ant damaged, 19th century scissor trusses, to the shifting of a delicate yet very heavy (90 tonne) heritage-listed mosaic, the Risen Christ.

Bridge project which opened in 1932. The work on the Notre Dame campus won the NSW Engineering Excellence Award for both the heritage section, and was the overall winner for all categories.

The Environment & Heritage Award and the President’s Award were won by Meinhardt, for outstanding work, which included extensive and meticulously detailed planning, as well as input from conservation architects, heritage architects and other engineering consultants as to the best way of moving the valuable mosaic.

The move was certainly one of the more visible challenges on the project, and Mr. Elwyn Berchowitz, the senior engineer from Meinhardt was quoted as saying, “The project certainly ranks up there with some of the best I have been involved in and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when we finally got it all put in place again.”

Award | 47

university of notre dame project directory Architect

Marcus Collins Architects

Contact: Marcus Collins 5/14 Leura Street Nedlands, WA 6009 P: 08 9386 4615 F: 08 9386 2931

Marcus Collins Architects were employed by the University of Notre Dame Australia, as their long term architects, to advise on the suitability of the Sacred Heart Church site in Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, opposite St Vincents Hospital, to house the Universities new Sydney Schools of Medicine and Nursing.

Following the feasibilty studies the practice was commissioned to design, document, and administer with the project manager the restoration of the Sacred Heart parish church, the adaptive re-use of the other two heritage important buildings, and a new seven level medical education building.

The new building provided the floor area required for the Schools and made economically viable the restoration of the three existing buildings. Four previous proposals to develop the largely derelict site had not come about because they could not marry together heritage requirements with economic viability.

The project required lengthy consultation with Local and State Government agencies.

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Contact: Joseph Harb Westside, Ground Floor, Suite A South Sydney Corporate Park 75-85 O’Riordan Street Alexandria, NSW 2015 P: 02 9215 8400 F: 02 9215 8499 www.equiset.com.au Cement Rendering Setting

Having recently completed two significant heritage projects in Sydney, the former St Therese's Convent and the Archbishop's Residence in Manly, Equiset was approached to restore and redevelop two Sydney campuses for the University of Notre Dame (UND) in Broadway and Darlinghurst. Equiset Project Managed and undertook the Construction of the $20 million Darlinghurst campus, School of Medicine and Nursing, which commenced in September 2005 and was completed in February 2008.

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FEATURED PRODUCT SHOWCASE mechanical connection system

Bow-Tie The Danley® loop and Bow-Tie® reinforcement bar connection is an innovative rebar continuity system.

Anchor loops cast into the first pour are connected to second pour splicing loops with the Bow-Tie.® • Negligible deformation under load.

• Bow-Tie® body capacity exceeds capacity of reinforcing bars.

• No special ferrules or threading required.

• Not sensitive to minor slurry contamination.

• Positive locking by wedge effect.

Reusable Bow-Tie Boards The Danley® Bow-Tie® system is a reinforcing bar connection system for concrete structures that provide continuity of the reinforcement through a joint when concrete is placed in two pours.

Reusable concrete rebate board to suit the Danley® Bow-Tie® system.

• 35 mm thickness.

• Made from polyurethane.

• Dimpled finish.

• Jacking nut moulded into board to aid removal.

Product Features The primary role of the Bow-Tie is to act as a mechanical connection system for 12 mm reinforcing bars used in a two-pour process that performs as an equivalent to a monolithically cast slab-to-wall interface with continuous reinforcing through the joint.

Bow-Ties are especially valuable in two areas of construction: • To provide connections for concrete floor slabs, landings and stairs and other concrete elements that are placed at a later time in high-rise buildings where the lift cores and stair cores are slip-formed or jumpformed.

• Precast or tilt-up construction where connections of additional concrete elements are to be made to the panels in a secondary pour.

Product Benefits • Develops full moment capacity at connections between two concrete pours.

• Positive locking by effective wedge effect.

• Connection to second pour reinforcing steel only requires a standard 180 degree loop in reinforcing bar.

• Can accept loops in reinforcing bars bent around mandrels [pins] from 4 to 6 times bar diameter.

• Allows for connections of concrete elements at 90 degrees plus or minus 50 degrees to face of first pour [e.g. stairway stringers to landings].

• Not sensitive to minor concrete slurry contamination.

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Featured Product Showcase Cobiax void formers

Available Modules Light - flat - biaxial • Up to 35% lighter slabs • Reduced deflection • Slim columns • Reduction foundation loads • Biaxial bearing Span • Up to 20m span • No beams • Up to 40% less columns Open Plan • Spacious area • Open plan flexibility • Better user acceptance • Eased change of use, horizontal and vertical • Column supported flat slab Earthquake resistance • Weight reduction • Limits damage risk Resource effectiveness • Concrete reduction • Reduction of building elements • Reduction of reinforcement • Reduction of C02 emissions • Optimised construction time • Sustainability

Product Applications Cobiax® void formers are available in various sizes to suit the needs of your slab thicknesses from 200mm to 600(+)mm. The cage modules are available in two standard executions; SlimLine and Eco-Line.

We are keen to provide preliminary advice for your projects by optimising the ratio:- slab thickness : span : loads.

Product Features Cobiax® is available as cage module CBCM, linked cage module CBLM and semi-precast CBSP and is suitable for in situ applications as well as for the combination with precast slabs. The cobiax® technology can be used with other building techniques such as post tensioning and composite structures.

Cobiax® can be adapted to any layout. The arrangement of the cobiax® void formers and the size and shape of the panel are determined by the project requirements.

The cobiax® technology optimises the lifecycle cost and can also decrease the over-all building cost. In the diagram aboveleft, the real-case example illustrates this fact.

(Eco-Line, insitu).

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FEATURED PRODUCT SHOWCASE Protective coatings

Product Features PSX700 is a high performance finish coating with a silicate backbone that makes it almost impervious to the damaging effects of the intense Australian sunlight. It offers the best UV resistance of any high performance protective coating.

• Better resistance to chalking and fading than the best polyurethanes • Outstanding grafitti resistance • Superior corrosion protection • Full colour range • Free of isocyanates • Low VOC, 120gm/L • Class A fire resistance • 2-Coat High Performance System

Product Applications PSX 700 is used as a protective coating on steel and concrete where corrosion protection, UV stability and chemical and graffiti resistance are priorities. It has a proven track record of 12 years on major structures around the world, including Australia.

• Bridges and Stadiums • Shopping Complexes and Airports • Commercial Buildings • Processing Plants and Refineries • Offshore Platforms, FPSO • Tanks • Wind Turbines • Passenger Trains • Locomotives and Rolling Stock

Product Description PPG now own the sole rights to manufacture and distribute PSX 700 Epoxy Polysiloxane. PSX700 is a patented engineered siloxane coating which embodies the properties of both a high performance epoxy and a polyurethane in one coat. This multipurpose coating offers “breakthrough” weather resistance and corrosion control. A traditional 3-coat polyurethane system can be replaced by a 2-coat PSX 700 system with superior performance.

Notable Installations • Waubra Wind Farm • Telstra (Olympic) Stadium - Stadium • Southern Cross Train Station • Adelaide International Airport • Geelong Stadium • Melbourne Aquatic Centre • Croydon Aquatic Centre • Yarra Precinct Pedestrian Bridge • Roxby Downs Olympic Dam • M7 Bridges - Sydney • Port Adelaide Bridge • Millennium, OSCAR, EMU passenger trains • Caltex, Alcoa, Shell - land storage tanks

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Association corner

Precast Providing New Solutions Sarah Bachmann Executive Officer NPCAA

The Australian precast industry already leads the world in some areas, in others; it is forging new ground and embracing new technologies to expand both the flexibility and usability of precast materials. It is fast becoming the first choice for construction because of its time/cost saving benefits, safety benefits, quality, durability, reliability, design flexibility, high strengths, fire resistance and sustainability.

Total Precast Solutions Historically, the industry has produced both load bearing walling and non-load bearing cladding. In the latter market we have been prepared to hang our cladding products onto a frame constructed by others. The international trend is for a total precast structure - precast concrete frames to total support. This is already happening in Western Australia and Victoria. A high proportion of current projects are using either a structural precast frame, or a full load-bearing wall system comprised of external and internal walls.

More Design Solutions The industry has always offered a range of colours, textures and finishes including off-form grey, precast coloured with pigments, and finishes such as polishing, acid-etching and

grit-blasting. Additional flexibility is possible with varying panel shapes and sizes.

Adding to this already extensive list of options, the improved availability of formliners in recent times means that almost any pattern can now be incorporated into the design. Combine formliners with staining, and the possibilities become endless.

Energy Efficient Solutions In the case of walling, precast concrete sandwich panel systems are providing a sensible solution to meet the requirements of Section J in the Building Code of Australia. Insulation is sandwiched between an inner structural concrete wythe and an external concrete wythe; the three layers are held together by non-conductive connectors. The system offers the benefits of off-site manufacture, durability, fire resistance and thermal efficiency.

In the case of flooring, new systems such as TermoDeck offer great energy saving potential particularly for buildings with high internal heat gains, such as offices, hospitals, theatres, universities and schools. Hot or cold air is passed through the cores of high-thermal-mass hollowcore flooring and achieves high standards of year-round comfort with very low annual energy and maintenance requirements.

Looking for a Consulting Engineer?

Julia Lemercier National Operations Manager

The Association of Consulting Engineers

Australia (ACEA) is an industry body representing the business interests of firms providing engineering, technology and management consultancy services. Our objective is to provide vision, support and commitment with integrity and professionalism to firms providing intellectually based consulting services to the Built and Natural Environment.

The ACEA represents over 270 firms, from large multidisciplinary corporations to small niche practices, across a range of engineering fields represented by the ACEA with a total of over 45,000 employees.

The ACEA presents a unified voice for the industry and supports the profession by upholding a professional code of ethics and enhancing the commercial environment in which firms operate through strong representation and influential lobbying activities. The ACEA also supports members in all aspects of their business including risk management, contractual issues, professional indemnity insurance, occupational health and safety, procurement practices, workplace/

industrial relations, client relations, marketing, education, sustainability and business development.

Engineering disciplines covered by ACEA firms include civil, structural, geotechnical, industrial, mechanical, electrical, chemical, energy, mining, transportation, environmental, water, building services, IT & Communications and within each there are many areas of specialisation. In addition, many ACEA firms provide further management services to provide clients with a complete integrated solution combining their technical expertise together with management skills in areas such as project management, risk management, knowledge management and asset management.

ACEA firms are involved in a wide scope of projects from residential and commercial projects to large infrastructure projects. Major facilities designed by ACEA firms include Beijing Aquatics Centre (Water Cube), Wembley Stadium, Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Amazon Waterlily Pavilion – Adelaide Botanic Gardens and Federation Square in Melbourne.

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Association corner

New Green Guide: Government Policy Supports Green Development Romilly Madew Chief Executive Green Building Council of Australia

From home to work, and from learning to leisure, buildings are fundamental to our way of living. But buildings also have a significant impact on our environment: residential and commercial buildings are responsible for 23 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. That’s equivalent to 130 megatonnes of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere each year.

The upside to this however, is that buildings can play an important role in reducing our nation’s carbon footprint, and as a result, governments around Australia are beginning to offer a range of financial incentives and support programs to further the green development required to do this.

But how do you access these programs?

Many of members of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) have found it challenging to keep up-to-date on the variety of green building policies, incentives and programs offered throughout Australia at federal, state and capital city levels.

The GBCA has recently addressed this information barrier with a new one-stop-shop - The Green Guide to Government Policy.

Developed in partnership with the International Council on Local Environment Initiatives, this online reference tool will help Australian businesses to maximise support and funding for their

green building projects by accessing federal, state and capital city financial incentive programs through the click of a mouse.

It is clear from existing government policies that some states have progressed dramatically since we first assessed their performance in 2007. Climate change does not recognise borders, so it is essential that our governments work together to formulate complementary policies for green building, as well as eliminating any policy gaps. State governments have now set aggressive green house gas reduction targets of as much as 40 per cent.

Capital city governments around Australia are also demonstrating green leadership, with many promoting sustainable development and offering both financial and non-financial assistance. The Green Guide To Government Policy will not only provide our members with easy access to the range of programs available, but will also help governments around the country to work together.

Our buildings must be viable and sustainable in fifty or even one hundred years, and must address the long-term implications of climate change so that we can secure our nation’s and our planet’s future. After all, we are not building a community for tomorrow; we are building a community for generations.

Green ‘Bonanza’ Beckons for Victorian Economy Jennifer Cunich Executive Director Property Council of Australia (Victorian Division)

A couple of weeks ago the Victorian Government released the first of its findings from the Allen’s Report, which highlighted the $25 billion of economic and employment opportunities in a carbon constrained environment.

The report, compiled by the Allen Consulting Group and entitled Victoria’s Greenhouse Opportunity Set: New Growth Prospects in a Carbon Constrained World, analysed key industry sectors in Victoria and presents the best opportunities for seeing economic returns on green investments.

It was no surprise that the property and construction industry featured prominently in the report. According to the Allen’s groups’ findings, the property sector stands to benefit by up to $2.25 billion from green initiatives over the next twenty-five years.

The Minister has indicated that the second phase of the research will focus on five key industry case studies.

For some time now the Property Council, both locally and nationally has been advocating for complimentary measures to the CPRS, and other emissions reductions schemes, to breathe new life into Australia’s building stock.

According to a report by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), existing buildings constitute 97% 58 | Award | www.awardmagazine.com.au

of the current building stock. This figure is set to climb with the slow-down in new buildings due to constrained credit markets and access to finance.

The Property Council in Victoria has produced a policy paper called Tune Up Victoria, which calls on the State Government to inject direct sustainability grants to existing building owners in Melbourne, as well as large regional centres.

Grant recipients would be eligible to apply for up to $100,000, on the condition these funds are matched dollar for dollar by the building owner. In turn, the funds would work as seed capital to encourage green retrofits, lifting the energy performance and ratings of our existing stock.

The side benefits of this policy are many, but utmost is the impact it would have on encouraging job growth and injecting vital economic stimulus into our slowing economy.

Whenever I speak to our members, sustainability and economic stimulus are the issues they consistently mention as their top priorities. I look forward to working with the state government on the second phase of the Allen report in the coming months, to ensure that the property sector takes a leading role in creating green jobs and realising the potential of Victoria’s green ‘bonanza’.

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The Challenge: High-Performance Buildings The Solution: Bentley

Image courtesy HKR Architects

Image courtesy CH2MHill (B-W Pantex-HVAC Design)

BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING & MORE Software for the design, construction, and operation of all types of buildings and facilities around the world, from the conventional to some of the most inspiring projects of our time.

For projects small to large, simple to complex, each discipline-specific application provides an informed work environment – from conceptual design through documentation, to coordination and construction.

BUILDING ENERGY DESIGN, ANALYSIS & SIMULATION Bentley’s building performance software applications provide the fastest, most powerful, and most accurate design, analysis and simulation available for building load, plant energy, passive design, and dynamic thermal simulations.

Bentley’s comprehensive suite of software helps professionals productively deliver sustainable high-performance buildings.

GENERATIVE DESIGN SOFTWARE GenerativeComponents® (GC) enables architects and engineers to pursue designs and achieve results that were virtually unthinkable before.

GC facilitates the delivery of inspired sustainable buildings, freedom in form finding, use of innovative materials, exploration of “what-if” alternatives for even the most complex designs.

Open a world of new possibilities while you work more productively than ever before.

www.bentley.com/AW_buildings © 2009 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, and GenerativeComponents are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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Image courtesy Thompson, Ventulett, & Associates