Constructing journal 7

Constructing Environments Week 7 - OFF CAMPUS SITE VISIT

Daniel Kellett 635876

Group Site Visit Time of Visit- Friday 13th September 2013 - 10am to 1pm Location: Green Square Apartments: - 609 Victoria Street Abbotsford, Victoria

The 5 buildings consist of one internal steel structure that both makes up the framework of the building as well as connects all the individual sites together to form the Green Square Complex. At the stage of visit, in-situ concrete pouring, which makes up the footings of the site as well as the vertical columns, had been completed with the continual addition, as well as previous addition of 850 pre-fabricated concrete panels that create the superstructure of the site around the steel frame, this can been seen in figures 1 and 2.

Building Information:

Figure 2. Interior Concrete Panels

Figure 3. Pool Structure

• 5 Buildings (A --> E) • 3 Basement areas • Total of 500 Apartments with 360 car spaces Managed by Icon Construction which manage the sub-contractors (370 people) and laborers (10 people). Involved also are a team of OH & S to oversee the safety of the construction as well as the well-being of the staff involved (regulations of the space and accommodations for the workers).

The construction project began in September of 2012 and is currently still in stage 1 of 3. 6 months was initially spent building the basement and now construction has moved to above ground.

Figure 1. Process from left to right, start to finished product

Figure 4. Finished Building (Green Square 2013)

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Figure 5. Site D Construction

Building D is the most interesting and complicated of the sites. It sits above a Centrelink Branch which has maintained operation right throughout construction and so has provided builders with unconventional challenges. The result of this was to use the existing steel columns and construct a Rigid and Thick (1 metre - usually 1800mm - 200mm) Transfer platform which acts as a secondary base above the pre-existing site in order to continue building upwards (this can be seen in change in building appearance in figure 5 on the left). Conventional building means are then applied, with footing attaching to this platform and additional reinforcement to the existing site to withstand the additional forces. Site D uses a Steel framework structure, however the rest of the structure used to create the site is comprised of timber which can be seen in figure 5. Insulation, services and room fixtures are then added in order to complete the site.

The sites all contain a substation for services located on the exterior of the site, close to road access, with services within the site, running off the back cores of each of the separate buildings (figure 7). The main central area of the sites is a courtyard region which is comprised of a composite construction of steel and concrete and this results in a interior garden space equipped with pool, as can be seen in figure 6 below. In order to make this interior garden possible, the slabs, and that of most of the buildings slabs, are post tensioned in order to decrease the thickness of the slab and allow for a more viable building (more floors possible).

Figure 6. Progression of pool structure to final product (Green Square 2013)

Figure 7. Wall and Roof Services

Due to the size and compact nature of the apartments, steps are taken to ensure each location is build to a high standard in order to be structurally sound as well as viable for living in. Each room is equipped with water proofing membranes on balconies and bathrooms to ensure no leaks from water. The balconies are equipped with a double layer to safeguard against the unpredictable Melbourne weather. This comes in the form of a layer of waterproofing, the screed and dry concrete followed by the second layer. Membranes are also used on the site in any locations where risk of leaking or potential future risk is identified.

This is primarily in locations where connections are made with slabs as well as smaller components within the sites, especially the valleys in roofing systems as they channel rainfall on a regular basis. Also, any spaces located above a livable space are fitted with acoustic matting which can be seen in figure 8 on the left.

Materials such as timber for the kitchen, fabrics for the windows and flooring and glass for the windows and doors complete the rooms.

Figure 8. Acoustic Matting References: Green Square Apartments 2013, Central Courtyard Space, Salta Properties, Port Melbourne, Victoria, viewed 18 September 2013, <http://www.greensquareapartments.com.au>

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