"emergency shelters"

The NSW SES used Acrovyn by Design, where the walls were all white and needed some visualisation.

Rondo was called upon to supply our market leading Seismic Wall and Ceiling System including Steel Stud & Track Drywall Framing, KEY-LOCK Concealed Suspended Ceilings, and DUO Exposed Grid Ceiling Systems.

Designed by Silver Thomas Hanley (STH) Architects, the structural additions provide four extra levels of useable space above the existing emergency department. As a construction-managed project, the design and construction teams were able to work in concert to ensure all specifications were correct and appropriate at every stage of the work. Having considered the project challenges, including site constraints, access and speed in which the project needed to be completed, CW175 was chosen for its flexibility, engineering and structural integrity.

European telecommunications operator, Tele2 were moving into new offices in Kista Science City - Stockholm as their headquarters. It had been decided that they were going in an Activity - Based Workplace direction, featuring large, open work areas where people could move freely throughout most of the building. From a security perspective, this work concept came with a few challenges. The Business Challenge Tele2 were moving into a new building with an “Open Office” design. The challenge was to create a transparent, inviting atmosphere while still maintaining a high level of security. Furthermore, an emergency exit was also required through the gates. Together with Tele2 and BAU architects, Boon Edam started sketching and researching, to find the perfect solution for the main entrance to the building. The original plan to make the building as open as possible, changed slightly to accommodate important security needs, both around the entrance and throughout the whole building itself.

Acrovyn by Design® from Construction Specialties, was specifically chosen for the new Veterinary Specialist Services (VSS) Hospital in Jindalee, Brisbane, Queensland. The overall objective of the project was to create a bright and welcoming space, as well as an extremely hygienic care environment for the veterinary doctors and staff, the patients (pets) and their owners.The combination of both functionality and design flexibility available with Acrovyn by Design® has allowed the creative “cute pet theme” to be installed behind the wash basins as splash-backs. The images used include a collection of cute animals such as kittens and puppies, which could very easily be executed with the design flexibility and functionality of Acrovyn by Design® wall panel sheets.Veterinary hospitals and lobbies are high traffic environments with a significant amount of equipment, including trolleys and stretchers that can scrape or bump against walls. In addition, they have strict cleaning requirements for high hygiene standards that often requires the use of harsh chemicals, such as bleach, to disinfect hard surfaces.The client’s mission statement is to “provide the best possible care”. To this end, they have 4 different locations around Queensland all operating a 24-hour referral and emergency animal hospital. All facilities have state-of-the-art equipment with experienced and helpful staff. The first of the four hospitals opened to the public in 2000.Acrovyn by Design® has a proven reputation as the preferred choice with many major hospital projects across Australia, including The Royal Hobart Hospital, The Memorial Hospital Adelaide, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Adelaide’s Calvary Hospital to name a few. It is wonderful to see that the unique qualities of Acrovyn by Design® are now being recognized as suitable for use in the care of our much-loved pets undergoing veterinary care as well.Did you know that the number of Australians who are adopting or fostering pets since the COVID-19 restrictions were introduced has exploded? According to the RSPCA, many people are now adopting pets because they feel that they finally have the time to settle a new animal into their home. It is also believed that home isolation has increased the desire among many single people for a companion. The RSPCA has reported a 45% increase in dog adoptions and a 20% increase in cat adoptions since COVID19 began.Consider Acrovyn by Design® for your next project; for design flexibility, impact resistance and easy to clean maintenance in veterinary hospital environments. In addition, Acrovyn by Design® allows for fast installation when faced with tight project schedules in 24/7, critical care operating workplaces.

Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA, is quite satisfied with the functioning and cost savings of their Boon Edam Tournex revolving door. The Tournex is an example of a classic automatic revolving door and is designed to handle high capacity applications. The historic building housing the Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square originally had a manual revolving door flush with the building’s facade. Somewhere along the way, it was decided to remove the relatively smaller gauge revolving door and replace the entrance with a double set of sliding doors. “Our HVAC system was designed for a revolving door entrance,” said Ray Hewitt, the hotel’s Director of Engineering, “we wanted to put a revolving door back in to address the negative pressure we were experiencing in the lobby.” That negative pressure was pulling in cold air during the winter months, and cooled, conditioned air was escaping out the double doors in the summer. During a complete lobby renovation project a few years back, designers worked to return to a revolving door lobby entrance. Because the Warwick is in a historic building, they could not change the facade of the building, so they pushed the entire entrance into the lobby itself. The architects and the designer chose a 12’ diameter Boon Edam Tournex automatic revolving door, with three door wings and a highly polished (mirror) stainless steel finish. The Boon Edam door is enclosed in a stylish glass cube, accented with purple neon lighting. Now, those entering the hotel first pass through a double set of sliding doors at the building envelope, leading to the revolving door. Swing doors are also available on either side of the revolving door to enter the lobby itself. The effect of the sliding doors and the revolving door in a cube is to virtually eliminate air flow from outside in, and vice versa. The Warwick has 301 hotel rooms and 106 permanent residents. On any given day, between guests, residents, staff, and visitors, up to 1000 people are passing through the entrance. Since the installation of the new entrance, the effect has been night and day—guest and visitors utilise the lobby space longer and in greater numbers. A big community table is usually filled all day long and the lobby is accented with attractive fireplaces. The hotel lobby also offers two full service food and beverage outlets (Bluestone Lane & Prime Rib Steakhouse), with a third to be announced sometime this year. In addition to a now grand sense of arrival and more useable, comfortable space, the new entrance is also paying dividends on energy savings. “With the old entrance, our HVAC was running constantly, it could not keep up. Now, the unit can shut down periodically; that’s good for the health of the system, and we’re seeing substantial savings on energy bills,” said Hewitt. The Boon Edam revolving door has an important feature for installations like a hotel or large office building—in the event of an emergency, the doors stop and the wings can be “book folded” to create wide open ingress and egress. The hotel has a maintenance contract with Advanced Door, but since installation the Boon Edam revolving door has been virtually trouble free.

As the countdown for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games begins, the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre is emerging as the centrepiece of the newly revitalised Carrara Sports Precinct. The Centre rises from the bank of Clear Island Lake in Carrara, Queensland, resplendent in an eye-catching, sub-tropical palette of yellow and ultramarine blue. Its sprawling 16,500m2 footprint is home to over 5300 spectator seats and 15 multi-use sports courts, which will host a number of Commonwealth Games events including badminton, weightlifting, and wrestling. Designed by BVN Architecture and taking just under four years to complete, the $101 million Centre represents the best and the brightest that the Gold Coast has to offer in terms of sports training and completion facilities. Throughout the design process, BVN had to comply with standards set by the Commonwealth Games and International Sports Federations, as well as those of the local council. The resulting project embodies – and triumphs over – the challenges faced by high profile projects that need to meet high standards, and is evidence of how rewarding such projects can be when done right. It’s rare that a project so closely captures the spirit of the program for which it was designed: the Centre does this and more with flair, the bold, colourful design clearly communicating the vibrancy and high energy of the Australian sporting spirit.  To realise the soon-to-be iconic design of the Centre, BVN turned to Interpon Powder Coatings, the largest manufacturer of powder coatings worldwide. Drawing from their unbeatable experience as the trusted frontrunners in powder coatings technology, Interpon’s team of experts closely colour-matched the architects’ palette to bring their drawings to life. “We were able to work collaboratively with our liquid Metal Coatings team and Bluescope® Steel to match the corresponding powder coat colour to compliment the exterior durability required for the project,” said Gareth Connell, Interpon Specifications Manager.  Warranty-grade Interpon D2015 Ultriva™ products in Carrara Gold Matt and Copper Penny Matt met the long-term legacy requirements of the Council, and will hold their sunny colours for years to come. The Interpon D2015 Ultriva product range offers outstanding performance with a 20 year film integrity and 15 year colour and gloss retention guarantee.  The warmth of the project also reflects the human element that organisers of the 2018 Games are championing in the lead up to the event. “This is a special event… it stands for everything good about humanity,” Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters told Inside the Games earlier this month. “We want to make sure the Gold Coast and Australia continues that.”  The gold-tinged façade is fitting in more ways than one: once the Commonwealth Games end mid-April 2018, the Centre will become the new home of the Gold Coast AFL Club, aptly named the SUNS. “We are absolutely delighted,” said Andrew Travis, CEO of the Gold Coast SUNS, about the impending move, “I can’t wipe the smiles off people’s faces.”  For over 25 years, Interpon has supplied high quality powder coating solutions for architectural projects of all styles and colour palettes, bringing smiles to the faces of designers and clients alike.

A bold and significant new development has emerged in St Kilda as a ‘liveable Lego tower’, rising in tiered rainbow cubes that appear to balance like building blocks. Aptly named The Icon, the distinctive new building is wrapped in expanded aluminium mesh that changes colour as sunlight moves.The inspiration of artist Matthew Johnson, who worked with Jackson Clements Burrows Architects to conceptualise the distinctive complex, was achieved with Interpon Powder Coating on board as a collaborative partner.“My vision for the project was for people look up and see something interesting, to see something that is in a sense iconographic – as a marker or reference point,” explains Matthew.Interpon were involved with the project “right from the start”, explains Gareth Connell, Regional Specification, Interpon. Their association began after they were introduced to Pace Developments to discuss colour and product selection for the external façade.“We work closely with Interpon, and Pace asked us to quote with the product already powder coated,” says Ian Dunstan, southern regional sales manager at Locker Group, who manufacture perforated and expanded metal. Interpon were able to step in and develop the colour range separately, to meet the design brief and provide an ultra-durable coating system that meet the expectations of all parties.“The team at Interpon were very accommodating, engaged and professional in taking the concept on board,” says Matthew. “We were able to manifest unique colours based on the ratios I created with their chemist, inventing a whole new series of colours. This was crucial, as each level is depicted in different colour hue variations from earth to sky, which cross reference the nature of the geographical and environmental stratums. This flux of seasonal change is portrayed through subtle tonal gradation. Working with Interpon was a very fluid operation.”Interpon has collaborated on several high profile property developments and high rises over the years – although perhaps none quite as unique or with as many distinct characteristics as The Icon. “The nature of expanded aluminium mesh is such that it is formed by shearing and expanding aluminium sheet to create the ‘3D form’ effect. A visually appealing system for a façade, the shearing of the metal can present issues with very sharp edges, particularly in aggressive coastal environments,” Gareth explains.“Part of understanding this project was to comprehend as many elements as possible. Given the location was in St Kilda, with the bay just over 1.5km away, environmental considerations such as UV degradation, exposure to corrosive sea salts and prevailing winds needed to be considered.”After reviewing available data, such as Bureau of Meteorology weather patterns and local geography and topography maps, a specific duplex or two-layer powder finishing system was specified.“This consisted of a controlled preparation process for the expanded aluminium sheets. An epoxy barrier primer (was specified) to provide enhanced protection and to build the sharp edges in order to minimise issues associated with filiform corrosion. And the ultra-durability polyester powder top coat was developed in 34 distinct colours,” Gareth says.After the colour range was developed, it was applied by powder coating specialists Mansutti Bros. Lead by managing director Claude Mansutti, the team refinished hundreds of mesh panels over a period of nine months.“It was a major benefit to be using powder coating because, unlike liquid paints, powder is cured once it comes out of the oven and it’s ready to go once it’s cooled down. If they were painted, the drying phase could delay the process from refinish to installation by up to two weeks. It meant we were able to keep to a very strict schedule,” Claude says.“The project involved a lot of large spreadsheet work. There were 17 floors and over 30 colours, with panels in 15 sizes; it was quite a matrix to work with. But the end result is so different and so unique. It’s an interesting design and I’m sure it’s going to be a talking point for the area for many years.”

After nearly 100 years of serving the local community, the Petersham RSL club moved to a new home this year, in a redevelopment centred on style and comfort. Part of the design brief for the architects and developers was that the indoor spaces were comfortable for guests, particularly in reception, which can often feel the effects of wind and debris entering through open doors. The developers chose a fully automatic Tourniket revolving door from Boon Edam Australia to make a grand first impression to the classy new club, which was recently opened by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It is the same type of cost-effective entrance used by leading hospitality venues globally to protect patrons and workers against wind, weather, and pollution, while also controlling traffic flow and opening up new sheltered areas for productive amenities. Petersham RSL CEO, Danny Fitzgerald, said “The Boon Edam revolving door creates an impressive entrance to our modern club, and was the perfect fit for our redevelopment. With this door, Boon Edam met two key specification requirements – enhancing climate control inside the club, and enhancing personal comfort in the reception area.” A welcoming entrance The 3-wing Tourniket revolving door pictured has a height of 2,650mm and diameter of 2,800mm to allow ample room for entry and egress. It has four LED warm white downlights for a pleasant and welcoming experience. A powder coated black grey finish on the exterior of the door allows it to effortlessly blend in with the building’s overall aesthetic and design. Boon Edam Australia Managing Director Michael Fisher says that a major benefit of revolving doors is that they allow visitors and staff alike to enter into a new world inside – one that is calm, quiet, and protected against allergens and climactic extremes. “In addition to customising the door to the club’s aesthetic preferences, we worked closely with Petersham RSL to deliver the doors within a complex installation involving temporary doors while other elements of the façade and reception were completed, prior to the arrival and installation of the revolving door,” he said. Boon Edam Australia is a part of the globally leading revolving door manufacturer, Royal Boon Edam, and the door selected by the Petersham RSL is a type already used by architects, builders and specifiers for Fortune 500 companies globally and for major Australian hotels, clubs, banks, offices, legislatures, and buildings. “The teams worked well together, and the result was an outstanding front façade and entrance, which will have a long-term impact on climate control and comfort,” said Fisher. Always Open, Always Closed A key benefit of revolving door systems in addition to access control is energy conservation, with their “always open, always closed” functionality providing lower HVAC losses while increasing the temperature stability and comfort of people inside. These advantages have been proven in many of the world’s leading clubs, hospitals and hotels, where visitor comfort is paramount. “Think about how much air escapes when a sliding door opens, or how much dust, pollution, or pollen can enter the front reception area. With a revolving door, only one quadrant of air is moving around each time, providing a highly effective method of controlling the indoor climate,” said Fisher. Further economy and versatility are provided where required by night locking entrance options including electromechanical locks that can be unlocked with a key or by means of an optional key impulse switch.  “These climate control features are not always considered at the design stage, so Petersham RSL has shown great foresight by specifying these outcomes early,” added Fisher.