"flood storm defence systems"

In collaboration with market leading Astina Group, GH Commercial brought to life luxury design visions with a series of custom flooring solutions.Products:Custom Designer Jet® carpet, 17oz sheetApollo Hardwood Hybrid Flooring, colour 555 Spotted Gum NaturalSpinifex 100% broadloom carpet, colour 91 Sand Storm Custom hand-crafted rugsBuilder: Astina GroupInstaller: Homecare SydneyPhotography: Sebastian Mrugalski Photography

To protect the priceless infrastructure and mission-critical IT information in Australia’s first custom built, high-tech data centre, Polaris, Project Manager Thiess turned to the leading manufacturer of specialist building products, Construction Specialties.Integral to the $121 million construction was the regulation of airflow to safeguard the computer hardware; Construction Specialties’ customised performance louvres were the only product in Australia able to meet this construction challenge.Boasting 14,000m2 of floor space on 5 storeys with 7000m2 of raised floor over three data centre levels, the project, based in Springfield, Queensland, is the largest of its kind in Australia and will be Queensland’s only Tier 3+ data collection point.So important were the Construction Specialties performance louvres to the development, much of the building design was driven by the positioning, material specifications and design of the louvres.Lawrence Issa, Project Manager for Construction Specialties, and project partners Darryl Wright and Steve Emery of Project Sales worked closely with the Polaris construction team from project inception to completion to devise the most effective weatherproofing and airflow option for the building which also matched the intended aesthetic.“In-depth collaboration with the Polaris team led to the selection of our Architectural Line Louvres, of which two types were used – our RS7305a and LSM louvre models,” Lawrence said. “Unlike other louvres on the market, this range prevents up to 99% water penetration and maximises airflow, while also complementing the building facade as the horizontal louvre frames selected are hidden from view.“Our performance louvres cover 345m2 of the exterior building and are specifically customised in terms of size, shape and colour for the data centre,” Lawrence said.Miguel Thievent, Senior Project Engineer at Thiess, remarks that the CS Louvres perform to the highest standard, which was essential in meeting the building specifications.“It was vital we didn’t compromise on weather proofing and airflow,” Miguel said. “For example, we have six generators integral to maintaining the whole IT system in case of power failure which would not run if the airflow was affected or they were damaged by rain.“The Construction Specialties performance louvres were the only ones on the market that could guarantee damage would not occur as a result of bad weather conditions,” Miguel said.Construction Specialties’ performance louvres are at the leading edge of louvre design and are tested under real world conditions to meet the maximum standards demanded.Construction Specialties offers a broad selection of louvres under 3 main categories:Storm Resistant/Performance Louvres – The main objective of Performance Louvres is to allow the passage of air, whilst providing the area beyond the room with protection from rain penetration.Standard Louvres – A standard louvre will provide the maxiumum airflow required, but with minimal rain defence.Screening Louvres – Screening louvres, are low cost solutions that hide plant or other equipment from view.CS Louvre systems are available in a comprehensive range of finishes and colours, ensuring there is a Construction Specialties Louvre system to suit most aesthetic and performance needs.Louvre panels are factory assembled in a controlled and quality assured environment and provided to site in a fully finished modular form; thus, allowing for trouble-free and fast installation.A comprehensive range of accessories including insect/bird mesh and blanking panels in various materials and finishes is available to complete the application.

Snapper Creek Car Park was developed as an environmentally friendly permeable car park. As such the Atlantis® Turf CellTM and Atlantis® Gravel CellTM systems were chosen, to provide gravel driveways and grass parking areas, thus preventing compaction of the soil and to protect the grass and to stabilize the gravel and provide a permeable car park.The parking areas were divided into car only parking and car & trailer parking.The area, consisting of natural sandy material, was excavated to a depth of 300mm, and a tensar grid was placed into the excavation and the excavated material placed back on top of the tensar grid and compacted.A layer of 100mm of gravel was then place on the areas where the Atlantis® Gravel CellTM modules were to be used and the Atlantis® Gravel cellTM modules positioned thereon and filled with gravel.The Atlantis® Turf CellTM modules were installed and filled with soil and then the area was grass seeded; no turf was used. The project was completed in mid 2014 and was at that stage semi grassed and in use.The project required 4,300sq. m of Atlantis® 52mm drainage cell, which are 480mm x 260mm x 52mm panels and have a rigid interlocking clipping system and are made from recycled polypropylene.In August 2017, the operators of the car park, which is still operating, were contacted and they stated that they were extremely happy with the condition of the car park, even though it has heavy traffic as there is a boat ramp there, and some areas have been flooded by Snapper Creek.The Atlantis® Turf CellTM & Atlantis® Gravel CellTM systems are specifically suited for car parks, access roads, aircraft taxiways and helicopter landing pads as it has the following features:a high load bearing of approximately 4000t/sq. M;protects the root system from compaction, while allow for vigorous horizontal and vertical root growth;permits surface water absorption and infiltration; andhave a long use life.

The Uni of Queensland Emmanual College features the following RBA products:The 2011 Brisbane floods initiated the refurbishment of parts of University of Queensland’s Emmanuel College and created an opportunity to upgrade student amenities. The Facilities Managers decided to control water usage by using RBA’s Time-Trol shower controller. At the same time, they chose to replace out-dated twin element ‘boiler’ water heaters with instantaneous gas. The results were astonishing. “The university estimates it is now saving $60-$70K per year in water and energy savings.”The Time-Trol Shower unit allows maintenance staff to nominate run-time and lock-out parameters. These can be selected from, and changed to, any one of 12 options. No special coding required, just the flick of a dial by staff. It was ultimately decided to offer students a 5 minutes shower with a 30 second lockout. According to university staff ‘…the students have adapted to the usage restrictions seamlessly. There hasn’t been a complaint uttered…’

The 52mm drainage cell has been used as normally in two guises. Firstly as a TurfcellTM grass reinforcement such as at Natural Designer Homes , a display home in Casuarina NSW. The photograph of the driveway is from about 1year ago, some 4 years from installation. As there are several cars in the family as well as work trucks the installation looks quite good.Secondly as a Gravel cellTM gravel retainer, such as that used at Leaf and Limb Nursery in Kin Kin Qld., where they use the 52mm cell in the walkways as this makes it easier for them to run the trolley through the gravel.However there is a third use for the 52mm drainage cell. That is as walk ways in mining camps. Traymark Industrial Caravans make the vans for accommodation for the workers and Atlantis® 52mm cells are supplied with each van to be used as a walk way to keep workers out of the mud and dirt when at their accommodation..Secondly as a Gravel cellTM gravel retainer, such as that used at Leaf and Limb Nursery in Kin Kin Qld., where they use the 52mm cell in the walkways as this makes it easier for them to run the trolley through the gravel.Now for another use: a client already was successfully using our 52mm drainage cell as reinforcement for parking bays beside a river and in August 2011, it occurred to him that he could extend the parking area into a boat ramp. Our 52mm drainage cell is made from recycled polypropylene with U. V. protection, in sheets being 480mm x 260mm x 52mm.Two tracks, being 0.96m in width were connected to the 52mm drainage cell in the parking area and also were secured by metal hook pegs to the drainage cell of the parking area. The tracks lead to a full width ramp (2.88m in width) into the water.To prevent the ramp from sinking fully into the silt, the ramp and adjacent section of the two tracks are formed by two layers of 52mm drainage cell connected to each other by cable ties. Metal hook pegs were also used to assist in holding the ramp in position.We contacted our client in August 2017 and he is very happy with the boat ramp which is still in use despite several floods, and constant exposure to the elements.Thus the high load bearing of approximately 4000t/sq. M and the long useful life of the 52mm drainage cell has permitted the 52mm drainage cell to be used and still being used in many ways.

The Burj Khalifa – formerly the Burj Dubai – is a legendary building that can only be described in superlatives. At 828 metres high, it is the tallest building in the world. The Burj Khalifa has 160 floors, more than any building in the world. The building also has the highest floor, the highest façade made of aluminium and glass, the highest nightclub and the highest restaurant, the highest service lift and the lift with the longest travel distance. Finally, the building has the highest positioned revolving doors ever installed in a façade worldwide. In less than 30 years, Dubai has become the leading city in the Middle East and is known for its architectural and technical excellence. The Burj Khalifa has become the symbol of this progress. The Burj Khalifa also takes the title of the highest structure in the world back to the Middle East; the Great Pyramid of Giza used to hold the title 4 millennia ago. International Collaboration The tower was designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merril, known for their designs for the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and the new One World Trade Center in New York. The three-pronged design is based on the spider lily desert flower and consists of three elements around a central core, with the elements spiralling upwards. It can rightly be called an international project: the construction team consisted of Samsung Engineering & Construction employees from South Korea in collaboration with Besix from Belgium and Arabtec from the United Arab Emirates. The UK consultancy Hyder Consulting was responsible for overseeing construction of the building. In total, companies from more than 30 different countries contributed to the construction of the Burj Khalifa. A Windy Challenge The wind is quite a challenge when building a skyscraper of this size. Without additional measures, the top of the building would move so much from side to side due to the wind that people would become seasick. Dubai is also regularly tested by the shamals: sandstorms that can last for days. As the outer façade of the Burj Khalifa contains an enormous amount of glass, these weather conditions presented a considerable challenge. The three-part design proved to be the solution because the spiral floors break the wind currents around the building, resulting in a stable structure. The World's Highest Revolving Doors Skidmore, Owings & Merril's design includes an observation platform on the 124th floor of the building. Two glass revolving doors provide access to this room. At 442 metres above the ground, these are the highest positioned revolving doors ever installed in the façade of a building. The revolving doors must also be able to withstand an extremely high wind load of at least 3000 Pascal, which corresponds to an F3 class tornado. The Burj Khalifa required two automatic revolving doors with a diameter of 3,000 mm and a total height of 2,700 mm; the cover could only be 300 mm high with the motor installed. Generally speaking, a revolving door with these specifications would only be able to withstand wind loads of up to 689 Pascal. It was clear, then, that not every revolving door manufacturer could supply an entrance that met these requirements. Challenge Accepted Koninklijke Boon Edam was one of only two companies invited to devise a system for this challenge. There were two main problems that had to be solved: the round sides of the revolving door had to be strong enough to resist the wind, and the door set had to be properly fixed so the door wings could not be blown off during a storm. Boon Edam worked closely with Mace, the Hyder Consulting Group, Samsung Engineering and Construction and Turner Construction, the subcontractor, to develop a system that met all these requirements. During the first phase of the process, the second company invited to tender had to give up because their design did not meet the challenging conditions on the 124th floor. Boon Edam persisted in its efforts, and after conducting various wind load and glass tests, it became possible to adapt the construction of the Tourniket to the requirements of the Burj Dubai. A Tornado-Proof Revolving Door at the Burj Khalifa Our proposal for the Burj Khalifa consisted of a Tourniket with specially reinforced door frames twice the width and thickness of a normal revolving door. These were securely anchored with special bolts under the floor to guarantee the structure's rigidity. Although most revolving doors are installed on the top of the subfloor, this door was installed under the top finish layer of the concrete floor. To guarantee the stability of the door set, an extra-thick steel frame was added to the structure. This allows the door wings to easily withstand the wind pressure. Expansion on the 148th Floor in 2014 Boon Edam installed the same specially designed Tourniket revolving door on the 148th floor as on the 124th floor. However, the new project brought an extra challenge: transporting all of the materials from the basement of the building to the 148th floor. First, the materials had to be transported in one lift to the 111th floor. They were then transferred to a second lift, from where everything had to be moved manually from the 149th floor to the 148th floor, to the door's location. Special Projects Based on Standard Solutions The revolving doors we created for the Burj Khalifa were an extreme challenge. The experience and expertise of our technicians combined with the tried and tested technology of the Tourniket enabled us to develop a successful solution. Both revolving doors are now used daily and give visitors a spectacular view of Dubai. The glass design beautifully complements the modern façade of the observation platform and puts Dubai's beautiful skyline in the spotlight.

Rondo has so far provided over 10,000lm of various wall and ceiling systems, including Rondo Steel Stud Drywall Framing System, KEY-LOCK Suspended Ceiling System and DUO Exposed Grid Ceiling System. More complicated designs arose when it was discovered that the high cyclonic winds would affect the facade of the building.

his project saw a number of our systems installed including six of our EasyMech MR platforms in varying sizes, ScreentoRoof MR system, ClassicScreen Walls and our Acoustic+ screen wall system.We consulted with the team from design to install to ensure a smooth and seamless experience.For more information on our systems, contact our Customer Care Team today.

The KEYLOCK Concealed Suspended Ceiling System, Steel Stud and Track Wall Framing System, and XPRESS Drywall Grid Ceiling System have been integrated throughout the project. Rondo’s long-term relationship with Ceiling & Wall Contractors enables the project to run smoothly and the onsite coordination is exemplary.

Rondo provided a range of market leading wall and ceiling systems for both buildings 3 and 4. Our KEYLOCK Concealed Suspended Ceiling System and Steel Stud and Track Wall Framing System were used for the internal fit out, completed by AUSTRAL Interiors. SMTM Projects used our 1.15 BMT Stud and Track with top hats.

As the project was located in Hobart, it required the project team including Rondo to work together to be organised and keep a clear path of communication. This resulted in the full specification being completed early in the process, the specification included Rondo Wall Stud, KEY LOCK Ceiling Systems, DUO Ceiling Systems, External Soffit Systems and our extensive knowledge on seismic design.

The entire building also featured ceilings acoustically isolated from the old structure where heavy duty isolators were required to be incorporated into the Rondo KEY-LOCK Concealed Suspension System. Similarly Rondo had to design a supplementary suspension system beneath these ceilings to accept a secondary system to support some services and particularly architectural feature ceiling beneath.

With a demand for leading scientific research facilities growing year upon year, the South Australian Government commissioned the development of the South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Since the project commenced in 2010, Rondo has supplied our KEY-LOCK Suspended Ceiling System, Steel Stud and Track, DUO Exposed Grid Ceiling System, PANTHER Access Panels, Shaftwall and Walk-About Trafficable Ceiling System.

he developments $247.3m price tag makes it marginally more expensive than the $246m Adelaide University building next door. HIB will house the Centre for Cancer Biology and UniSA’s pharmacy school, with 450 researchers between them. Rondo’s involvement included providing ceiling and wall systems using our Shaftwall One-Way Erected System, KEY-LOCK Concealed Ceiling System and PANTHER Access Panels to create the desired effect.

The refurbishment of the Victoria Gardens shopping centre designed by Colab Design Studio uses Sculpform's Aluminium Click-on Batten system to create a stunning curved Oculus, along with feature walls and ceilings throughout the centre. Sculptform’s Click-on batten system provided a unique solution that could be customised to address the incredibly complex geometry of the existing architecture. Being able to use the same system for the mall cladding, mall ceiling installations and the oculus cladding ensured absolute consistency across the entire centre.

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.

The project has called on our Technical Services Team for wall and ceiling designs, with significant quantities of Rondo systems used in the project including Rondo Stud and Track, KEY-LOCK Concealed Suspended Ceiling Systems and PANTHER Access Panels.

For instance, Superior faced the challenge of creating curved detailed bulkheads and feature ceilings. However, with Rondo’s help using a hybrid of the Rondo KEY-LOCK Concealed Ceiling System and Stud & Track Wall Framing System, they managed to create a great outcome.

The $11.3 million dollar renovation of Lambton Square required Rondo product throughout including our Key-Lock Concealed Ceiling System, Steel Stud Wall framing system and various other Rondo components for the fixing of plasterboard and feature panels.

Rondo Technical Representative Tino Cucinotta, worked closely with the 2DG team – and assisted with the supply of QUIET STUD Acoustic Wall System, Stud & Track and Finishing Sections, whilst Rondo’s newly released XPRESS Drywall Grid Ceiling System was due to arrive, ensuring the project could continue efficiently.

Rondo has supplied the external framing system for EIFS façade system in the Al Zeina development. Al Zeina is the strategic gateway to the new Al Raha Beach Development where the natural beauty of Abu Dhabi is captured by the creation of a collection of formal Arabic gardens, courts and plazas in the tradition of gardens of the world.

The Rondo Technical Services Department worked closely with CSR Gyprock to come up with a suitable External Wall system. The project consists of over 30,000 lineal metres of 92 1.15bmt lipped studs used for the external wall system and over 45,000 lineal metres of 64mm 0.50bmt lipped studs for the internal walls.

Rondo worked with Forman Commercial Interiors and Alpha Holdings on the three storey, $40 million project by providing all of the Steel Stud and Track requirements along with the KEY-LOCK Concealed Suspended Ceiling System. Due to the various wall systems designed, Rondo supplied diagrammatic specifications for the junction details to assist in completing the project, which finished in August this year.

Rondo worked closely with contractor Future Carpentry and Ceilings providing 92mm Stud & Track Systems, Key-Lock Ceiling Systems and heavy gauge Rondo products externally, throughout the project. A special feature in the design involved an intricate ‘wave’ ceiling feature requiring both convex and concave curved Rondo TCR sections to achieve the desired effect.

Rondo worked closely with contractor Future Carpentry and Ceilings providing Rondo 92mm Stud & Track Systems, KEY-LOCK Ceiling Systems and heavy gauge Rondo products externally, throughout the project. A special feature in the design involved an intricate ‘wave’ ceiling feature requiring both convex and concave curved Rondo TCR sections to achieve the desired effect.

APPLICATION: 52mm Drainage Cell.PROJECT LOCATION: Silkstone Qld.PROJECT DETAILS: Parking Bays at the Silkstone Primary School.PROJECT COMPLETION: Sep 2013.Atlantis system saves big old tree.At Silkstone State school Qld. a contentious issue arose. The school required car parking and a sealed one at that. But, in the proposed car park was a huge old tree. The tree could be cut down and the roots dug out or the tree couldbe left, with open soil above the root system to allow for infiltration to keep the tree healthy; but this would lose atleast six car spaces. What was to be done?The answer turned out to be simple – keep the tree, but surround the tree with Atlantis® Gravel Cell™ 52mm cells.Hence while the rest of the car park was sealed, the areaaround the tree was prepared and the 52mm cells werelaid and clipped together there and filled with 10mmgravel. This area was of sufficient size to provide 3 carplaces on each side of the tree and a driveway in frontof the tree, while at the same time allowing rainfall toinfiltrate through the gravel into the root system.Thus we had a win-win situation. Not only was the treesaved, and money saved on not having to remove it, butthe root system of the tree was protected by the GravelCell™ system, and six extra car spaces were created.

The hotel and casino will include a luxury hotel, gaming areas, dining, and retail and convention facilities along with numerous special attractions. Rondo provided this project with all the Drywall Steel Stud Partition Systems for the podium, gaming areas and the hotel tower. Included in the plan were also specially designed and supplied maintenance WALK–ABOUT Trafficable Ceiling Systems as per the project requirements.

Contractors Precision Interior Walls and Ceilings (PIWC) primary responsibility was the installation of the specialist linings on curved feature ceilings. PIWC Construction Manager, Ashley O’Connor mentions working closely with Rondo, and using CAD drawings to create a ceiling system before the panels were even made. “We designed and ensured the ceiling systems project’s specific design criteria were met”, said Ashley.

Rondo’s Seismic products within each system included DUO Perimeter Trim Sliding Clip (Rondo 850), KEY-LOCK TCR Seismic Joiner (Rondo 865) and Seismic plenum braces. With the KEY-LOCK Seismic Concealed Ceiling System, two-side fixed, free wall perimeter connections and Rondo 141 Wall Track (1.15BMT to suit 129 Furring Channel) was used.

Due to tight plenum space and extremely congested plenum areas, Rondo’s new Xpress Drywall Grid System was the ideal ceiling system to use. This maximised the ceiling heights in all guest rooms while offering compliant plenum vertical clearances. Contractors implemented Rondo’s intricate feature ceilings and bulkheads throughout the entire building, such areas included the lobby, restaurants and conference areas.

When deciding on bicycle parking solutions for the Ovo project, Cora Bike Rack presented its range of innovative product designs that could tailored for this special project. In order to provide maximum capacity and accessibility, Cora’s E3DT-GT double tier system, E3VR vertical wall mount system and CBR bike parking rails were combined to offer the ultimate AS2890.3 compliant EOT facility.

A Tricell system was designed by SAS International to fit the "Y" shaped departure lounge at Santiago Airport. SAS International has designed, manufactured and installed metal ceiling solutions for both interior and exterior areas of the new 74,000m² terminal of the Aeropuerto de Santiago, Spain. SAS810 tricell has been installed to create a triangular aesthetic in the departure lounges. This open cell system provides a geometric form that can easily be repeated for a striking finish. The flexible approach in SAS International’s design process enabled this unique solution to fit within the ‘Y’ shaped designed departure lounge. Installed in the main terminal and baggage hall, as well as exterior ceiling areas, is the linear profile system SAS710. The linear slat ceiling, designed so that each slat lines up neatly with the next, forms a perfect row resulting in clean and simple architectural lines. SAS710 was also chosen for the exterior of the building to provide continuity of design. Using specially designed slat retaining angles, the system has been adapted for strength and durability to prevent slats from being dislodged in high wind.

Rondo has supplied 80,000l/m of DUO Exposed Grid Ceiling System and 148,000 L/M of Steel Stud Drywall Framing System to three of the main buildings. As the design required a variety of special length products, Rondo has been producing large quantities of these items in advance and storing them at the Rondo warehouse in WA to enable quick supply and install for contractors on site, which ensures the project can progress at a rapid rate.

No 1. Collins Wharf is the latest part of the $1.2 billion development of the Victoria Harbour precinct. The 29-level apartment complex, built by Lend Lease and designed by Architectural firm, Bates Smart was completed in September this year and boasts 321 water-lined apartments and townhouses. Expoconti were awarded the wall and ceiling contract for the $106M development and soon after contacted Rondo to supply systems for the external walls, external cladding and internal suspended ceiling system.

MP Group were charged with managing the installation and finishing of all internal and external walls and this is also where Rondo offered our support. With the external structural steel framing having been installed 150mm out of position, Rondo’s Technical Services Team came to the rescue and designed an external stud wall system using our MAXIframe External Wall Framing System to ‘fill the gap,’ including design of special header bracing details to support the wall.

Looking back at one of the first buildings to use Alspec’s ecoWALL 225 structural framing system.