"timber structures"

Rondo will feature throughout the building utilising the popular KEY-LOCK Suspended Ceiling System, as well as Steel Stud and Track. When gazing out of the large open windows from the magnificent structures, the views of the city skyline and rolling hills are exceptional. Clyde Quay Wharf residents are undoubtedly treated to the best of both worlds with the epitome of urban living and coveted waterfront lifestyle.

Fogarty Bros, who are the main commercial plasters in Bundaberg for over 15 years, were contracted to install the internal and external linings. Due to the region’s conditions, external wall designs for cyclonic conditions were needed, pre-construction meetings were needed to discuss benefits and limitations. The builder used extra structural steel where needed and custom suit windows to fit the Rondo design.

Designed by Richard Lutze. This project won the 2017 Building Designers Association of Australia Design Award for Public Buildings/Structures. The building has been designed with modern conveniences while also ensuring a sustainable passive layout, with large openable areas facing north overlooking rural vistas, providing good natural light and ventilation to the classrooms and laboratory through the use of Breezway Louvre Windows.

This massive project took two years of construction to complete, and Rondo’s technical services team were able to provide design solutions for challenging areas in the project. This included a heavy gauge 150mm Steel Stud Wall Framing System which required alignment with and concealment of the structural frame of the building, and a 6 metre high internal dividing wall that was subjected to higher internal pressures due to the louvres installed.

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.

Melbourne’s CBD features a $230 million Victoria Police ‘super’ complex. Designed by Woods Bagot Architects, the 12 level, 27,000m2 project provided Rondo Victoria’s Charlie Khoury with the opportunity to work with their project team in the early design process to come up with solutions to meet their architectural requirements. Together with Rondo’s technical services engineers many solutions were found such as how to satisfy a requirement for the many free-standing walls to be constructed without using structural steel.

A significant Melbourne landmark, Victoria’s Shrine of Remembrance has undergone a major redevelopment by local firm ARM Architecture. Completed in late 2014, the redesign accommodates new requirements of the memorial that have evolved in recent years, while respecting the original design by Hudson and Wardrop, thus ensuring the memorial’s use by future generations.  Built between 1928 and 1934 to honour those who served in the First World War, the Shrine was inspired by the tomb of King Mausolus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In the late 1990s, the Shrine of Remembrance Trustees embarked on a bold plan for the site. Access to the upper levels of the Shrine was problematic, especially for veteran visitors, and public visitation was increasing as younger generations came to understand the legacy of their forebears. Accordingly, the Shrine’s collections were expanding with donations of artefacts from families and a growing need for education facilities and an improved visitor experience became evident.  In 2001, ARM Architecture were commissioned to develop a master plan to develop the Shrine. Following the original 1920s design, ARM proposed four symmetrical zig-zag shaped courtyards, allowing access to the undercroft spaces under the existing structure which now house gallery areas, an auditorium, dedicated education rooms, an archive and offices. Stage 1 of the project saw the Visitor Centre and two of the courtyards completed on the north side of the structure in 2003. Stage 2 expanded the undercroft with the addition of the Education Centre and Galleries of Remembrance, and the final two courtyards. ARM Design Architect Jeremy Stewart explains “It was important that each of the courtyards had a distinct feel”. The open air Student Entry Courtyard offers a separate entrance to the Shrine for school groups, with a large sculptural poppy, the flower of wartime remembrance, suspended overhead. With the colour red notorious for fading on external structures, Interpon Powder Coatings recommended a system that would be colourfast. In a high traffic space that closes for only two days each year, with the additional solemnity of the memorial environment, choosing a product that would last the distance and require minimal maintenance was essential to this project. Interpon’s D2015 Gold Global Warranty offers the Shrine Trustees this assurance. Working with Locker Group, HDM Metal, an experienced fabricator and Interpon Approved Applicators AAF Vic and Powdercoating Services ACT as exclusive warrantors provided further reassurance of the product quality.  The giant overheard poppy features Interpon D2015 Ultriva™ R15 Crimson Matt YG215A and its support structure Interpon D2015 Ultriva™ Ebony YN201A. On the south west diagonal, the Terrace Courtyard features a lush green referencing South East Asian inspired garden. Amidst the greenery, laser cut aluminium panels coated in Interpon D2015 Ultriva™ R14 Waratah Matt YG222A list the names of Victorian towns, providing a reference point for visitors. The zig-zag shape of the terrace courtyards infer irregular exposure to the sun, further emphasising the need for a product of premium quality. “Interpon are interested in and open to ideas”, says Stewart, making this a win-win collaboration for the architects of this redevelopment of Victoria’s premier place of remembrance.  

At the new 6,000-seater Jordal Amfi ice hockey stadium in Oslo, Norway, player and spectator safety is a top priority. The stadium owner wanted a coating system which included passive fire protection, so, when Danish-based Give Steel was contracted to produce the steel structures, they had to not only meet the customer specification for fire protection but also consider the logistics of the project.The steel pieces were produced in Denmark, and Give Steel needed a coating system that was robust enough to protect the steel during transportation and erection onsite.

One New Change features SAS International bespoke metal ceiling panels with an expanded metal mesh, finished in silver, red and black. The ground-breaking, bold and perceptive £300 million One New Change mixed-use development project won the MIPIM AR Future Project Award 2010. Now complete, the building has become known as the ‘Stealth Bomber’ after the radar-proof combat plane that inspired its faceted form and has also won a RIBA 2011 Award for London and LDSA Building Excellence Award. The design incorporates pedestrian arcades converging at the core of the building, reinstating a historic north-south pedestrian route and allowing new panoramas of London’s landmark St Paul’s Cathedral. SAS International supplied the ceiling solution for the retail corridors of the development with a concealed suspension system, working closely with the architects to create a result where no visible fixings can be seen through the ceiling plane. To complement this, bespoke metal ceiling panels were produced with an expanded metal mesh, finished in silver, red and black. A challenging material to work with, to ensure the mesh held a uniform shape and corners for the panels could be formed accurately, SAS International’s solution was to create a ‘picture frame’ behind each panel. This also helped to provide support for the concealed attachment bolts. Design challenges at One New Change included the building grid size and shape (it was termed the most difficult site in Europe), the complex geometry of the structure (including some tight ceiling to structural beam heights), and a shared fire strategy between retail and office storeys. Requirements to achieve an environmentally-friendly building, complying with Part L and BREEAM ratings, were also critical and the design uses a materials palette of limestone, metal, mirror and a new method of fritted glass on the exterior to help shield the interior from glare.

Swinburne University of Technology located in Hawthorn, Victoria required a new flooring solution for its Department of Architectural and Industrial Design workshop space. To find a solution that was both durable and decorative, Flowcrete Australia was consulted.600 m2 of Flowfresh SR in a custom Ultramarine Blue was installed at the Swinburne University Hawthorn campus thanks to its robust nature and ability to be specified in a bespoke colour.The workshop, locker area and classrooms provide students with a creative space to formulate, plan and create their visions, and the custom colour was chosen to help inspire and keep the creative juices flowing!As well as being extremely hard-wearing, the polyurethane system Flowfresh SR is also chemical resistant, meaning that it could withstand spills of drinks, paints or other substances that could harm lesser floors.Although Flowfresh SR has a positively textured surface with non-slip aggregates, the flooring system is also very easy to clean, meaning that spills or dirt could easily be wiped away, maintaining a safe space for staff and students.Prior to the application of Flowfresh SR, substantial remediation works were required including the removal of timber parquetry and the filling of over 100 lineal metres of 50mm deep service trenches.

SAS International provided an unusual feature perforation to a metal ceiling solution for Cork County Council’s redevelopment of their MOT office. The refurbishment of Cork County Council has created an outstanding open plan office for their upgraded MOT Office. Included in the redevelopment is the installation of 240 meters squared of acoustic SAS500, with a unique OB50 perforation, installed within the open plan office, meeting rooms and cellular offices. Conserving the original architectural features was significant when embarking on the reconstruction of the building. SAS500 was chosen to accommodate the spacing of existing structural beams, the system hung on secondary grids to adhere to specific architectural requirements. To adhere to the recent popularity in open soffit trends, SAS500 offers a solution in addition to providing acoustic absorption. A unique OB50 perforation was specified in the design of the baffles for this project. SAS International worked in collaboration with Cork County Council Architects and CField Construction to provide bespoke design solutions for this project.