The SuperLab concept improves the educational experience for Curtin University’s Health Sciences and Science & Engineering students by enabling teaching across these faculties in one facility, and builds a supportive culture of multidisciplinary science, innovation and interactivity. To bring the design of with_architecture studio to reality, Airey Taylor Consulting provided Structural Engineering services, which were then built with meticulous attention to detail by SHAPE.

The redevelopment added new laboratory teaching facilities to the northern side of the existing concrete framed Applied Science building, which was built in 1978.

Some features of the new facility include :

• A Flexible SuperLab for up to 96 students that can sub-divide into halves or quadrants for separate teaching spaces. The SuperLab includes wet benches, sinks and biosafety cabinet work stations for many of the Lab tasks to common subject areas
• An additional Dry Lab that accommodates 12 students
• An interactive Student Hub for students to collaborate between classes
• A preparation Area, Cool Room and a BSC II Zone
• Upgrades to existing amenities including toilets and meeting room, in addition to key infrastructure and compliance works

The existing façade was demolished and the existing ground floor slab extended by 450 square metres to make space. Sections of the existing first floor slab & beams were modified to allow for the extensive air-conditioning ductwork required for the high-level laboratory. The work included removing large sections of the bottom of beams and providing steel support beams on the roof slab.

The new steel structure spanned column free over the laboratory with the western third of roof supporting 28T of plant equipment. The northern roof cantilevered 3.9m with a fascia providing sunshade to the windows. Extensive screening and support structure was provided on the east side to the fume cupboard exhaust stacks.

The stylish and practical building is now serving the needs of Curtin students and faculty while promoting deeper engagement with the Science curriculum.

The Project continues Airey Taylor Consulting’s successful track record of Educational projects alongside with_architecture; including the recently completed New Preparatory School for Christ Church Grammar School. We wish to particularly thank Chris Slowe and Yannick Szitor from SHAPE for their particular attention in integrating new services with the old while  achieving PC2 (physical containment) certification.

Thanks also to with_architecture and Edwin Janes for the images of the completed Superlab in operation.

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These eye-catching Numbat and Frilled Neck Lizard sculptures at Mends Street form an iconic entrance to the area and the lively core of the City of South Perth’s Connect South place activation project.  The City of South Perth entered into a funding agreement with Dept Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities for this project.

Iredale Pedersen and Hook intended to design a new urban heart for South Perth and to honour the efforts of the nearby Perth Zoo in preserving these uniquely Australia animals – both within the Zoo and in its pioneering “breed and release” programs.

On the river side of Mends Street, these canopies (named for their sheltering function) form a new destination space along the foreshore and are visible from across the river at Elizabeth Quay and from King’s Park’s Eastern edge.

The original project was envisaged in structural steel, with folding of the plates like a work of origami. These folds were intended to increase the structural strength in line with the effect achieved with paper. The intensive labour costs due to the number of folding points and welds required in structural steel led to the decision to use 8mm plates of aluminium instead. As corrosion is also a key consideration of the environment of the windy and wet Swan River foreshore (with structures subject to wind, moisture, and salt/chloride ingress), the selection of aluminium also minimised the requirement for maintenance.

Airey Taylor Consulting were approached by builders Denmac in February 2019 for Structural Engineering design of the canopies in aluminium; as use of the material is uncommon in the Western Australian construction industry.

Time constraints were a consideration, as the modelling was required to be completed within a few weeks. As unique bespoke structures, each co-ordinate of the sculptures had to be manually input into SpaceGASS, the structural modelling software used to calculate the stresses involved. Each aluminium member was then modelled for wind and other pressures –the Numbat modelled with 83 nodal coordinates and the Frilled Neck Lizard with 84.

Using this careful modelling and structural design, the canopies have achieved a rating to resist windloads of up to 45 metres per second, regional wind speed only encountered every 500 years in Perth.

Following final structural check of the shop drawings completed by Denmac, the Numbat sculpture was installed with a 10mm tolerance, a fine testament to the accuracy and detail of both design and build teams involved. Placement of the Frilled Neck Lizard followed in two stages – the body first, followed by the head. Similar tolerances were achieved. Airey Taylor Consulting would like to also acknowledge the pioneering and precise work of fabricator Chris McCourt (formerly of Denmac, now at Customised Metal Works) for the excellent result.

Airey Taylor Consulting were delighted to assist in the creation of these unique structures and congratulate the visionary talent at Iredale Pedersen and Hook for their achievement, now in the running for National Architecture Awards of 2020.

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The presentation combines their multiple decades of combined expertise in structural and geotechnical engineering to provide attendees with a solid background in the requirements of ground retention design and construction.

The presentation will use significant local case studies to highlight what happens when inadequate retention occurs versus what can be achieved with a suitable design process. The presentation will also refer to the review of standard AS4678 (Earth Retaining Structures) that both Peter and Doug are currently participating in.  Peter’s knowledge and practice in the field of ground retention systems is nationally significant, and forms part of the core offering of the new company Advanced Substructures Limited that he has recently formed.

A highlight of areas covered in the presentation is:

• Site investigation requirements for retaining structures
• Temporary works required to facilitate installation of the retaining structure; or temporary retaining structures such as permeation grout blocks
• Ground movements during installation of the retaining structure (e.g. prior to any bulk excavation)
• Impact of ground movements on adjacent infrastructure
• Monitoring requirements
• Retention and construction systems for high-rise buildings (in wet and dry soils

For more information, bookings and details, check the Engineers Australia website.

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The $7 million Balgo Aquatic Centre was recently opened to the public. Sited in the remote town in the far north of Western Australia on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, the ABC report notes that it is possibly Australia’s most isolated swimming pool. The facility will help locals cool off from temperatures that can reach the late 40’s regularly during the hot months. From the looks of the video – they already love it!

Use of the new Aquatic Centre is a great incentive for local kids to attend school. As the Principal of the local school Barry Ennis states : “…there’s a number of big things really… obviously the hygiene and health of the kids.  This is great chance for them to get in and have a really good soak, such a dusty dry environment out here that so that’s magnificent.  Obviously its something that is a real lot of fun to day in the daytime. For the next six months or so its going to be very hot out here… most days are up around 40 degrees or so and we don’t see the kids much during the day. Being able to come to a cool place, see their friends and have fun together is just magnificent. And, of course, from our point of view at the school the big one really is ‘no school, no pool’ and that has a big impact on our school.”

The Aquatic Centre continues John Taylor’s industry leading record of Engineering design of Aquatic facilities throughout Australia, including the 2019 Master Builders Association (WA) / Bankwest Excellence in Construction Award for Best Public Use building ($20 – $50 million), Armadale Aquatic Centre. All of us at Airey Taylor Consulting hope the community in Balgo enjoy their new facilities as much as possible.

Click here to see the video report in full, and congratulations to all those who made this project possible.

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The first is an award from the national peak body for parks, sport and recreational facilities Parks and Leisure Australia (PLA), whose Western Australian branch have awarded the Centre the Community Facility of the Year Award for 2019.

The second is the recent celebration of the state branch of Urban Design Institute of Australia (UDIA (WA)), who have selected the Aquatic Centre as their 2019 winner of the Excellence in Social and Community Infrastructure Award. The Centre is now in the running for the UDIA National Awards to be held later this year.

The Centre continues Airey Taylor Consulting’s successful track record of collaborating with Donovan Payne Architects (images courtesy of them!) on award winning Aquatic Centres, having previously created the nationally lauded Bold Park Aquatic Centre refurbishment), and our Director John Taylor has continued his career speciality of the creation of nearly 50 quality Aquatic Centres throughout Australia.

John Taylor was responsible for the Structural Design of the $26 million redevelopment funded by Federal and State Government grants alongside the City of Armadale. The project’s success is a testimony of the vision and perseverance of the City of Armadale, who have developed the plans for the Centre from the 1990’s onwards.

The Aquatic Centre features 5 inground concrete pools, an ASHI-YU (a Japanese style footbath in the style of an artificial hotspring), a leisure pool section, a spa with separate room, hydrotherapy treatment facility, gymnasium, fitness rooms, creche and amenities. Within the leisure pool is a lazy river channel for a relaxing float with reclining lounges and jets of warm water for comfort, and it caters for all ages with a 25M lap pool, learn to swim area, and tots pool. The existing 50 metre pool was retained and refurbished. Following assessment of the site, a geothermal heating capacity was added in conjunction with Norman Disney and Young, utilising the natural heating properties of the Yarragadee aquifer to provide year-round use of the external swimming facilities.

The structure uses tilt-up concrete wall panels, brick wall to amenities areas and insulated wall panels and glass to the exterior walls. The roof construction over the pools consisted of 2 main longitudinal exposed pipe trusses supporting rafters and insulated panels. The roof structure over the gym area was made from 530UB members, Z200 purlins and 200 mm thick PIR insulated panels. The centre section of roof is composed of Colourbond Custom Orb sheeting.An attraction of the entry & central corridor are custom welded steel columns profiled as trees. The complex also has a separate plantroom and amenities building. The internal plantroom is supported on in-situ concrete suspended slabs.

PS Structures did a superb job of translating the beautiful designs of Donovan Payne into practice, and Airey Taylor Consulting congratulates everyone involved in these landmark projects, and we look forward to working with you in future.

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Projects from both Civil and Structural disciplines have been celebrated, with the Christ Church Grammar School Boathouse Ramp in Claremont receiving the award for best Civil Engineering works $1.5 – $5 million and Construction on a Challenging Site Award (sponsored by Principal Partner Bankwest), and Armadale Aquatic Centre at Seville Grove in Armadale receiving the Best Public Use building ($20 to $50 million) prize.

The Boathouse Ramp project (above) utilised Airey Taylor Consulting’s full suite of solutions for durability design, creating a lasting facility for rowing, nautical and marine studies and community access on a very remote, sensitive and complex site. Construction took place on an extremely restricted site footprint between the Swan River and a limestone cliff, making it a great technical challenge to complete. Due to the cultural importance of the site for the Noongar people, no concrete foundations were allowed on the foreshore, although recycling on the existing concrete ramp into gabion baskets was possible. Daily tidal movements restricted the delivery of materials to site by barge. Vital Building Company translated Airey Taylor Construction’s design into practice in a stunning build that will endure despite the difficult environment, utilising materials selected for endurance and aesthetics – including limestone to match the surrounding area, geotextiles to prevent sand leakage, and wood/plastic composites with stainless steel to minimise the impact of corrosion.  Congratulations to the entire team involved.

Armadale Aquatic Centre (above) continues Airey Taylor Consulting’s successful track record of collaborating with Donovan Payne Architects (images courtesy of them!)on award winning Aquatic Centres, having previously created the nationally lauded Bold Park Aquatic Centre refurbishment. A $26 million redevelopment funded by Federal and State Government grants alongside the City of Armadale, the Aquatic Centre features 5 inground concrete pools (including geothermal heating created by Norman Disney and Young) and a ASHI-YU (leisure pool and spa), gymnasium, fitness rooms, creche and amenities. The existing 50 metre pool was retained and refurbished.

The structure uses tilt-up concrete wall panels, brick wall to amenities areas and insulated wall panels and glass to the exterior walls. The roof construction over the pools consisted of 2 main longitudinal exposed pipe trusses supporting rafters and insulated panels. The roof structure over the gym area was made from 530UB members, Z200 purlins and 200 mm thick PIR insulated panels. The centre section of roof is composed of Colourbond Custom Orb sheeting.

An attraction of the entry & central corridor are custom welded steel columns profiled as trees. The complex also has a separate plantroom and amenities building. The internal plantroom is supported on in-situ concrete suspended slabs.

PS Structures did a superb job of translating the beautiful designs of Donovan Payne into practice, with Airey Taylor Consulting’s Director John Taylor continuing his career speciality the creation of nearly 100 quality Aquatic Centres throughout Australia.

Congratulations to everyone involved in these landmark projects, and we look forward to working with you in future.

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Director John Taylor was lead Design Engineer on the Project and accepted the Awards (right, above) on behalf of the creative team. He was joined by Stephen Parkin (Lead Architect) and Gino Perella (Delta Corp) on the night, whose work was instrumental in the creation of the Award Winning project.

The Project

This technical college is a three-level building with mixed educational, administrative and commercial facilities created for the Western Australian Education Department.

Located adjacent to the Fiona Stanley Hospital on Jennalup Street in Murdoch, the 11,000m2 building was conceived to be similarly iconic by Architect Stephen Parkin, and to encourage engagement and learning from the students and patrons.

The development has received the 2018 Master Builders (WA)/Bankwest Excellence in Construction Awards for Best Education Building in the $20 – $50 million category. The creative use of concrete by the team plays a central part in the resulting beautiful bespoke building.

The main architectural feature of the building is unquestionably the pre-cast concrete lattice façade (above), and that has received national press coverage in the Built Office Magazine, the publication of the National Precast Concrete Association of Australia. This screen runs the length of the 120-metre-long verandah along the street frontage – offering shade, privacy and comfort to occupants along the length of the glass curtain wall, without hindering their campus view. The team overcame significant design challenges for this state-of-the-art feature.

Concrete was also used for all foundations, columns and load bearing reinforced block walls, post-tensioned concrete slabs, and additional precast panels. These precast panels are also used at each end of the building (below left and right) to provide support for the suspended slabs and to provide lateral stiffness. Design and implementation of these features are all leading edge for the Western Australian construction industry, and represent best practice of all disciplines involved.

The Materials

For the regular design aspects, commercially available concrete was used, including deployment of post-tensioned concrete that reduced the overall material required for the main slabs. Post-tensioning was used wherever possible to increase span lengths and eliminate deflections under load. 40 MPa was used for the slabs to achieve the 25 MPa strength required for stressing the slab within 3 days of pouring, and two stage stressing was employed.

The builder elected to use reinforced block walls in lieu of in situ for most walls. The blockwork cores were filled with 20 MPa, 10 mm aggregate 120 slump concrete (above centre).

When presented with the unique challenge of the development of the materials required for the lightweight, architecturally attractive lattice panel – the original concept of a fibre concrete mix was proposed by Airey Taylor Consulting. Delta Corporation’s team developed a successful mix using white cement with the addition of white oxide (right). They developed two prototype panels to ensure that manufacture was possible with the desired finishes, then manufactured the 76 irregular-shaped lattice panels for the project with a smooth Class 2 off-form finish to all surfaces.

In order to provide the requisite structural strength, Delta Corporation and Structural Engineers Airey Taylor Consulting selected a stainless steel fibre reinforcement. Installation remained challenging due to the fragility of the panels, so a bespoke steel-handling frame was created to minimise the stresses during the handling process. A few of the panel’s eccentric arms were reinforced with additional 8mm stainless steel rods to provide additional stiffness during the lifting operation.

Design and Engineering

Airey Taylor Consulting provided design and engineering of all concrete elements including foundations, columns, load bearing reinforced block walls, stairs, post-tensioned slabs, and precast panels including the unique façade. Precast panels were used at each end of the building to support suspended slabs, and provide lateral stiffness.

Lattice panels were designed with inherent spanning capacities of 3.6 metres, and built of 40MPa stainless steel fibre reinforced concrete, with ribs removed occasionally for an asymmetrical look. Arranged so they could be rotated 90 or 180 degrees, each rib matches the adjacent panel. As the lattice is see-through, background steelwork was intentionally minimised, and support installed instead at the 4 attached corners. Vertical outriggers extended from the building to attach the aligned corner panel joints.

The eastern façade was supported on precast retaining walls that also supported the first and second floor slabs. The western façade was supported by the cantilevered first-floor slab, which in turn carried loads from the second-floor slab and roof. While designed for wind and earthquake loading, weight considerations governed the design of the façade, particularly as the support brackets cast into the panels and subjected to eccentric forces.

South and east side retaining was achieved by the 150mm precast face and buttress panel fixed together and to continuous strip footings with galvanised brackets and bolts. On the eastern side 300mm thick panels were for façade support. Requirements for in situ retaining walls were removed and allowed for quicker site access for main building works.

Construction Practices

The use of post-tensioned concrete slabs provided a flat soffit and reduced formwork costs, apart from the dropped panel and edge thickening sections, which made it easier for reticulation of services. These slabs required minimum reinforcement and thus reduced slab pour intervals. Difficulties with placement of tendons in the setdown terrace areas were circumvented with careful placement and local thickening where required.

The irregular and slender trellis of the lattice panels of the main façade presented a number of challenges, particularly in terms of the formwork required for production, how to suitably reinforce the element and how to achieve a high-quality Class 2 surface finish.

Delta Corporation subsequently embarked on a concrete mix design trial leading to the development of a stainless-steel fibre reinforced, high strength, high flow concrete mix. A number of formwork trials were also conducted resulting in bespoke fibreglass moulds which were sufficiently durable enough to enable multiple casts whilst meeting the requirement for a Class 2 finish.

A prototype panel (below left) was manufactured and tested. This experiment led to the discovery of stresses induced during demoulding and handling of the units, and additional stainless-steel pins were added into selected locations on the following units. Delta Corporation designed and fabricated a specialised steel handling frame to ensure that the handling and placement of the façade occurred without incident, due to the brittleness of the prefabricated lattice.

Architecture and Environment

The brief called for a central training, amenities and administration facility on the existing Murdoch campus to consolidate older TAFE sites into one location. A strong identifiable presence was desired to complement nearby Fiona Stanley Hospital and to overlook native bushland in perpetuity (above right). Concrete was the medium selected to create function, aesthetics and user comfort.

The three-level building fronts Jennalup Street and provides a striking presence at the western campus entry. The extensive ground floor provides open and skylit covered courtyard space with colonnades and covered way links to existing campus facilities. Requirements for sunlight for the southern Horticultural training areas and the scale of existing campus buildings influenced the decision to push upper storeys to the north and maintain a single storey frontage to the south.

The ground floor has training Salons, student services, library, café, simulation office training, gymnasium and end of trip facilities with entries to the north and south. The first floor comprises general learning areas along the north and computer labs to the south along a major east/west corridor.

The second floor contains executive office space in the west and administration activities to the east, including call centres; separated by shared meeting spaces and staff amenities, including a semi-open north facing terrace.

Interior and exterior spaces were designed and furnished to maximise potential for breakout and casual meetings for students and staff.  There are nooks, benches, walls, shade, ample protection from driving westerly rain, and places to take in some sun or a light breeze.

Airey Taylor Consulting would like to thank all of the relevant teams (Stephen Parkin and Armstrong Parkin Architects, Gino Perella and Delta Corp, EMCO Construction) and the Concrete Institute of Australia (WA) for the recognition of this project.

As a State Award Winner, this project enters into the National Concrete Institute of Australia Awards for consideration as a National winner.

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The Award is named for the pioneering Architect of the Swan River Colony’s early years. Jewell was responsible for many prominent buildings that were built in the mid-19th century, including The Deanery, the original Perth Railway Station and the east and west wings of the State Building. The Award recognises enduring projects that remain of significant contemporary importance for Architecture in Western Australia.

Completed in 1993, the iconic modernist skyscraper consists of 42 levels of reinforced concrete framed offices. The adoption of a highly economical system of five pile-assisted concrete rafts over problematic soils consisting of inter-bedded sands and clays won national acclaim for Airey Taylor Consulting for its innovative solution to foundation challenges.

The structural design, which featured post tensioned radial beams spanning 14m and cast-in-situ floor slab offered ease and extremely rapid speed of overall construction, and allowed 23 floors to be completed in the first nine months of 1990.

Congratulations to Harry Siedler and Associates, who continue his legacy of outstanding modernist design.

More information about the Awards is held at the Architecture AU magazine.

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This lifetime achievement award recognises the work of eminent engineering professionals who have exhibited unmatched dedication to their disciplines. The appointment recognises his contributions spanning a career of over 50 years, which has made a marked contribution to the built environment of Western Australia. Peter received this Award on Thursday December 6 in Canberra, and a photo of him receiving the award from Hon Trish White, National President of Engineers Australia is attached below.

Engineers Australia note that recipients have rendered conspicuous service to the profession of engineering, are eminent in engineering or an allied science, or a distinguished person whom the Board desires to honour, either for having rendered conspicuous service to the Australian people or in recognition of outstanding achievement.

Peter has previously achieved national recognition from Engineers Australia in 1998 for his work on remediating structures damaged by clay-based movement (an innovation that led to the development of Claylock® and Retroclay®), and in 2011 as responsible Director of Airey Taylor Consulting, provided the complex structural design of the State Theatre Centre of WA, recognised as the Best Engineering project in Australia.

In 2018, Peter founded Advanced Substructures Limited to bring these practices to the national construction industry. He continues as Managing Director of Airey Taylor Consulting.

Peter has also recently been appointed as a national Consultant to the review committee for AS 4678 Earth Retaining Structures. Peter will bring his knowledge from decades of engineering design experience to enhance the standard of practice in the Australian construction industry. He will be joining other leading authorities to ensure our nation’s industry standards reflect current best practice.

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Here is an excerpt, where Director of Airey Taylor Consulting, John Taylor is interviewed :

“MINIMISING STEELWORK

Airey Taylor Consulting were engaged as the civil and structural engineers for the project and Director, John Taylor, says the elegant design of the façade panels have inherent spanning capabilities of up to 3.6 metres.

“As the panels are transparent, it was intended to minimise the background steelwork and so they are supported near each corner. Vertical outriggers attached to the building were aligned with the panel joints and four arms extended out to pick up the corners of the adjacent panels,” Mr Taylor explains.

“The panels were arranged so that they could be rotated 90 or 180 degrees and so that the ribs matched the adjacent panels.”

Although designed for wind and earthquake loading, it was the self-weight of the panel and transport that governed the design, in particular where the panel cast-in support socket was located on an outer rib and was subject to bending.”

We thank National Precast Concrete Association Australia for showcasing the project, and a link to the full article of their case study is here.  The completed Issue Number 13 will be available shortly from their website here.

Image : Robert Frith

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