Administration - 12 months on

We are sharing an update on one of recent projects - NCC administration extension. Construction commenced back in April of 2020 and practical completion was reached 12 months ago. The project went through a lengthy design phase as we wrested with spatial efficiencies, meeting desired budget and making best use of a constrained site. Many lessons were learnt through this process and we were very interesting in monitoring the outcomes - financial of course, but also the feedback from users of the space.

With the defects liability period complete, we will share some thoughts and analysis in future posts in order to asses the success of these various design concepts we explored in the project.

Practical Completion - NCC Admin

We are pleased to report the milestone of Practical Completion has been achieved on the extension to NCC Administration. Staff have watched the build progress with interest and we look forward to them moving in and occupying their new working environment.

This project investigated various models of office spaces as we sought to find a balance between open plan working and closed office environs. We are planning a post-occupancy evaluation process to investigate / measure the success of this and other design initiatives undertaken in this project.

Site Progress - NCC Admin

After encountering some tricky ground conditions, the primary slab has been poured on site. Problem solving is a part of construction - particularly when dealing with connecting into existing infrastructure. This project has been no different and open communication between consultants, builder, client are superintendent are essential to a successful outcome.

We look forward to showing elements of this build progress where we have explored a different take on typical commercial office accommodation.

OFF AND RACING

We have had a small project commence on site in recent days which encountered difficult gestation period. Against pandemics, financial pressure and multiple functional changes, the contracts and signed and site fencing up.

Thanks must go to our Clients and Builder to overcome these challenges in order to get this far. We look forward to sharing imagery from site as the build progresses.

Christian University for Australia - Masterplan

It has been a tremendous honour for Conwell Architects to be selected to partner with Christian University of Australia and take the first steps of initiating a concept Masterplan for the proposed campus site in Maroochydore.

We have been working closely with the University along with the landowner [Peter Wise], to create a plan that is intrinsically linked to place. We look forward to developing this concept further with the stakeholders to ensure a long term sustainable development plan for this key piece of education infrastructure on the Sunshine Coast.

“Conwell Architects have captured the heart of the vision for this proposed university in their traditional campus master plan. Intricate design implemented to preserve the natural environment has been the driving force underlying the conceptual process.

Before the first creative thoughts were dreamt, Cameron and Kirsty from Conwell Architects met with Peter Wise on the Wises Road land to hear the stories of this special place. They sought to learn of Peter's passion for the land, and the history the soil held. Growing up on the Sunshine Coast, the Conwell team know the significance of this opportunity being granted to us.

Extensive research and prayer inspired this Spirit-breathed master plan. We wholeheartedly believe that not one stone has been overlooked. The plan includes consideration of student accommodation, a chapel, the use of outdoor spaces, sports and recreational facilities, multi-level car-parking, and buildings strategically positioned to interfere with the natural environment as little as possible.

Praise the Lord as He continues to reassure us of His ceaseless faithfulness!

Please stand with us as we believe that the Lord will provide the financial resources we need to purchase the land and see the dream of this campus become a reality.“

More via the link:

https://www.christianuniversityforaustralia.org.au/traditional-multi-acre-campus.html

Never Stop Learning

Every job presents a learning opportunity - none more so than this project. It has gone through many design iterations that focused on ways to achieve maximum value for money. The process forced us to examine each material, it’s properties and question it’s place in the overall project. This process has provided a new perspective on value engineering and in particular, highlighted the creativity and construction knowledge required to fully understand total cost on a building project.

Part new build, part renovation. Part education support, part office accommodation, refining the brief has been part of the journey to help the client address their needs.

We found ourselves questioning many things that impact our design process. ‘what is the difference between commercial and residential construction?’. When does it result in cost increases, why, and is that justified? Under what conditions can you use a cheaper material and have it not adversely impact the design or performance outcome? How does one material or assembly choice force you other decisions down the path?

These lessons are already paying off as we identify parts, approaches and assemblies that can be used on future projects to provide our Clients with considered spending of project budget.

A recent programmatic change from the Client will result in the design evolving again, however many parts will be retained in a different form. In some ways, re-designing this building several times is not ideal from a financial point of view, but the lessons learnt during the process will pay dividends as it adds to our practice body of knowledge and experience. It’s projects like these that wish we had the inherent knowledge of a builder and all their trades to draw upon. Alas, it is impossible to know everything in the construction industry, so it’s about asking the right questions to the right people at the right time, and knowing that you can always learn more.

Design in an Industrial Typology

Design takes it form in many ways depending on the needs of the project. Sometimes it is all about the major planning arrangement of space and function, sometimes a project requires careful consideration of form/material and how they meet; then sometimes you have a project where the typology or budget limit the means to input expression that goes beyond the easiest/cheapest solution.

Recent projects have led us to explore design consideration in all areas of the project, regardless of scale, material, function and budget. An example of this was the recent sports hall in Normanton. Functionally, the space required a robust steel portal frame - a building typology that that has been done thousands of times before in sheds across the country. How can we add ‘design’ to an already proven industrial model?

The answer was to look at the steel detailing, and establish hierarchy. There are many architects who choose to highlight structural steel with colour, which we did in this case - but limited it to just the portal frames giving them visual significance over the other steel. The next move was to shift the plane of the purlin louvers to outside the line of the portal frame. This reinforced the importance of the portal, and creates the impression of a continuous external facade where one does not exist.