The National Property Board of Sweden awarded Project Coordination the $2.8m renovation of its Embassy in Yarralumla ACT.
The project involved:
- new office and living, kitchen and bedroom configurations and refurbishments within the Residence, Chancery and Apartment areas of the building
- replacement and upgrade of all engineering services
- full replacement of the existing copper roof
This project continued the Company’s successful association with GMB Architects with whom it also worked on the High Commission of Brunei Darussalam and the refurbishment of the Great Hall at Parliament House.
The project consisted of upgrading the High Commission’s existing male, female and disabled toilet facilities and construction of new unisex showers. The toilet areas were completely gutted allowing for new tiling, fitting & fixtures, painted ceilings, doors and walls not tiled. The staff meeting rooms and computer room was also renovated.
With the High Commission in operation at all times there was a need to stage the refurbishment of the toilets. This was made easier with the commission staff agreeing to use facilities on other floors to enable the work to be carried out as quickly as possible. Access to the High Commission needed to be closely programmed.
The project consisted of the total refurbishment and construction of a new commercial kitchen in the annex to the Ambassador’s Residence. This required extensive demolition and reconfiguration with new equipment, benching and wall and floor finishes. The final result was a world-class food preparation precinct constructed within the strict security requirements of the American Embassy.
The integration of new equipment into the existing service structure required close liaison with the architect.
The project involved the construction of a new full perimeter security fence. The work also incorporated upgrades to access controls (both pedestrian and vehicular). Maintaining the appearance of the fence was of a high priority given its prominence within the Parliamentary Triangle.
The works required the Company to produce all shop drawings in-house as well as design the stepped-levels progressively on site.
AWARDS:
Nominated at the 2005 MBA Excellence in Building Awards.
The project involved the construction of a residence at the Embassy of Ireland in Yarralumla to provide high quality accommodation for the Ambassador as well as a location for official function. The residence includes areas for formal entertaining with a separate commercial quality kitchen. External features include extensive use of louvered opening roofs and moveable screens, a swimming pool and full size tennis court.
INNOVATION:
The opening roof and louvered screens, in conjunction with sashless windows provide options for through ventilation, as an alternative to in-slab heating and reverse cycle air conditioning.
AWARDS:
Nominated for the 2004 MBA Excellence in Building Awards.
The new High Commission, featuring traditional Brunei architecture, included the High Commissioner’s suite, diplomatic staff offices, reception, function hall, garages and external perimeter security. There was significant use of exposed timber, marble and reconstituted stone in many areas of the building.
As the exposed timber work in the function hall was of such size, it was decided to eliminate any risk of damaging the completed beams and rafters in transport by fabricating them on site.
AWARDS:
Nominated in the 2001 MBA Excellence in Building Awards.
This project involved the upgrade to the Norwegian Ambassador’s Residence. The existing kitchen was completely replaced, new features included an island cooking area with stainless steel hood. The toilet, bathroom and master ensuite were refurbished to include heated floors, new tiling and frameless glass shower screens. The stained timber floor with a secret nailed jarrah floor was replaced and a new entry was created from one of the bedrooms to the back lawn area.
A 3.6 metre high security fence was constructed to the perimeter boundary of the embassy site including the construction of a guardhouse and motorised security gates. An accurate survey of the site was undertaken in order to achieve a consistent fence line throughout.
A total of approximately 600 linear metres of fencing was installed to the boundary of the embassy.
A new Chancery and residence were constructed for the Government of Fiji in Deakin. Traditional features of Fijian buildings have been cleverly incorporated into the design and construction of this contemporary building.
The Company worked closely with the Architect to ensure that the budget was not exceeded. This included assistance in the redesign of levels to cater for ground conditions that would otherwise have caused additional costs.
