Client
University of New
South Wales (UNSW)
Location
Kensington, New South Wales
Completed
2012
Role
Structural and civil engineer
The University of New South Wales is one of Australia's leading universities, ranked in the top 50 worldwide, and renowned for the quality of its graduates.
It is a founding member of the prestigious ‘group of eight’ – a coalition of Australia’s leading research intensive universities.
New College is a not-for-profit company that provides accommodation and care for UNSW
students from over 50 nations.
Our role
Woolacotts was engaged as principal
structural and civil engineers to deliver New College Village, a 300 bedroom residential facility for UNSW students.
The seven storey facility includes commercial meeting and retail facilities, congregation rooms, games room, reading room, courtyard and rooftop terraces.
Project challenges
Woolacotts resolved a number of important design issues.
The building borders a major Sydney road, Anzac Parade. An acoustic glass facade was specified to provide acoustic shielding. After consideration of several options, circular steel columns that were laterally supported by horizontal steel trusses was adopted. The steel trusses spanned 18 metres over the open courtyard.
The project had a critical 12 month construction program. Rapid wall (AFS structural wall) was used as the main load bearing elements of the structure. Our specification of construction methodology saved considerable time in constructing the upper floors and enabled the construction program to be achieved.
One way post-tensioned slabs were designed for suspended floors. They provided control of cracking in the long directions without the disadvantages of a fully post-tensioned slab, which would have induced cracking due to restraint from the lift and stair shafts.