Pumping some energy back into East Perth!
Nestled on the Swan River, the East Perth Power Station has led an incredible life. Originally constructed in 1916 to generate all electricity needed to power the Perth Metropolitan area, the facility will now be transformed into Perth’s next bustling nightlife precinct.
AECOM have been working on this site for over 20 years. The power station ceased operations in 1981 and was left in a dilapidated state until 2004 when AECOM was appointed to undertake inspections and design and document stabilising works to limit further degradation of the building.
Most recently, we were engaged by DevelopmentWA (DevWA) to determine the structural integrity and accessibility of the Heritage buildings on the East Perth Power Station (EPPS) as part of the urban regeneration plans for the site.
Services
- Worked collaboratively with DevWA and their specialist sub-consultants to assess the integrity of the existing structure and determine safe access routes through the building to facilitate detailed surveys and inspections. This included preparation of a building access strategy, clearly defining any unsafe “no-go” areas and reassessing the soundness of previously inaccessible areas, based on the specific requirements of the surveys.
- Assisted DevWA with the development of their scope of works for the remediation contract, including specific technical documentation to define the residual load carrying capacity of the primary elements of the existing building fabric for inclusion in the tenderers access strategies and temporary works designs.
- Provided technical support throughout the construction phase, including:
- Review of the Contractor’s proposed access structure design at key stages of the works;
- Undertook site inspections to validate the local condition and load carrying capacity of the building fabric at critical connection points (e.g. stanchion bases or connections of temporary structures to existing framing)
- Provided technical review comments on the temporary access structure design submissions, including facilitation of technical review workshops
In addition to our recent work on the Heritage buildings of EPPS, AECOM have also been engaged by Western Power for works associated with the undergrounding of the HV lines along the southern boundary of the site and the upgrades to the site fire hydrant network.
Achievements
The existing heritage buildings of the EPPS provide a significant challenge when assessing the condition and capacity of the structure, particularly when considering that the loading requirements for survey and remediation access are very different to the original operation requirements of the facility.
Whilst we have been able to work collaboratively with DevWA to share archive information from both state records and AECOM’s long history of involvement on the site, there are still many gaps in As-Built documentation that pose challenges to the engineering team. To overcome this, we have employed a skilled team of experienced and pragmatic engineers who have the ability to combine desktop technical analysis with visual assessment and engineering judgement “in-the-field” to provide real-time guidance on the safety and accessibility of the building.
In addition to the challenges posed by the age of the facility (with it’s many stages of upgrade and expansion) and the gaps in original documentation, the scale of both the building and the equipment within it create difficulties in wayfinding and coordination.
Utilising our digital engineering expertise, AECOM have worked together with DevWA’s sub-consultants and suppliers who have employed the latest digital scanning and processing technologies to coordinate the remediation works.