Tennis SA Memorial Drive Upgrade

With the objective of re-establishing world class tennis playing platforms in South Australia, Tennis SA enlisted the help of AECOM to deliver project management services for the Memorial Drive Tennis Precinct upgrade.

An exciting new steel framed, fabric roof structure complimenting the stadium’s heritage was constructed to cover the existing centre courts, creating a dynamic, contemporary venue designed for tennis, but capable of accommodating a range of other sports and entertainment performances.

AECOM’s success in delivering the first stage of the development – the Anchor Project involving the upgrade of the outer courts – was a key driver in the selection process to deliver the new roof. Tennis SA looked to AECOM to deliver this critical project, reflecting a high degree of confidence and trust between the two parties.

The $11 million program faced significant challenges from its inception. Most notably, Tennis SA had committed to the hosting of an international tennis tournament prior to construction commencing. This placed enormous time pressures on the development as there was no option to extend the completion date.

With the compressed time frame, AECOM quickly secured the appointment of the consultant team lead by Cox Architecture and largely consisting of those who delivered the Anchor development. Similarly, the tender for the Managing Contractor saw Kennett, the original contractor re-appointed. The project continued to rely on established relationships and effective communication characterised by trust and a genuinely collaborative approach.

Demolition and construction activities had the potential to disrupt operations of the surrounding stakeholders. AECOM and the team ensured inconveniences were minimal to both the surrounding stakeholders and the offices of Tennis SA, which were located beneath one of the existing stands.

An additional challenge was the transportation and erection of the 65m long structural steel trusses. Constructed in three pieces, they were transported overnight to ensure minimal disruption to traffic. They were then individually craned into position and bolted together without compromising the main centre court surface, with the installation of the fabric roof following immediately.

The project was fully delivered in 10 months with AECOM managing these very tight time lines.

Tennis SA were very happy with the project and the success of the Adelaide International that followed. The relationship between Tennis SA and AECOM remains strong, as they adjust to their new home: an exciting, multi-purpose venue, aiming to bring social diversity through events to Adelaide.

Adelaide Botanic High School

The new Adelaide Botanic High School located in Adelaide’s CBD is home to 1250 students for the 2019 school year upon the official opening by the Minister of Education in March 2019. The $100M vertical school, the first of its kind in South Australia, is STEM focused in its pedagogy of teaching. The building embraces the concept of encouraging students to interact with the school’s energy performance by including visual energy monitoring, as well the ability for students and teachers to control their learning and teaching environments.

The new school has been constructed to repurpose the existing Reid Building (formerly owned by the University of South Australia and referred to as the North Building) which is interlinked via an atrium to a newly constructed building to the South. The project involved completely gutting the existing North Building, with the new eastern perimeter plant core constructed at each level for floor by floor mechanical air-handling distribution. This approach saw an immediate challenge with a limited slab-to-slab height, coupled with the design approach by the architectural team to not have ceilings provided throughout the project. The ductwork was unable to run centrally through the floor due to of the number of structural downstand beams, so a solution was planned to run the ductwork on the southern perimeter of the North Building where the floor slabs at each level were cantilevered a short distance, ensuring there were no structural beams requiring diversion of ductwork. The Ductwork could then penetrate into the floor plate to VAV boxes to serve teaching areas.

Thorough testing of the electrical load requirements were also performed for the building. The generic approach of determining the electrical maximum demand using AS3000 demonstrated a very high increase in augmentation. Through a collaborative approach with the Department for Education, electrical maximum demand data was obtained from a number of existing schools across a 5 year period, providing an excellent baseline of electrical load profile from which the school was based.

AECOM, as part of the winning consortia, led by Cox Architects, undertook all building services including: concept design management, electrical, ICT, security, hydraulics, fire protection, fire safety engineering, mechanical, vertical transportation and acoustics.

Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building

The Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences (AHMS) building, which opened in 2017, is a new research laboratory and teaching facility for the University of Adelaide. It is located in the South Australian Health and Biomedical Precinct (Adelaide Bio-Med City precinct) alongside the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). This new $246 million facility, which was built with support from the federal government,  brings together more than 1,600 students and over 700 researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.

Designed by Lyons Architects, the AHMS building accommodates the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Public Health, and co-locates research groups from across the university. The building covers 13,000m2 , including state-of-the-art laboratory, teaching, research and clinical spaces. Specifically designed to transform the student learning experience and prepare future healthcare leaders for professional practice, the facility promotes flexibility and collaboration across health professions through the integration of adaptable learning and social environments.  This wonderful new facility was also awarded the Engineers Australia Excellence Award in the Buildings and Structures category.

AECOM’s Melbourne and Adelaide offices worked collaboratively to provide mechanical and fire engineering, environmentally sustainable design and acoustics consultancy.

One of the core objectives for the AHMS building was to develop a building sustainability approach that responds to the university’s environmental aspirations, while providing an indoor environment to enable optimum comfort for occupants. In order to achieve the target of a 10 percent reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions, sustainability interventions were integrated into all layers of the building’s form, fabric and function. These include:

  • A high-performing façade to moderate the heat gain and loss to maintain comfortable conditions and conserve energy
  • Water sustainability measures to reduce potable water use
  • Fresh air ventilation control to maintain a high level of thermal comfort
  • Integration of a cloud-based building information portal with the building management system to control energy intensity during peak and off-peak times.