South Australia is leaving a well-defined footprint of future legacy buildings with a slate of nationally recognised projects, including the expansion of the SkyCity Adelaide Casino, Her Majesty’s Theatre and CAA Higher Courts.
Recognised at last week’s 2022 Australian Institute of Buildings (AIB) National Excellence in Building Awards, the construction of these impressive buildings by Hansen Yuncken, into community-defining drawcards, respects the past while pioneering the future.
Having operated in South Australia for 83 years, the independent building company has become known for delivering iconic, forward-thinking projects, which can be seen in its work on SkyCity Adelaide Casino and Eos by SkyCity.
“We were excited to return to SkyCity after converting the historic train station into a thriving entertainment precinct back in 1985. Our most recent expansion works, integrates the casino and luxury hotel, Eos by SkyCity, over 12 levels. With a sweeping, curved golden facade with world class finishes throughout – its quality is exceptional,” says Mark Rosenboom, South Australian State Manager of Hansen Yuncken.
The expansion has offered visitors the ultimate in excellence, featuring 120 luxury 5-star hotel-rooms and amenities, attracting domestic and international visitors to the Riverbank Precinct in the heart of Adelaide. The tourism drawcard also created 1,000 jobs over the two-year construction phase and approximately 700 ongoing roles upon its completion.
Hansen Yuncken is driven by challenging and iconic projects such as Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre, Mr Rosenboom continues: “Redeveloping heritage buildings without losing their authenticity comes with a degree of difficulty. Our work on Her Majesty’s Theatre demonstrates our ability to incorporate transformative restoration works with complex engineering challenges that respects the history of the existing building.”
The redevelopment utilised leading web-based project management systems, Aconex and BIM 360, to efficiently oversee the complex works and identify challenges before they arose. In particular, the biggest difficulty faced by all, involved the demolition of the existing theatre while maintaining and restoring the building fabric including the iconic 1913 southern facade.
“A custom bracing system was designed and installed to protect and stabilise the heritage facades which were fitted with vibration sensors to monitor any excess movement during demolition. To minimise the impact, the demolition required a very intricate process where small sections of the existing building were removed slowly and meticulously,” Adds Mr Rosenboom.
A similar approach was taken to preserve the iconic Signature Wall, which was removed brick by brick, stored offsite and reinstated. This significant piece of arts history was expanded in its new location so performers, well into the future, can leave their mark.
According to Mr Rosenboom, Hansen Yuncken embraces innovation and is committed to deploying the latest in technological advancement, both internally and for its clients as was seen in the CAA Higher Courts redevelopment.
“The CAA Higher Courts redevelopment is a prime example of mixing old and new. While our team worked hard to ensure both look and feel remained intact, the project brought in the latest in courtroom technology and performance to the building,” adds Mr Rosenboom.
This redevelopment provided three new criminal courts in the Sir Samuel Way building. Each of which were strategically designed and built for a ‘courts of the future’ concept, bringing new technologies to improve functionality of the spaces.
Delivering both functionality and level of finish was paramount for the CAA Higher Courts project where exceptional quality contemporary finishes achieve a seamless interface between old and new.
Last week, all three South Australian projects were recognised at the 2022 Australian Institute of Buildings (AIB) National Excellence in Building Awards for:
● SkyCity Adelaide Casino expansion: High Commendation Award – under the $60M+ Commercial Construction category.
● Her Majesty’s Theatre redevelopment: Professional Excellence Award – under the $60M+ Commercial Construction category.
● CAA Higher Courts redevelopment: Professional Excellence Award – under the $2M-$25M Commercial Construction category
“We are proud of each team member and the project partners that helped make these community defining projects a success. Along with securing wins at the Master Builders South Australia and SA Architecture Awards, to have all three projects recognised at a National industry level is an incredible achievement,” Mr Rosenboom concludes.
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