ARAMAX FreeSpan spans new Netball Central Building

Recently, our team worked with Sahara Roofing to deliver over 15,000m2 of ARAMAX FreeSpan for Netball Central in Sydney's Olympic Park precinct as part of the $27 million development. 

The facilities opening will see netball join a family of 47 other sports currently located at the precinct and represents the largest investment in women’s sport in Australia.  During installation, we captured some impressive aerial perspectives of the roof using a flying drone (check it out below).

To install the expansive ARAMAX FreeSpan sheets onto the roof, we used a Spreader Bar to help evenly distribute the weight of the sheets to safely lever them into the air using a crane. The sheets themselves span an incredible 141 metres and were created onsite using the Fielders Mobile Mill roll former. 

The Spreader Bar in action recently at Netball Central

The brand new building contains six new state-of-the-art sprung floor courts, plus gymnasium and sports science facilities, and will be the headquarters for Netball NSW moving forward.

Fielders worked with Pro Build, Sahara Roofing, ARUP and Scott Carver Architects to bring the building to life which will play host to the 2015 World Netball Championship.

We’ll be sure to share photos of the completed development on the Fielders Steel Facebookpage.

2014 South Australian Architecture Awards

On behalf of the entire team at Fielders, we would like to extend our congratulations to all the successful award winners and commendations from the 2014 South Australian Architecture Awards. The night showcased the state’s best architecture and is a true testament to the vision and talent of our South Australian architects.

Special congratulations to Woods Bagot, Guy Maron Architects, JPE Design Studio, Architects Ink, Max Pritchard Architect and Grieve Gillett, who were all the deserving recipients of awards for their respective projects. We wish them all the best for the National Awards in November.

 The SAHMRI building by Woods Bagot was a standout of the evening, earning five awards in what was an excellent achievement for the practice. We’re proud to have worked with them during the construction phase delivering Fielders KingFlor KF57 flooring, and KingKlip roofing for this project.

Congratulations to Susan Phillips and Michael Pilkington from Phillips/Pilkington Architects, on achieving the 2014 James Irwin President’s Medal, and also Matt Davis from Davis & Davis Architects as this year’s Emerging Architect. Both well-deserved and we thank you for your continued contribution to architecture in South Australia.

As Major State Sponsor of the SA Chapter, we were proud to be involved, with our Architectural Area Manager, James Harrison addressing the audience before presenting our sponsored award for Commercial Architecture. We also had an exciting Lego mini-construction zone which saw some excellent creations throughout the night.

We’d also like to thank Kara Growden and the team at the SA Chapter for executing a wonderful event on Friday night. We’re continually proud to be involved in the South Australian Architecture Awards year-on-year and look forward to joining you all again next year.

 

Steel in Design: Guest post featuring James Harrison

James Harrison is an Architectural Area Manager at Fielders and expert in all things steel. He joins us on the blog to share the benefits and innovation related to steel in architecture design and construction.

At Fielders, we are often asked why we recommend building with steel over other materials. The simple answer is steel continues to provide flexibility, versatility and durability for architects and builders to bring to life innovations that push industry boundaries. 

Since the 19^th Century, steel has readily been adopted into the construction industry due its incredible value and inherent benefits including low maintenance, building efficiency and unmatched strength. It is also a much lighter and malleable option when compared to alternative building materials such as cast iron which, despite its strong compression doesn’t offer the same tension and bending.  

Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Till Krech

Unlike wood, tiles and slate, steel doesn’t need the same protective coatings to maintain its appearance and resilience. Not only does this make steel a less labour intensive product, it also means long term exposure to the elements won’t undermine its steadfast durability – particularly important in Australia where we are faced with such harsh climatic conditions. 

The heat reflective nature of steel has seen Colorbond become a popular choice for roofing and fencing.  Produced with a zincalume for corrosion resistance and oven-baked with an epoxy primer and exterior grade top-coat, it resists chipping, peeling and cracking to look good for years to come while helping reduce a home’s thermal gain.  

Gleeson College lab by Tridente Architects

One of the other great benefits of steel is its ability to be pre-fabricated into modules offsite, therefore reducing construction build times. Recently we have also experienced increasing demand from the commercial industry for our ARAMAX and FreeForm products that can be rolled onsite with a mobile roll-former. Along with this efficiency, the unrivalled versatility, architectural flexibility and strength of these products allow them to span great distances of up to 20 metres and create distinctive curves without the use of purlings or girts found in conventional structural framing.  

Cesnock Hanger incorporating ARAMAX FreeSpan

More than ever before, the industry is continually seeking ways to push the boundaries of existing design to produce products and projects that deliver optimum efficiency and sustainability. Our team recently worked alongside TS4 Sustainable Living to provide steel roofing for Australia’s very first Zero Carbon House which has set the benchmark for future environmentally friendly design and construction projects. 

Benefits of utilising steel in modern construction are practically endless. This even stems to our Finesse range of façade cladding which provides architects greater range to design within a competitive price bracket. We’ve noticed a particular trend in our Shadowline product in schools around Australia, while Interlocking Panel and Nailstrip have proven popular in residential projects. 

From stadiums, to fencing, to universities and homes, Australia has embraced the benefits of building with steel while the industry continues to expand its capabilities and efficiencies, ensuring a bright future for Australia’s steel industry.