The newly completed Dr Chau Chak Wing building at the University of Technology, Sydney is being touted as the city’s most remarkable construction since the Opera House.
The building, the first ever Australian design by legendary architect Frank Gehry, stands as the centrepiece of the $1-billion City Campus Master Plan.
The project is highlighted by its two facades, one brick and one glass, both exhibiting Gehry’s signature curves.
Construction of the one-of-a-kind building required engineers to solve complex design challenges and develop new building methods, taking, what facade engineer of the project Stephen Giblett described as “massive risks”.
In an industry that has become saturated with cheap, bulk, one-size-fits-all products, the engineers for the project knew that a truly unique, bespoke formwork solutions were necessary to achieve Gehry’s signature curves.
To meet these demands, Australian company Ezytube were employed to create the formwork for the concrete columns. Ezytube were able to provide fully customised sloped and shaped columns for the project, with each column being completely unique to the other.
Ezytubes over 20 years’ experience was crucial, enabling them to work closely with the onsite installation team to contribute to the overall process of design and construction.
The result was a completely unique structure that was true to the original design, without compromise, delivered on time and within budget.
Click here to find out more about Ezytube custom concrete columns.
“one of the most satisfying things for me was to hear that one of the senior management team from UTS was so happy with the results that she was hugging our columns in celebration” – Kevin Adams
