Two iconic CSR brands were selected to offer innovative design solutions
for the prestigious Royal Adelaide Hospital, billed as one of the single
biggest infrastructure projects undertaken in South Australia’s history.
Bradford Insulation and CSR Gyprock were specified to meet the internal
lining requirements of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (nRAH). Both of these
iconic brands have been market leaders in the Australian construction industry
for more than half a century and are part of CSR, one of Australia’s most
respected building materials companies.
When completed, the nRAH will be Australia’s most advanced hospital incorporating
innovations from hospitals around the world and providing world-class care for
the people of the state. Commencing in 2011, the project is led by the SA
Health Partnership (SAHP) consortium, which includes Leighton Contractors,
Hansen Yuncken and Spotless. The contract for internal walls and ceilings was
issued as a design and construct contract to the sub-contractor, Brighton
Australia Pty Ltd. While the structure and façade are complete, the hospital’s internal
fitout and commissioning will be accomplished in 2015.
The Gyprock and Bradford brands were able to offer practical and
innovative design solutions for this state-of-the-art healthcare facility,
meeting the high performance standards specified by SA Health and enabling
energy efficient and increased comfort and safety solutions to be designed into
the building.
Given that the facility was nominated as ‘Critical Infrastructure’ and also
built in a seismic zone, the combined technical resources of CSR’s DesignLINK team,
which included the Research and Development division, were required to provide
fully supported wall and ceiling solutions that would meet the
Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions of the National Construction Code (NCC).
CSR Bradford’s Acoustigard Glasswool insulation rolls and semi-rigid Glasswool
Supertel boards were used to fill the interior partitions and walls internally and
externally. Available in various densities and thicknesses to suit different
cavity in-fill applications while concurrently providing excellent acoustic and
thermal performance, Acoustigard complies with the stringent requirements of
the nRAH, which is built in a seismic zone.
Since the external walls were designed with structural steel elements
placed unconventionally 300mm apart, Bradford supplied semi-rigid Glasswool Supertel
boards in custom 300mm wide strips, which assisted in making the overall
assembly of the walling system more cost-effective and allowed faster
installation. The Supertel insulation boards were also used for HVAC linings, helping
to streamline the number of suppliers in this area.
Early consultation with the acoustic engineer employed by the
sub-contractor, Brighton Australia helped streamline the range of products used
to reduce complexity for the installation team, while still ensuring that the
acoustic walling requirements for over 50 wall types could be achieved with the
reduced range.
Additionally, Bradford’s Safebridge purlin roofing system was also used
as one of the main roof systems for the nRAH. Unlike conventional roof spacer
systems, the Safebridge purlin roofing system does not raise the height of the
roof and allows for a lower roof line while still ensuring even insulation
recovery across the entire roof to achieve BCA Section J thermal insulation
values.
CSR Gyprock’s high performance EC08 Complete, a premium, multi-function plasterboard,
was also selected for the wall and ceiling linings throughout the nRAH.
DesignLINK offered a customised design solution for the combined CSR
system and construction needs, including developing Revit Families for all the
wall types and providing support and advice on managing the Revit Model; preparation
of shop drawings for installation details and coordinating the details of
Gyprock and Bradford; providing site visits to respond to ongoing site installation
matters; developing new installation methods and commissioning supporting fire
assessments; developing specialist details for seismic construction; responding
to ongoing technical enquiries relating to the coordination of services; and providing
written support to the main contractor as required.
The nRAH is the largest healthcare project that CSR has been involved in
to date. CSR Lightweight Systems Commercial Segment Manager, Barry Fitzharris
recognises the magnitude of the project and what it means for Gyprock and
Bradford to be involved, commenting that it has been a privilege to be associated
with Australia’s most advanced hospital right from the construction phase.