It’s more than just work.
It’s where I belong.

When a team grows by 500% in the space of less than two years, you know something exciting is happening.

The Sydney civil and structural engineering team has rapidly developed from two people to a team of ten, as a direct response to the growing client demand for Wood and Grieves’ services, predominantly in the commercial, residential and aged care markets on the East Coast.

The team’s strong senior engineering capability has recently been augmented by the promotion of Alex Zhalnerovich to the role of Project Engineer, and the appointment of Mick Kalebic as Senior Project Engineer. The Sydney structural engineering team offers an outstanding track record of successfully delivering complex projects and working closely with respected clients and developers.

Ongoing demand for structural engineering capability on the East Coast is in part based on the continuing market for new, modern residential aged care facilities, incorporating ensuite facilities in all rooms. Increased specification and standard of new facilities is, in turn, placing pressure on older retirement facilities to upgrade facilities or demolish and rebuild to keep pace with market expectations. WGE has responded to this demand by developing a niche service providing designs for civil, structure, all building services, acoustics and sustainability services in a comprehensive co-ordinated service delivery for our clients.

Current multi-disciplinary projects for the Sydney office include:

• RACF’s for The Whiddon Group at Kelso, NSW and Glenfield, NSW, both currently nearing completion on site;
• A third RACF for The Whiddon Group at Grafton, NSW;
• Redevelopment of Windermere RACF at Summer Hill, NSW.

In addition WGE are currently providing civil and structural services to the following projects:

• RACF at Geelong, VIC and North Rocks, NSW, both for BUPA Aged Care;
• RACF alongside the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital, QLD for Opal Aged Care.

With completion of many projects in 2015, the developed Sydney structural team is perfectly placed to offer their skills and senior experience on new projects throughout NSW and the East Coast.

For more information contact Paul Moore, Structural & Civil Section Manager on 02 8484 7038 or paul.moore@wge.com.au

Additional project details:

Kawana Waters RACF, QLD
$22 million
New 151 bed, five level residential aged care facility for Opal Specialist Aged Care. Located on the Sunshine Coast, this building is designed in Sydney. WGE are using our experience and connections between the Sydney and Brisbane offices to achieve efficient design and construction stage services.

Glenfield RACF, NSW
$32 million
160 bed residential aged care facility for the Whiddon Group, built over two levels with a transfer podium over basement car parking. The building is being constructed in two phases. WGE are providing mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, fire, structural and civil services from the Sydney office.

Melbourne Airport’s new $150m Terminal 4 project required a bypass pedestrian link to connect the Virgin T3 Terminal to the Pier G Tiger/Rex Terminals, allowing for the old terminal to be demolished and the new Terminal 4 built over the same footprint. Templink is a 150m long modular pedestrian link with 11 contiguous modules raised 5m in the air to match the terminal floor levels.

Upon Leighton Broad JV being appointed, Templink was marked an urgent priority in the overall project. The Wood & Grieve (WGE) structural team proactively led the fast-track design, manufacture and delivery of the pedestrian link, which has been lauded by Leighton and APAM Airport Management as a great success.

As a first step WGE optimised the support system, replacing the tendered solution of steel gantry portal frames into single piece gantry columns which used the chassis of the modules for stability. This simplification expedited project delivery to site. Another project win was the use of 1m³ concrete blocks from Leighton’s yard as ‘raised footings’ across the project, eliminating the need for excavating and pouring in-situ footings on site.

Key features of the structural engineering services provided include:

• Bespoke design of eleven interlocking steel modules, each 15m x 5.5m long on average.
• Adoption of steel exoskeleton frames which made the modules easier to transport and erect with allowance for critical airport services to run underneath.
• The exoskeleton design created a clean and refined look internally for passengers who only see continuous Bondor panel lining as they walk through the pedestrian link.
• Coordination of three steel detailing companies expedited the steel detailing process and manufacturing of the modules to achieve fast-tracked project deadlines.
• Optimised gantry frame design featuring single piece gantry columns and connection plates.
• Engineering review of the site as-built survey to ensure the columns were positioned accurately to accommodate the 10mm design tolerance in position of the modules, which extended to within 100mm of the existing façade lines of Terminal 3 and Pier G at either end.

Templink will be active for the next two years until the new T4 terminal is complete.

The standard for sustainability in residential developments has been raised high, with the new Vasse Dawson Development in WA’s South West being awarded EnviroDevelopment (ED) certification for the development’s impressive Community and Ecosystem sustainability initiatives.

Residential sustainability is often seen as centring on energy efficiency and waste reduction, but creating a sustainable community goes much deeper in the conceptual stage in order to design a property development that will provide a safe, economically prosperous and vibrant community which promotes active and healthy living for the long term.

Leading the sustainability focus of the project, Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE) championed the EnviroDevelopment certification on Perron Group’s masterplanned Vasse Dawson Development. The WGE team worked alongside the wider project team to plan and deliver the sustainable aspects across the property development.

Showcasing the potential of a sustainable community, Vasse Dawson has been planned as a self-sustaining community with abundant parks, easily accessible amenities, a highly connected network of walk and cycle paths, a village centre and community club, educational facilities and a nearby light industrial zone to provide local jobs.

“When you think about the factors that make a community truly sustainable, it needs the ability for residents to access local amenities within walking distance, places to foster social interaction, and infrastructure to provide local jobs and education” explained WGE sustainability section manager Prasanna Suraweera.

“At Vasse, the input of local residents was also of great importance and a lot of work was put into communicating directly with the local community to capture their vision and ideas for a stand-out property development that people of all ages and backgrounds will be proud to call home.”

In order to foster healthy lifestyles and safe neighborhoods the Vasse Dawson development has been designed from day one as a ‘walkable community’ with most residential lots within 200m of a park or significant amenity. Reducing reliance on driving as a primary mode of travel and provision of efficient means of active travel are factors in community sustainability. Residents will enjoy a highly connected network of leafy boulevards and well-lit pedestrian and cycle paths which provide easy access to the village centre, education precinct, and nearby light industrial area.

The unique Rails to Trails corridor has been rehabilitated to provide cyclists and pedestrians with an alternative connecting route to the formal street and path network.

Highly accessible public facilities will encourage a vibrant community and social interaction for residents of all ages, with stand-out public amenities including a community club, abundant sports grounds, and village centre hub with cafes, shops and shaded rest areas.

“The Vasse Development Partners through Hanson Property have worked actively to establish community partnerships for over 10 years through a number of long standing sponsorship programs and local school initiatives. This combined with a community focused design ensure Dawson Estate is the ideal place to live and play” Geoffrey Hanson, Project Marketing Manager at Hanson Property quoted.

In addition to residential planning, Vasse will be an economically sustainable community with the provision of employment and business opportunities planned to underpin the population growth. The capacity to provide commercial prosperity was highlighted in an economic activity and employment study specifically undertaken for the development which indicates that when fully developed, Vasse can expect to achieve a high employment self-sufficiency rate.

As the first property development in the South West to be ED certified with Vasse willingly undergoing a sustainability scorecard, home owners now have the option of buying into a development that is dedicated to sustainability.

“The Dawson estate is recognised by EnviroDevelopment as being positioned to deliver a strong sense of community and improvement to the local ecosystems and delivering a more sustainable lifestyle to the residents” said Paul McQueen, EnviroDevelopment WA Chairman.

EnviroDevelopment is a scientifically based system designed by the Urban Development Institute of Australia, which makes it easier for homebuyers to recognise and select more sustainable developments and lifestyles.

“An EnviroDevelopment recognition is a milestone for Wood & Grieve Engineers and is a credit to the sustainability focus of the Vasse Dawson Community” explains Mr Suraweera. “With an experienced in-house sustainability team, we are excited to partner with companies who share our commitment to, and passion for, sustainability in commercial and residential projects.”

The Treasury Building, a 33-level office development in the Perth CBD, is drawing attention as it nears completion. The building is a highlight on the Perth sky-line, exemplifying the perfect mix of preserving the historic nature of the adjoining site, whilst allowing for a modern design.

As an engineering project the Treasury Building development offered some unusual technical challenges to Wood & Grieve Engineers, who provided Mirvac with structural design and construction-phase services.

“The Treasury Precinct is a historically important site, which necessitated selecting construction forms which took into consideration the sensitivity of the surrounding heritage buildings” explained Eric Le Meur, Wood & Grieve Senior Structural Project Engineer.

“The site was previously occupied by a 1960s multi-storey building and the foundation remnants prevented us from using conventional forms of boundary retention methods. Our solution was to make use of the original basement walls to temporarily support the adjoining Perth Town Hall and the old Treasury Building.”

Part of the basement works included the construction of a vehicular access tunnel under the Old Heritage Building to link the Tower basement car-park to the existing Law-Chamber car-park. This tunnel was constructed using a top-down construction method working within the ground-floor confines of the Old Heritage Building.

Interesting structural engineering components at the Treasury building included:

• Presence of previous basement wall and foundation prevented the use of conventional boundary retention techniques
• Barrette piles to bedrock
• Jump form coupled core
• Top-down construction of vehicular access under four storey heritage building
• Post tensioned floor plates
• Pre-cast construction (annex hotel building)

The highly tailored structural approach on this project allowed preservation of historic adjoining buildings whilst supporting a modern, progressive commercial development.

Challenging and complex projects are met with enthusiasm by the WGE structural team, who have capability and expertise across a diverse range of projects including high and low rise residential, office, retail, hospital, sports arena, industrial, education, marine, high rise and civic structures. Projects of this scale further consolidate WGE’s experience in high rise multi-storey developments.

“We’ve enjoyed the technical intricacies presented by the Treasury building over the last 3 years” said Mr Le Meur. “The collaborative approach with the design and construction team at Mirvac has been exemplary, and iconic projects of this scale further consolidate WGE’s experience in heritage structures, deep foundations and confined sites.”

Completion of the Treasury Building is planned for 2015.

Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE) is pleased to announce the relocation of Renier van Jaarsveld in the role of Structural Project Engineer to the firm’s Perth office.

Renier is credited with having recently built the WGE Darwin office to a strong national structural hub in his role as Structural Section Manager. The relocation of Renier to WGE’s Perth structural team as Structural Project Engineer takes place as a direct response to the growing commercial and retail market in Perth, with many significant projects underway which will benefit from Renier’s extensive structural expertise.

Specialising in retail and commercial structural projects, Renier explains that “high rise, retail and commercial buildings are particularly interesting because the structural design is often complex and involves working closely with the architect in the initial stages. Early input is essential. Not only are we ensuring a robust end result but we’re able to put strategic measures in place to ensure the project will be financially viable”.

Wood & Grieve has built a strong reputation in the structural engineering field, with recent projects including:

• Treasury Building - $150 million, due for completion in 2015
• Ocean Keys Shopping Centre extension - $85 million, completed in 2014
• Baldivis Shopping Centre - $120 million, completed in 2014

With a national team of over 50 structural engineers, Wood & Grieve place great importance on matching individual project requirements with a hand-picked team in order to provide innovative and pragmatic solutions by utilising the team’s experience across the wide range of industry sectors. Structural projects can range vastly in scale, type, complexity and budget and the extensive WGE team is structured to be able to apply the same level of dedication and enthusiasm to all projects, irrespective of size.

Click here for Renier’s contact details and further information.

Australia’s fully integrated digital hospital, St Stephen’s Private Hospital in Hervey Bay, officially opened on 8 December 2014. The $96 million St Stephen’s Hospital is run by UnitingCare Health and is described by Health Minister Peter Dutton as “the Australian benchmark in automated patient care.”

Wood & Grieve Engineers (WGE) were contracted to provide electrical, mechanical, and vertical transportation services at St Stephen’s including critical engineering systems such as power supply and air conditioning.

Digital technology is seen as the future of healthcare – patient health records and results are updated and accessible on tablets and mobile devices throughout the hospital, personalised food and medication can be managed electronically and practitioners can log in at any time to see what a patient is doing in real time without the need for chasing paper charts throughout the system.

The technology-focussed St Stephen’s project necessitated an innovative approach to engineering. According to WGE’s Electrical Section Manager, Ashley Holm, the biggest challenge was “to come up with an engineering design that was resilient, reliable and user friendly.”

Reliability and practicality were key drivers of the project’s success. The on-site data centre and air conditioning systems required particular attention as full functionality was essential even during power supply outages. The entirely digital hospital design used over 300km of fibre optic cable. To ensure system resilience, full redundancy in the fibre optic cabling and ICT power infrastructure have been provided to minimise downtime and future proof the facility.

“Close and continuous engagement with the eHealth designers as well as the client’s operational team helped us to realise an effective design solution that will serve the hospital well for the life of the facility” explained Mr Holm.

“Being part of a digital hospital design team was a fantastic opportunity to work with a multitude of stakeholders from different backgrounds. The collective goal of delivering Australia’s first digital hospital really gave the team a tremendous incentive and helped to foster a collaborative project environment.”

With increasing opportunities to shift Australia’s commercial properties into the new era of digitally driven design, innovative thinking at the design stage and the cultivation of team collaboration is crucial in the development of technology-focussed engineering projects such as St Stephen’s hospital.

Talk about precision present wrapping! Over the weekend four of Wood & Grieve’s Brisbane team put their gift wrapping skills to the test, helping to raise much-needed funds for Queensland’s only children’s hospice Hummingbird House.

It’s estimated that 3700 children in QLD are affected by a life-limiting condition, and they need the ability to access medical facilities and 24/7 hospice care in a special place like Hummingbird House.

WGE is consulting on the Building and Fire Engineering services for Hummingbird House, due to commence construction in 2015.

For more information and to assist this very deserving charity, visit http://www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au/