City of Prospect, Broadview Community and Sports Hub

Enhancing the detailed design

Sarah’s personnel leveraged their experience from previous community projects and their relationships with quality subcontractors to conduct a thorough review of the architectural drawings soon after award.

After identifying several areas where constructability could be enhanced, Sarah’s team coordinated twice weekly face-to-face meetings with the consultant team, to fast-track re-design without impact to the program.

This proactive approach has resulted in better outcomes for all stakeholders.

Managing value through alternative materials

The ceilings of the new ground floor changerooms feature fire rated beams and service infrastructure, which would traditionally be protected from balls using sports netting.

In this case, ceiling height limitations in the two-storey buildings were not suitable for nets, and consequently Sarah recommended high-impact plasterboard to ensure the changerooms could still be used as intended.

Similarly, the original design featured internal block masonry for internal walls throughout the ground floor, which required additional engineering and reinforcement. As an alternative, Sarah recommended the same high impact plasterboard be used for internal walls, resulting in significant cost and time savings.

Contaminated soil

During the early works, intermediate-level contaminated soil was discovered, assessed and subsequently removed and stockpiled on a nearby vacant block for the project duration, covered and watered down as per EPA guidelines.

Upon completion of the building works, the soil was reused for landscaping for the new car parking areas.

Protecting the local environment

The site features a significant gum tree on the boundary in close proximity to the building works.

Sarah’s team worked alongside the council’s arborist to create a 10m protection zone and ensured that all subcontractors were aware of these important environmental obligations.

Good neighbours

The project was located directly across the street from residential homes and Sarah’s team understood that controlling construction impacts including dust, noise and vibration was critical to project success.

The team installed a sprinkler system around the site boundary to manage dust and communicated regularly with residents about upcoming noise generating works, and service tie-ins.

Sarah’s no surprises, respectful approach ensured that the project was completed without community complaint.

Open, regular communication

To ensure the project was completed in time for the commencement of the football seasons, Sarah’s team instigated weekly site meetings with the design consultants and subcontractors to agree on design variations.

This face-to-face approach allowed subcontractors to directly contribute their experience, enhancing the final outcome, and accelerating the construction timeline.

A collaborative approach

While the supply and installation of the cool rooms and the commercial kitchen and equipment was outside of Sarah’s contract scope, the team offered to coordinate the installation subcontractors for an integrated, timely result.

This assistance was greatly appreciated by the Club, as was temporary early access to the building to host an important club function.

Managing community expectations

The precinct features a much-utilised running track, which extends along the front of the new building.

During construction, while this section of the track was closed, Sarah worked with the council to construct a temporary, quality track.

This initiative ensured that the community continued to safely use the precinct throughout the entire construction period.