This project is currently going through a Development Application with the local council. The project is a mixed use development including high density residential, commercial ground floor units, early learning centre and church services, consisting of a fourteen storey west tower and a 10 storey east tower. The two towers are connected by a double storey basement and there are a total of 222 apartments which are a mixture of 1, 2 & 3 bedroom units. As part of the works the existing church on site is of heritage importance and will be relocated off site, piece by piece, prior to construction and then re-built once the main works have been completed.
Rawlinsons have been engaged to provide cost planning services through all design stages of the project. During the concept stage of design, Rawlinsons provided cost options on three different building configurations as well as seven basement configurations. As the project has a two storey basement, Rawlinsons have noted significant de-watering costs due toa high water table and close proximity to the Canning River. Rawlinsons worked with both the project architects and engineers in finding the most economical configuration and basement depth to avoid an expensive de-watering system. A top down basement construction was also assessed but was not found to be financially viable.
One of the main objectives of the brief was to achieve a minimum of 5.5-star Green Star building rating. As part of this work, Rawlinsons worked with Full Circle Design group to review and assess the cost implications to acquire the necessary points to achieve this rating. This was a collaborative process and involved detailed reviews of mechanical and electrical services and the deletion of gas provisions from the buildings. Additionally, a lot of research was done into various glazing systems in order to find a product that would achieve the required thermal and solar values at an affordable cost.
Rawlinsons are currently refining the cost estimates on this project with the design team in light of recent price fluctuations within the construction sector for both labour and materials and investigating alternative construction methodologies which would help avoid these recent price increases.
