Oxford St, Bondi junction

Demolition of existing buildings on site and the construction of a 7 storey combined retail/commercial building, comprising of two basement carparks, one level of retail space and four commercial levels. Construction of this project included the temporary retention of an existing heritage façade, demolition of all existing buildings within the heritage façade and incorporating the heritage façade into the new building on both street frontages. The building was designed and constructed to achieve a 4 star NABERS rating.

The 360 Oxford St project included the construction of a 7 storey combined retail/commercial building, comprising of 374sq m of ground floor retail space divided into 4 tenancies, 411sq m commercial space on level 1, 264sq m commercial space on level 2, & 1,056sq m on levels 3-6, a total of 2,105sq m.

The Basement level included carparking for 13 vehicles, a shower room and bike racks. Construction of this project included the temporary retention of an existing heritage façade, demolition of all existing buildings within the heritage façade and incorporating the heritage façade into the new building on both street frontages. The building was designed and constructed to achieve a 4 star NABERS rating and incorporated innovative features such as a living Greenwall screen to provide shading on the Western façade, an entry lobby atrium that carries over 2 floors and a rooftop terrace.

Problems raised and solved:

  • Retaining and incorporating the existing Heritage Façade
  • Air rights issues with neighbouring property
  • The building footprint covered the whole of the site, resulting in materials handling challenges

Client: Tri Anta PL
Architect: Marchese Partners
Delivery Form: Construct Only
Location: Bondi Junction, NSW
Value: $5.3 m
Completion date: January 2011

St Vincents Hospital O’Brien Building

After the completion of St Vincent’s Hospital O’Brien Building early works, Richard Crookes Constructions was awarded the Contract for the Redevelopment of the O’Brien Building. The design, development and construction of the new building includes seven floors of functional accommodation with four levels of basement carparking for 228 cars. The health services comprise 27 inpatient mental health beds; community mental health team; consultation liaison psychiatry; HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. The alcohol and drug clinic provides patients with a detoxification unit, methadone & buprenophine stabilisation clinic and information / health services. This project is the first fully integrated Mental Health, Alcohol & Drug and Community health facility in Australia. This project is a functional building used for the management of drug and alcohol addicted mental health patients. Careful consideration was made to acoustic issues during the design development.

The hospital building was built within a restrained and busy operating hospital environment. Noise and vibration monitors were put in place and Richard Crookes Constructions adopted construction methods to minimise this during demolition including the use of crushers rather than hammers.

The new seven level reinforced concrete building was joined to the existing Aiken Head Building and heritage listed de Lacy building. The de Lacy Building required significant detailed restoration works to the façade which was completed in consultation with the architects and heritage consultants.

Client: St Vincent’s & Mater Health Sydney
Architect: Bligh Voller Nield
Delivery Form: Design & Construct
Location: Darlinghurst, NSW
Value: $41.5 m
Completion date: March 2010

Macleay Street Luxury Apartments

The Macleay St, Potts Point project comprised of the design and construction of a luxury residential development with seven luxury residential units and two levels of basement parking, swimming pools, ground floor retail tenancy, and a luxury penthouse. The building was designed by renowned Interior Designers BKH and the exterior concept design was carried out by Ercole Palazzetti.The lift from security parking and store room takes tenants directly into their own lobby. Common areas feature large areas of glass with marble floors, bespoke cabinetry, ducted reverse cycle air conditioning. The kitchen includes Miele and European appliances with Caesarstone benchtops and timber veneer panels. Other characteristics include:
•  Marble floored main bedrooms include their own balcony, sensor-lit walk in robe, and marble ensuite with double vanity, deep bath, separate shower & separate wet closet.
•  2nd master bedroom includes own balcony, walk in robe, and marble ensuite
•  3rd double bedroom includes marble ensuite and built in sensor-lit wardrobe
•  Large separate TV room/study/home office or 4th bedroom is superbly wood panelled & includes an abundance of sensor-lit concealed storage cupboards
During construction Richard Crookes Constructions proposed installation of full height double glazed UV glass was used in lieu 2.1m standard glass with an air conditioning boot for cooling to fully utilised the panoramic views. The Richard Crookes Constructions alternative improved the marketability and sale price of the Penthouse.
Richard Crookes Constructions also redesigned external walls using a Dincel Wall Construction System to alleviate cost to the client for obtaining approval to access adjoining properties. Dincel is a factory made, permanent concrete forming system that can be used for load bearing and non-load bearing concrete walls for above or below ground applications. Also, a Hebel façade was erected in lieu of brickwork as an innovative initiative by Richard Crookes Constructions due to restricted access.
Site access was a major problem during the 70 week construction of the apartments. Work near or on the boundaries of the site was restricted due to the proximity of the neighbours. Airspace access was also major issue for this site. Choosing the right sized crane which was suitable for this constrained site yet tall enough to exceed the height of surrounding buildings was critical.
Having to work around construction / work zones and managing traffic required careful coordination and planning by Richard Crookes Constructions. We achieved a great end result on this project with a quality finished product which we are proud to have been involved with.

Client: Kavia Holdings
Architect: Collard Architects
Delivery Form: Detail Design & Construct
Location: Potts Point, NSW
Value: $16.3 m
Completion date: September 2009

The Bondi Apartments

“The Bondi” included the refurbishment of the existing nine storey Bondi Motel which fronts Campbell Parade on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. The project comprised 32 luxury apartments and penthouses with premium fixtures and finishes and includes modern car parking facilities using a compact car stacker. The ground floor of the development includes retail tenancies shops, the residential lobby, a new substation, service rooms and car park access.

Early works included removal of old communications tower and AC condenser units, casting of new roof grillage beams and installation of a new telecommunications tower and partial fit out of a new telecommunications equipment room (formerly Lift Motor Room). The existing concrete vehicular ramp at the rear of the building also had to be demolished to provide sufficient off-street space to stand a crane for access to all materials to and from the roof.

As the building was located on busy Campbell Parade and retail tenants continued operating, a stringent traffic management plan was implemented on site to ensure everyone went home safely.

Client: 152 Campbell Parade P/L
Architect: PTW Architects
Delivery Form: Construct Only
Location: Bondi, NSW
Value: $31.5 m
Completion date: May 2009

Royal Prince Albert Hospital Redevelopment Stage 2A

The RPA Hospital development was a five level reinforced concrete research facility and renovation to the existing heritage pavilion (Victorian Pavilion) incorporating the complete fitout, and commissioning of both buildings. The project included five levels of PC2 laboratories. The work includes the supply and installation of services such as mechanical ventilation, air conditioning, pneumatic tube systems, medical gas systems, hydraulic, fire, electrical, security, communications and data services as well as specialist radiology and noxious laboratory waste management services. All works were done in compliance with the NABERS rating.

Due to the location of the site within the hospital campus and the fact that the site adjoins the University of Sydney campus, extensive planning and coordination was undertaken by our project team to ensure minimum disruption was caused to hospital services, staff, patients and visitors. It was imperative that the hospital surrounding the construction site remained fully operational throughout the course of Stage 2A redevelopment works.

As part of our project planning we developed a medivac / helicopter strategy as our site and associated tower crane and material handling requirements were within the hospitals flight paths. This strategy was carefully monitored by our site staff in conjunction with the hospitals security and medivac aerial services.

This project won two Master Builders Association “Excellence in Construction” Awards in State and National categories for Public Buildings.

Client: NSW Dept of Commerce
Architect: Silver Thomas Hanley Daryl Jackson
Delivery Form: Detail Design & Construct
Location: Camperdown, NSW
Value: $29.7 m
Completion date: March 2007