The new TAFE Hub will have multidisciplinary, state of the art, functional and reconfigurable training and learning facilities for multi-trades and digital technology.
TAFE NSW Meadowbank is being transformed into a technology-focussed campus and will sit alongside a new primary and secondary school to form the Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct.These new facilities will provide unique industry innovation and collaboration spaces which aim to equip the next generation of workers with advanced cross-disciplinary and digital skills that support the state's emerging labour market needs.
In this context, TTW Structural team was responsible for the design of the new TAFE facilities. Works comprise the demolition of Block D and E buildings and their replacement with hard and soft landscaping, construction of a new Multi Trades Hub and Digital Technology Hub (MTH), the upgrade of the existing landscaped areas and central pedestrian spine and construction of a new multi-storey car park with provision for an additional two stories to be added at a later date.
The MTH has a floor area of approximately 12,000m2 and is constructed on a sloping site with stories varying between 2 and 6. Key structural features include double and triple-height industry teaching spaces enclosed by 25m long-span roof beams. Large cantilevered roof projections occur on all sides of the building and project up to 15m. A large loading dock area with a turntable designed to accommodate trucks is located to the north, whilst two 20m x 14m sandpits are located internal to the southern end of the building. Built within these sandpits are two, three-storey high steel-framed structures, which are used for the teaching of plumbing trade skills.
As part of the upgrades to campus access, TTW also designed a large atrium through the centre of the building which serves to connect See Street to the East and the main campus to the West. High-level interconnecting pedestrian bridges further aid connectivity by linking across the atrium.
In terms of challenges, this project requires extensive mechanical, electrical, and plumbing services to be integrated into the project and the slabs, which required extensive BIM coordination between the various members of the design team. To reduce construction costs, and optimise foundation designs, nonlinear analysis methods with compression-only bases were used. This allowed for the omission of tension piles and anchors.
Additionally, the requirement for large open spaces to the northern loading dock and the requirement to omit triple-height formwork required the integration of a long-span steel truss supporting bondek into the primary concrete frame.
