CULTURAL ICONS

FILM BUFFS can enjoy the sound and spectacle of a restored Wurlitzer organ while they're watching silent films in the Gallery of Modern Art's main cinema. When they do, the raking of the seating should mean everyone gets a good view of the period attraction.

Providing formwork for the raked seating along with every other concrete structure on the site meant meticulous planning and quality control for Wideform, the subcontractor carrying out all formwork on site.

Around 80,000m² of formed area was required, ranging from high strutting transfer beams in the gallery to patterned walls in the library. It was a brief that best suited a conventional framework approach, says Paul Davies, Wideform's Queensland general manager.

"This wasn't the type of job we wanted to try new systems on, so we decided to stay with our conventional system. Because of the size and technical nature of the project, we took a collaborative approach with the developers, which allowed us to work safely and efficiently."

During 18 months on site, the team constructed temporary forms for concrete structures including feature walls, floor slabs, beams, stairs, lift shafts, columns and ramps.

Where possible, the team installed permanent metal sheeting to floor and ramp soffits, saving time on both installation and stripping formwork.

Detailed surveys were taken to position formwork elements a complex task as few areas were similar. In the art gallery, only two concrete floor plates matched, with strutting heights ranging from 2.5 to 15 metres.

Wideform carried out pre-pouring inspections to ensure a good finish to the exposed concrete.

"After the concrete pours we carried out a detailed as built' survey to make sure that the setout of all structural elements matched the architectural and engineering specifications," says Davies.

The team then worked with the structural engineers to co-ordinate formwork stripping times. Non-standard stripping processes were called for, as propping needed to stay in place for months while concrete floors above cured.

On a job of this size, with up to 120 Wideform workers on site at the peak of the project, safety considerations were built into every stage. And with working levels up to 20 metres high, Wideform used modular scaffold systems to create safe captive platforms for workers in these high strutting areas.

"We also worked off site, prefabricating formwork components to hit stringent construction milestones," says Davies.

For more details, contact Wideform Queensland Pty Ltd, 364 Fairlie Terrace, Salisbury QLD 4107, phone (07) 3277 5154. Email brisbane@wideform.com.au. Website: www.wideform.com.au.

Story by: Trendsideas