Victorian College of the Arts Building

This building is the Victorian College of the Arts Centre for Ideas, located in Dodds Street, Southbank. The Architects for this building were Paul Minifie and Fiona Nixon. The building is 3 stories tall, and the budget for the project was only $5 million.

Digital modelling software was used in the design of this building, using virtual to actual process.

The form of the facade is an interesting element, with a strong combination of reflective materials and use of colour.

The form of the facade consists of shallow cone shapes and orthogonal fenestration. The Veronal silver system and bronze stainless steel cladding give an ambiguous scaleless-ness look to the building.

Tilt - Up Concrete Panels

Panels are propped and stabilised by temporary supports at an angle of 60 degrees, connected to the propping ferrule in the panel and bolted to the concrete slab.

The curing process of tilt – up concrete panels takes 7 days to maximise quality and reach the required strength. After the curing process, the panels can be lifted into their final position using a crane.

Typical set up of a concrete panel prior to pouring showing the bar chairs, steel reinforcement, steel plates cast into the panel, reinforcement bars around the edges of the panels, the lifting ferrules and the propping ferrules.

This image shows the setup for the pouring of tilt-up concrete panels. The concrete slab acts as the casting bed for the panels. The image also shows timber formwork used to shape the edges of the panels and props, which are used to support the formwork.

To stop the panels sticking together, a chemical bond breaker is applied between each concrete panel.

Week 4 - Tutorial Exercise

Section A-A: Section taken through the reception/ office part of the building at 1:50 scale.

Store/ Warehouse plan, showing where Section A-A is taken

Week 3 - Tutorial Exercise

Section B-B: Section through a portal frame along the apex of the roof line

Week 2 - Tutorial Exercise

Section A-A: Section through a portal frame showing the connection detail between the steel column and rafter

Week 1 - Tutorial Exercise

Exterior view of a warehouse development currently under construction at Lot 116 Industrial Drive, Melton.
Concrete tilt up panel load bearing construction, with steel rafters and timber mezzanine floor.

This image shows the connection between the concrete slab and the concrete panels through a steel plate called a stitch plate. The stitch plate is a 150 x 75 x 10 mm thick plate, which is welded to a steel angle cast in the concrete slab, and to a steel plate set in the concrete panel to join the two elements together.

This detail image shows the connection between a steel rafter and a concrete panel.
The steel rafter is welded to a steel plate cast in the concrete panel and is supported by a stiffened beam, positioned underneath the rafter to prevent it from sliding down the wall.
The image also shows diagonal rod roof bracing and a taper flange channel around the perimeter of the concrete panels, to join all the elements of the frame together.