CHH Futurebuild at home in Adelaide
In recent years Adelaide has seen a definite push toward central city living. South Australians want to be close
to the action and in Adelaide, that means Halifax Street. Which is why design and constructors Commercial & General with another
local developer, Pentroth have picked up an old council depot and transformed it into a multi-residential complex of over one
hundred townhouse style units, all within Adelaide Square. Just a step away from a latte, and built with contemporary architectural
features incorporating the latest timber materials from futurebuild, the development is set to bring another burst of city
dwellers to Adelaide around Christmas time.
Commercial & General are a construction and development group who specialise in this type of multi-residential development as
well as commercial and industrial projects in Adelaide and surrounding areas. Anthony Catinari, who has been with the company
for six years, is Construction Director on the Halifax Street project. Over the last three years he has been involved in the
different stages of the project and is now completing the last 65 of the two and three storey residential units.
The design of the units, the work of local architects Tectvs, has attracted a young market and keen investors. According to
Catinari the units are open in design, making the most of the dimensions - a lot of living space for your square metre. Plus
features of the units include balconies, window boxes and beautifully landscaped garden settings. Vine racks have been
constructed and will be grown over to make an enclosed canopy for the entrance.
Michael Georgiou, Construction Manager also states that, in addition to the basic unit on offer, the complex includes up-market
residences and nestled at the centre of the area is a restaurant café catering to the new community. The units were also cost
effective with 90% of them sold before completion.
In terms of construction, the units all have block party walls and timber floors. The open plan design meant sourcing cost
effective materials capable of large single spans. After looking at options including steel and solid timber, Catinari found
futurebuild's Hyspan and Hybeam to be the most cost effective solution without affecting the desired performance.
The engineers, Woolbridge and Gilbert, designed the project with Hyspan and Hybeam and Wingfield Timber supplied all the timber
for the job.
Timber was a key part of construction and the Hybeam joists were used throughout with the Hyspan chosen for cantilevered
balconies. All the services such as plumbing and electrical were concealed in the floor cavity eliminating the need for dropped
ceilings or unsightly bulkheads.
The LVL proved to be lightweight, stable and easier for the guys on site to carry around, sometimes up three storeys. "They're a
good lightweight product," says Catinari, "and the boys were happy with that. They were fast and easy to erect as opposed to the
structural steel joists or similar used in the past."
Georgiou also explains that for its residential projects, it is very common for his company to use these and other futurebuild
engineered building products.
Commercial & General found futurebuild LVL to be adaptable to whatever they wanted to do on the project and because it's so
easy to use, more builders were keen to work with it. "It's good gear, we find there's a large number of contractors who
understand the use of the product and that's why we continue to use it. We find we have more access to a larger range of
contractors."
Catinari sees a definite move to the centre of Adelaide, with the focus on quality medium density residences and small high
rise developments. The few sites remaining in town have been snapped up and are getting ready for a new wave of urbanite
Adeladians. This push is getting a lot of support not only from local developers like Commercial & General and Pentroth but
also from the Adelaide City Council. And once again, futurebuild's specially engineered building products are able to adapt
to the latest trend in Australian building and living.
For further information contact:
CHH Futurebuild
phone: +61 3 9258 7600
fax: +61 3 9258 7629
web: www.chhfuturebuild.com
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