West Belconnen Regional School, ACT
| Date commenced | June 2008 |
| Target date of completion | January 2009 |
| Value of Project | $44.5 million |
| Architect | Guida Moseley Brown Architects – Canberra |
|
Design Architect |
Harold Guida |
| Client |
ACT Procurement Solutions, |
| End User | ACT Department of Education and Training |
| Project managing contractor (builder) | Manteena, Canberra |
| Interior fitout | Tilton Interiors |
| Lafarge product used | AcoustiShield |
A new $44.5 million school in the ACT covering preschool to Year 10 will open its doors to 1100 pupils in 2009. The new West Belconnen Regional School will replace the now-demolished Ginninderra District High School and the Holt and Higgins primary schools, which close in December.
The school is built on 13000 m2 and includes 38 classrooms overall. This includes three science laboratories, one multi-purpose laboratory, two multimedia studios, one design/fabrication laboratory , two home economics rooms, three music/dance/drama studios and three music practice studios, two textile and visual arts studios and three construction/fabrication studios.
The design is contemporary and modern and although the brief did not contain a green star rating requirement, it has been designed as an environmentally friendly school. It features a well insulated building envelope, enhanced cooling systems and lots of skylights to reduce electricity usage.
External noise attenuation measures were incorporated into the construction of the gymnasium and hall in response to objections to the project from neighbours. For internal noise reduction within the building the architect specified that Lafarge’s product AcoustiShield be used because it has the highest acoustic rating of 0.80 NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient).
“The acoustic consultant Heggies Canberra recommended Lafarge AcoustiShield as being the most suitable product to achieve the acoustic ratings required,” said architect Sieglinde Whittle, from Guida Moseley Brown Architects.
Tilton Interiors installed Lafarge’s AcoustiShield in the ceilings of 24 classrooms and 10 laboratories – a contract worth approximately $3.9 million. Kostinken Pohorukov (Kosta), Director of Tilton Interiors, said, “AcoustiShield provides top-end sound absorption and it also creates a nice pattern of 1cm by 1cm squares on the ceiling.”
Installing AcoustiShield required careful preparation and precision, with some ceilings requiring a combination of regular plasterboard and Lafarge AcoustiShield. Kosta said, “You have to make sure all the patterns line up in one continuous line and before you put the plasterboard up you have to set it all out and mark everything out on the ceiling…but it’s worth it in the end, as visually and from a finishing point of view, the outcome is very good overall.”