Tag Archives: Window Walls

Gasworks – A Modern Development with a Heritage Heart

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Gasworks building developmentOngoing development of a historical site located at Newstead (Brisbane), sees it transforming in stages to a new mixed use precinct. The name derives from the sites original use – the gasworks, and part of the project is to protect the heritage listed gasometer located prominently amid the gasworks buildings.

Originally built in 1863, the gasometer once stored gas in a large bladder contained within its frame work.  The Gasometer has been fully restored ensuring the ornate pinnacles and lace work beams stand as equal alongside its newly constructed neighbours.  It creates a unique contrast set amidst the strong lines and bold shapes of the modern architectural features of the Gasworks building development.

Designed by the same team that worked on the adjacent Energex building – Architect Cox Rayner and builders FKP, the buildings in this phase of construction comprise of Building A on Skyring Terrace (five storeys) and Building E on Longland St (three storeys).

Ornate pinnacle at sunset.
The Gasometer is heritage listed
The profile of the lace work makes a delightful silhouette.

G.James Role

G.James Glass and Aluminium supplied and installed glazing facades, doors, windows and some extruded sun hoods. Building A has a proposed 5 star green star rating – so energy efficiency, acoustics and air infiltration were important design factors. As such, products with proven test results were selected for use.

Building A

Building A comprises ground floor shop front retail with four upper levels of offices. The offices utilise the flush glazed 651 series glazed with IGUs made up of green glass with a low E coating for energy efficiency, a 12mm air space, and 6mm clear glass internally. This also assisted in achieving a better acoustic rating.  Spandrel panels were made with a green ceramic painted surface – a premium spandrel glass option  that maintains the look set by the vision area.

Well lit clouds light up the façade at sunset.
One of the few areas of large green expanse left in the area is overlooked by Gasworks building A

Building E

Building E was a combination of two levels of residential apartments along Longland Street, two levels of office space along the breeze way between the buildings, and a retail shop front precinct on the ground level. The offices in building E utilize the 650 series, also flush glazed, but to accommodate 11.52mm laminated glass. The glass has a low E coating and the same colour, but didn’t require the same level of acoustic rating or energy efficiency. The office glazing also incorporated architectural features such as glass fins for extra strength and sun hoods for protection.

The residential apartments use a range of glazing styles. Fixed framing used the 650 series system with 265  series awning windows spaced across the facade. Balconies feature four side supported 550 series balustrades with access through 445 series sliding doors.

Building E is on Longland St.
Balustrades, awnings, fixed windows and sliding doors are scattered along this frontage.

Shopfront Design Problem

The retail areas required a centrally glazed pocket, but the opening size and wind loads exceeded the constraints of the current system.  As many architects are looking for options to make windows larger, the decision was made to replace the current aluminium vertical members, the mullions, with a stiffer option. The new design also incorporated the ability to strengthen it further. This new addition to the G.James range is used extensively throughout the Gasworks project.

The strip of retail walk way along Skyring Terrace.
Maximising views inside and out

Practically Completed

Practical completion was achieved on the 3rd August, 2013, however there are still minor works, interior fit outs and landscape work under way.  Building E has been designed so a residential tower can be constructed above it in the future.

The Gasworks project is an aesthetic feast, and well worth a look if you are in the area. Please consult the interactive map project to get the location and a summary of the project information.

The twists in the sun shade and streaks across the glass façade make for a distinctive frontage.
The west elevation takes advantage of the views towards the river.
East view looks back towards the city, and over the gasometer.
The location of the gasometer is directly to building A’s right on Skyring Terrace.

Interactive Map: Building Brisbane

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Brisbane construction projects by G.James Glass & Aluminium

Brisbane, being the location of our Head Office, sees many fine examples of G.James workmanship.   Here, we outline some of the biggest and best projects undertaken to showcase our capabilities in recent times.

The interactive map is designed so you can take a tour of some of our most recent and notable works.  Either at your desk looking out a CBD window, taking a stroll around town, and driving past a building or through an area you have always wanted to know more about.

Brisbane

G.James has contributed widely to what Brisbane looks like today.   There are buildings that have added to Brisbane’s sky line and to the diversity of looks and uses that are designed for the various parts of this fair city.  On some buildings, there are unique features that make them distinctive.  For example –

  • the ribbons of M&A,
  • the splash of red across the Australian Federal Police building,
  • the glass wall of Sir Samuel Griffith Centre,
  • the towering Aurora and Riparian plaza.

There are many buildings that have achieved the coveted green star energy efficient design,  some interesting artwork on glass designed by local artists – its worth a visit to the Anthropology Museum at UQ to see the ceramic printed window alone. Some of the buildings have specialised glass systems to suit the works being done, like the Translational Research Institute and the ABC headquarters.

There are projects that have altered the face of a tired old façade, so if you look at an old image of QIMR, you won’t recognize it.  And then theres the Suncorp Stadium which gives you a glimpse inside a place where state pride and competition is on the line.

The Interactive Map

The map is aimed to give you a glimpse into the depth the G.James knowledge base and provide an overview of the types of works that G.James is capable of.  It highlights projects done by various departments in the company, including:

  • Commercial departments
  • Residential departments
  • Gossi park and street furniture
  • Glass department

You can have a look at the map and plan out a scenic drive, or target specific jobs, or just get an idea of what we have produced, in your area.  As you can imagine, there are too many jobs to make this an all-inclusive list, but we aimed to include a range of jobs reflecting different styles and features.

A brief dossier on the project is included – a photo of what to look for, basic job data and links to further information on the project.  G.James can help you with any further information required for the jobs represented.

Explore Here…

Enjoy the exploration, and keep an eye on this space. Other areas will be released as our database of projects rolls out – Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, as well as other areas to be where you can find G.James fingerprints…

Until then, enjoy this insight into the River City.

Key:

 G.James Projects

 Gossi Designs

Project update: Icon Ipswich

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Aerial view of Icon IpswichThe Ipswich City Heart building is the first stage of developer Leighton Properties‘ $1 billion Icon Ipswich project. Designed by Cox Architecture, it is a 42m high, nine-storey office tower which comprises 15,000 square metres (sqm) of commercial space together with 750sqm of ground floor retail and 200 car parks. The building is an A-Grade commercial development, and is targeting a 5 Star Green Star and a 4.5 Star NABERS rating. Nearly all of the office space in the building has been leased to the Queensland government for a term of 15 years. Construction on the project is being overseen by Hutchinson Builders. 

G.James’ Role

G.James has been engaged to supply and install window wall and curtain wall along the height of the building. G.James is also providing structural glazing to the basement, ground and upper ground floors, as well as a structurally glazed roof-lite to level 1.

Visual Mockup

Prior to starting on site, G.James constructed a visual mockup to provide a full-scale representation of the colour selection as designed for the building. The mockup allowed colour selections to be seen in proper context, under natural lighting, to ensure the building gives the desired visual effect.

The Façade

G.James is using the 546 series system with black anodised framing for the window wall on the western façade with independent vertical sunshades installed between structural slabs. These vertical fins are in 5 special anodised colours (listed below) which are selectively positioned on each floor to create a pattern.

  • Sapphire Matte Tornado Red
  • G.James Residential Bronze
  • AAF Maroochy Sand
  • G.James Champagne Bronze
  • G.James Matte Gold

G.James is using our 546 series system with black anodised framing for the curtain wall to the eastern façade, incorporating gold metallic Alpolic projections and black anodised horizontal sunblades.

The southern and northern faces of the building are a mixture of both window wall and curtain wall fully encapsulating the floors.

The vision glass used in the building is made up of Solarplus DLE55 Low-E glass on green, configured in argon filled IG Units.

The shadow boxes are made up of 6mm green heat-strengthened glass, using 5 different colours (listed below) of backing sheet selectively positioned on each floor to create a pattern.

  • Dulux PVF2 Mars Red
  • Dulux PVF2 Gold Dust
  • Dulux PVF2 Brassed Off
  • Dulux PVF2 Wax Way
  • Dulux PVF2 Blonde Girl

PVF2 paints have an excellent service life and are highly resistant to fading. These properties make PVF2 finishes a low maintenance finish of choice for large projects.

Current Status

G.James started site installation in late January, and will continue until approximately May. Overall, construction on the building is progressing well, the concrete structure of the building has been completed and  practical completion is expected to be third quarter of 2013.

Project focus: ABC Brisbane HQ

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The Project

Opened in April by the Governor-General Quentin Bryce, the new ABC Headquarters is a fitting addition to Brisbane’s Southbank. Designed by Richard Kirk Architects, and constructed by Leighton Contractors, the new headquarters has a 15,435sqm gross floor area, and stands four stories tall above ground, with a basement. The building has achieved a five star rating under the Green Star system. It presently hosts approximately 450 ABC staff, as well as members of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

The previous ABC headquarters was closed in December 2006 after a widely publicised (and still unexplained) breast cancer cluster. ABC staff spent the next several years working from a number of locations in Brisbane, the construction of this new facility re-unites them at a single location once again. Construction of the building wasn’t all smooth sailing – work was interrupted when the site was flooded in the floods of January 2011.

Glazing

G.James was contracted to supply and install the Window wall, shop front and studio glazing and sun shades on the west face of the building. Most of glazing uses IGUs with Super Neutral 365 & Crystal Grey glass panels, to provide a clear view to the outside. The window wall was quite deeply recessed into the building in order to reduce the amount of direct sunlight entering. Internal blinds as well as the prominent external sunshade are also used to contol the large amount of light allowed to enter the building.

The studio at Northeast corner of the building features a frameless glass outer skin, using 12.38mm Optilight clear laminated glass, and suspended with steel bracket. There is an air way at the top and bottom for accoustic & thermal control. To satisfy acoustic requirements for the radio studio, all internal window wall frames were stuffed with insulation. The installation of studio outer skin was a particular challenge – the glass is held on just by the tip of the steel bracket and glass fin.

The glass wall above the main building entrance is another interestingly glazed feature. The wall was constructed using 50 mm x 200 mm aluminium box section with another T section bracketed to the concrete slab as framework. The IGUs used for this feature were site glazed.

Find out More

For more information on our commercial project capabilities, contact our commercial contracting division. Our monumental projects and louvre and sunshade photo galleries may also be of interest.

UTS Broadway glass & aluminium façade

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This stunning building juts across the skyline.

Images and content courtesy of Architects: Denton Corker Marshall Pty Ltd.

We are proud to announce that G.James will be manufacturing the futuristic glass and aluminium façade for the University of Technology (UTS), Sydney Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology building.

This challenging assignment will add to the growing list of landmark Australian buildings which G.James has contributed to. G.James will manufacture the curtain wall, window wall and distinctive aluminium sun shades for the project.

Manufacturing of the façade will commence in October 2012.

The Project

The UTS Broadway is a part of the UTS master plan to redefine the Ultimo campus and will house the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.

The design of the structure will add twelve levels of teaching & research laboratories, extra lecture theatres, seminar rooms and academic offices, while leaving ample pedestrian access through the ground level.

The striking design is described best by architects Denton Corker Marshall Pty Ltd:

The surface of each plate is creased to form a series of ‘gills’, visually reinforcing the sense of plate as skin and creating a semi-transparent screen. Further permeability is established by perforating the skin of each plate. Using the ‘1’s and ‘0s’ of binary code, the alphabetical character string for ‘University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Engineering and information Technology’ is translated and re-worked to create a perforated pattern on the skins.

The 14 level construction will be the first 5 star green rated building on campus, and has a focus on environmentally sustainable practises.

The design is intended to reduce energy requirements by 30–45% with features such as night purge ventilation, an under-floor air distribution system, and the iconic binary sunshade. Daylight and fresh air are utilised to reduce dependence on air conditioning and artificial lighting.

Current Progress

Demolition, which included the removal of three existing buildings to make room for the structure, was completed in October 2010.

Excavation for the building has now finished (over 60,000 cubic metres were removed from the site), and the first footings have been poured, as well as concrete for the car parks.

The project, expected to cost $170 million, is scheduled for completion at the end of 2013.

About the Architects

In July 2009, UTS announced the winning design, submitted by Australian architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall, from over 60 international entries.

Selected by UTS representatives, the City of Sydney, and the New South Wales Department of Planning, the design for the Information Technology and Engineering building was chosen for its aesthetic appeal, as well as its functionality and sustainable qualities.