STANTON
Cambridge, TAS
This Project won a National Award !
[ CLIENT BRIEF ]
Standing on a vacant lot of grass, the client explained:
"Look around... this suburb is full of ugly concrete precast boxes; I don't want to contribute to the trend anymore. I want something minimalist, yet completely different to brighten up the area. But there is a catch! - I have a home builder on staff who's excellent with timber framing, I want him to build it."
As the brief continued:
How many storage warehouses can I fit on the site?
What is the preferred square metre size of building that will be attractive for the current market demand to get the maximum lease?
Can you design a universal design for future tenants, so if they wished to add their own office spaces and partitions, they can do that without too much hassle.
Choice of building materials must be sustainable, cost effective & low maintenance.
No concrete precast. As the world is running out of river-bed sand, one of concrete’s primary ingredients. We need to make a change in our built environment now to address that critical issue.
[ DESIGN SOLUTION ]
Quoting the realtor: "Incorporating eco-friendly, sleek exterior, spacious interior, elegant lines and contemporary facades, instantly giving the aura of professionalism. Whether you need storage, manufacturing, office, or distribution space, this premise is extremely versatile."
Stanton Place had evolved into quite a unique project behind the scenes. Upon research around the local Hobart community, talking to businesses and real estate heads; we discovered that 190m² to 220m² was the "sweet spot" for the highest demand for businesses wanting a dynamic storage & business space.
Without the use of precast panels, it presented us with a challenge. Typically, in storage warehouses and additional pallet racking, you would require a forklift in operation. Therefore, strong precast walls are recommended, just in case of an accidental overrun from the forklift. We explained this to the client on-site, they replied "We've built & operated warehouses for 40 years... have a look around this area, how many forklifts do you see?" For the purpose of these buildings - They had a point...
So, what made Stanton so unique?
The design had to be tailored to the builder’s preference of construction. This is the largest timber box possible you can build to AS1684 (timber framing standards), with the conventional single 90x35mm timber framing. The walls are 3.4m high and the timber trusses are the largest possible span at 12m. The only steel framing is over the roller door, effectively driving the building cost down dramatically. $250,000 each approx. leasing at $35,000 p.a. you can do the numbers for the ROI...
With careful planning of services, an access bathroom & kitchenette in the corner allows future tenants a universal option to add partitions for office and lunchrooms if they wish too later on without any hassles. The building is designed to be "off-grid”; however, Solar panels (not shown in photos) were cut from the final build in an effort to recoup costings before proceeding with the remaining work.
The cranked eaves line stole the show, dubbed on-site as "The Batwing". Carefully chosen claddings which are highly durable and very low maintenance over time. These consist of 3 cladding types:
Walls - James Hardie™ ExoTec™
Walls & Roof - Lysaght® SPANDEK® in Monument™
Now the main feature, The Soffits - Standard Fibre cement sheeting (with a twist). We used Haymes paint™ woodcare Dexpress timber stain. It took a few practice runs to get this right at home in my garage. But it is always the first question people ask, "is that ply or Coreten steel?"
