So I had a glimpse of a few of my very first posts from a while back, and I realise..
When I first heard about the Dr Chau Chak Wing building at UTS, my initial thought was where can I sign up for a building. But that’s beside the point. I will admit, I didn’t understand the concept behind the project’s architectural design, as it looked more like a micro-waved paper bag castle to me, however that wasn’t until I realised it was the innovation of materials and construction, that really labels this building as truly creative.
Dr Chau Chak Wing Building
Dr Chau Chak Wing
Already drawn into the subject, in Lecture 6, we were extremely lucky to have Julian D’Onofrio from Lend Lease and Rick Benjamin from ARUP to talk to us about IT Construction Delivery. Up first, we were given an exclusive behind the scenes look into the ‘Dr Chau Chak Wing building’, which is now currently under construction. It may seem like nothing at this stage, but really this project seems like something out of an abstract painting. From its twelve-storey high columns, to its unusual choice of fragmented brick works, this could really be Sydney’s next ‘Opera House’. Well, maybe I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself, but let’s take a look at the role IT plays behind this impressive structure. (Hopefully they’ll throw in a few sustainable features, and it will make me a happy woman). On a site note, I found this Time-lapsed video of the building posted on YouTube. Be sure to check it out!
What interest me most, were the unusual brick designs in which they called K Brick and there were five different types. As far as I was concerned, the only brick I knew existed were the standard bricks. However these custom design K bricks are specifically made to construct the exterior façade of the building, in order to achieve the desired curved design. Just to give you an idea of what K bricks look like check out the photo below.
Both guest speakers spoke about the important role IT had in delivering this project. If you could imagine, a complicated architectural design and construction, equates to higher risk management. BIM technology has been use to minimise these risk and also assist with the project which was no surprise there. Another impressive software is ‘Digital Projects’, a design tool that is used for projects that are more sophisticated and difficult to design and construct, like the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building. Digital Project application also allows parametric models to be created on a 3-D plan, which further assists with the construction of this innovative building.
I could really go on forever about this amazing project, but it’s time to hit the sack. Hope you enjoyed reading this, stay tuned for next time.
A Digital Discovery 