Throughout Morwell’s rich industrial past, these bucket wheel dredges were a common feature seen in the region for generations². “They are quite an impressive piece of machinery. The bucket wheel dredge remnant resonated with me, for its significance to Morwell’s industrial past, and for its potential to be transformed into architectural expression,” elaborated Mr Tillinger. This idea evolved into the distinctive volumetric shape of the external façades and saw-tooth styled roofing.

With the design concept finalised, Castlerock Property then focused on the significant challenge of delivering the project with minimal disruption to the local community, and within the timeline. Castlerock Property quickly identified that light gauge steel was the best way to build the 18 façade modules that would be fixed to the exterior of the building.

Industry Cladding and Roofing (ICR), the façade cladding fabricator, was appointed and worked with Dynamic Steel Frame (DSF) in the design and construction of these huge modules. “Given their scale, these protruding façades would have been very heavy if designed using concrete and structural steel. Light gauge steel was the lightest, strongest, most rigid material to build these frames”, said Managing Director of DSF, Peter Blythe.

The original plan was for each façade module to be made up of four parts that would be craned into position, secured to the building, and then clad. However, to achieve greater efficiency onsite, prefabricated modules were transported to site in four pieces, fully assembled and clad on the ground, and then craned and secured into their final position.

Utilising approximately 3km of TRUECORE^® steel and weighing close to 7.2 tonnes once the external cladding was installed, the lightweight yet strong framing managed the stress of the crane lift without damaging the cladding material.

Adam Bronts, Director - Business Development at Castlerock Property, was impressed by the assembly of the façade modules. “The accuracy of the design and the manufacturing of the façade modules was vitally important,” said Mr Bronts.

“By using prefabricated light gauge steel framing, we were able to obtain the quality of the build, while minimising disruption and safety issues on site. The dimensional accuracy of frames made from TRUECORE^® steel ensured that the modules clipped into position on the first attempt without requiring any adjustment.”

Adam Bronts - Director Business Development, Castlerock Property

Architect, Mr Tillinger closely watched the construction of the building and couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome. “This was a fusion of art and science coming together. We always knew the inherent benefits of light gauge steel, but its use in this project has really changed our perception of what it can actually do.”

The Latrobe Valley GovHub opened in early 2021.