Located in the Queensland Museum (QM)/Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) service yard, was an existing Central Energy Plant (CEP), which provides electrical power, HVAC chilled water and heated water for the QCC site, namely:
• State Library of Queensland (SLQ)
• Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
• Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)
• Queensland Art Gallery (QAG)
• Queensland Museum (QM)
The heat rejection capacity of the existing CEP had reached its limit due to site growth and limitations with the River Water Cooling System, and additional Cooling Towers were required to meet future demand. Working alongside the Department of Environment and Science on behalf of the State of Queensland, Arts Queensland, Steele Wrobel, NDY and PDT Architects, INTREC delivered a new purpose-built Central Energy Plant to house the 4 new Cooling Towers, pipework, wiring and controls. These Cooling Towers provide HVAC chilled water and heating across the QCC Site.
The project consisted of the installation of driven concrete plies with capping beams, which made up the substructure of the tower. Four new concrete columns (designed to match the finish of the heritage listed Museum façade) support the PT suspended concrete ‘Level 2’ deck. The rest of the Cooling Tower structure was constructed out of structural steel and clad with fixed acoustic louvers. As the tower was being constructed, large sections of pipework and mechanical plant were craned into position. Coordination with all services trades was key to ensuring successful project delivery.
The site was extremely congested with the new tower being constructed within the existing loading dock of the Queensland Museum Site. INTREC were maintaining uninterrupted access to the loading dock, which was achieved by erecting overhead gantries. Prior to commencing works onsite, existing underground services such as ethanol lines and water feeds were relocated, as well as old asbestos pipework which was removed and disposed of. During the tender phase, INTREC worked closely with our piling contractor to mitigate vibration by preboring the driven piles three meters below the surrounding building footing structure prior to pile driving commencing.
INTREC also engaged an independent consultant to monitor vibration and noise throughout the project across various locations within the Museum, to ensure noise and vibration were kept at acceptable levels.
