Innovative design and technology in new office fit-out

BSE’s Victoria Team has successfully completed a commercial office fit out for IRESS which designs, develops and delivers software for financial services.

Images from FDC Constructions

The multi-level office fit-out was completed on Levels 16-21 of 385 Bourke Street in Melbourne. The 7,500m2 fit-out which includes an interconnected stair case through the floors involves a fresh and calming design with usable breakout spaces including kitchen and conference facilities, offices and spacious reception area.

BSE collaborated with FDC Construction and provided electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and fire consulting engineering services for the design and documentation on the project.

Spreading the power of engineering knowledge

Iynka Logan, BSE’s Victorian Regional Manager recently kicked off BSE’s Knowledge & Learning series of presentations. These presentations are designed to demystify some of the enigmas around building services engineering design. Our series is designed to assist architects, project managers and clients around engineering considerations and the changing legislation in Australia that have an impact on project design and delivery.

Iynka delivered an electrical services presentation to a team of project managers from Gallagher Jeffs in Melbourne to provide them with some extra knowledge on electrical design. The interactive session was an ideal opportunity for the project managers to discuss and learn more about some of the finer points of electrical engineering design.

BSE’s Knowledge and Learning series currently covers mechanical and electrical disciplines. If you would like your team to benefit from a session in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra or Brisbane, please do touch base to get a date scheduled in!

Bracken Ridge Plaza unveils new look of $7 million upgrade

Bracken Ridge Plaza is an ISPT owned neighbourhood shopping centre that recently underwent cosmetic improvement works including an amenities upgrade, improvement of natural lighting, mall tiling replacement, external façade upgrade, removal of carparking spaces to create an external seating area and canopy. The works were completed in early 2018.

Images: Bracken Ridge Plaza website

This exciting new upgrade at Bracken Ridge Plaza will provide the locals with a new and comfortable shopping experience that is great for the local area.

BSE was appointed and delivered mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and fire services design for the client before novating to Kane Construction for the construction stage works.

BSE QLD team commitment to SES is honoured

BSE recently attended an event hosted by the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Office in thanking employers for their support of State Emergency Service Volunteers.

The event was attended by senior members of QLD’s Emergency Services and members of the local council, including Councillor Krista Adams on behalf of the Lord Mayor who presented the certificates.

This is Tim O’Regan’s 5th year volunteering in the SES and he is grateful for the support and flexibility he has received over the years in attending events such as the recent Commonwealth Games. Tim’s involvement within the SES ranges from community engagement, first aid, storm damage repairs and land searches to name a few.

BSE has a history of helping build stronger, safer communities and will continue to assist in local challenges and opportunities.

Midtown Centre - Transforming Two Towers into One

The Midtown Centre project in Brisbane’s CBD is a revolutionary redevelopment of two previously occupied state government buildings into one substantial office tower. BSE was engaged by joint venture owners, AsheMorgan and DMANN Corp to design the building electrical and mechanical services and provide associated advice as to efficiency in the delivery of what will essentially be a new building. The two towers, previously known as the Queensland Forestry and Health buildings will be transformed from two 17-storey office towers, totalling 26,650 square metres into one 26-storey commercial office tower totalling 42,000 square metre,.

The existing space between the two towers will receive infilled levels joining the buildings together along with the addition of 6 new levels spanning across the tower footprint. The development will also provide ground floor retail space, a retail activated laneway joining Mary and Charlotte Streets, an outdoor sky garden on level 20 and an energy efficient reflective glass facade design. The building will also target a 5-Star Green Star office rating, 5.5 Stars NABERS office rating and a Silver Well certification. Midtown Centre is anticipated to be completed by third quarter 2020.

BSE is providing a range of engineering services throughout the design and construction process including demolition advice, development approval design, construction documentation and services during construction. The core disciplines provided by BSE’s Brisbane office include Mechanical and Electrical engineering services.

BSE sprinkles fairy dust over the new Walt Disney Melbourne office

The Walt Disney Company (Australia) is currently undertaking an office relocation and fit-out and is moving from their existing tenancy at the Como Centre in South Yarra to their new office location in Cremorne. The new 2,650sqm fit-out will accommodate approximately 200 staff.

The fit-out includes a combination of open plan workspace, offices, meeting rooms, kitchen and break out areas, front of house reception and support service areas.

The project also involves the demolition of existing fit-out in Cremorne and will incorporate new LED lighting throughout, refurbishment of the existing bathrooms, relocation of mechanical ductwork to suit the new layout and relocation of sprinkler heads.

BSE is delivering engineering services for both the fit-out and base building works. This includes the following disciplines: Mechanical, Electrical, Data/Communications, Electronic Security, Fire Services, Hydraulic Services and Audio Visual.

The project is scheduled for completion at the end of July 2018.

BSE delivers a new and improved Marina at Elizabeth Bay

Elizabeth Bay Marina has existed for over 100 years and is a popular place for boaters, kayakers, residents and tourists visiting the area. A recent project where BSE delivered engineering services was for the upgrade of the marina to improve its functionality, amenity and safety for water users and local community.  Due to deterioration of the previous structure, BSE’s Sydney team was appointed to design a modern marina facility to meet the current engineering and maritime safety standards. The $2.5million project was started in 2016 and completed in early 2018 with APP Corporation as the project manager for Roads & Maritime Services NSW.

Image Credit: Lahznimmo Architects Website, Photography by Steve Back

The Marina is located entirely below the mean high-water mark offering unique challenges to the design and construction team, such as detailed services coordination for precast elements, material selection to suit marine environments, securing of external services to the fixed and floating structures and implementation of authority requirements in an above water installation while achieving an operational and aesthetically pleasing building.

Image Credit: Lahznimmo Architects Website, Photography by Steve Back

BSE’s Sydney team delivered electrical, mechanical, fire and hydraulic services engineering along with NABERS certification for design, documentation and construction services for this project.

As part of the services design the following sustainability initiatives were provided:

• Alternative product selections to increase life expectancy of services
• Natural ventilation to plant rooms for reduction in power consumption
• Photovoltaics for the house electrical supply
• Solar collectors for the base building hot water system
• Rainwater reuse for wash down areas.

The marina will also provide a place for the community to socialise with a new café and outdoor seating area.

Solar gains for Bunnings in Geraldton

Geraldton’s Bunnings Warehouse has installed a network of 384 solar panels (photovoltaic) on the building’s roof, making it possibly the city’s largest solar system. Buildings with a footprint or more appropriately, available roof space such as a Bunnings store are ideal for the use of the sun to generate electricity for the buildings consumption.

BSE is the national sustainability consultant for Bunnings and designed the new system and rolled out trials at numerous pilot sites before instigating a photovoltaic system implementation for Bunnings in sites across Australia.

The 100 = kilowatt system generates enough power, on a sunny day to run roughly thirty average Australian homes, and provides about 18 per cent of Bunnings total power needs at the site.

The growth in the use of solar generated power across Australia is reducing the reliance on traditional power stations to meet energy demands.

Bunnings has a very strong and ongoing commitment to sustainability across its national property portfolio and BSE is proud to be a partner of Bunnings and helping it to be as energy-efficient as possible wherever they operate.

James Squire Brewhouse opens at Sydney Cove

The Squire’s Landing is a two-storey bar and restaurant which overlooks Sydney’s iconic landmarks, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. This project was delivered in collaboration with Mantle Group Hospitality.  The origins of the James Squire brand comes from him being a convict on the First Fleet. Squire turned his life around and rose to become one of the governor’s guards, the father of 11 children and the colony’s first and most sought-after brewer.

This newly opened brewhouse in Sydney highlights craft beers where customers can enjoy James Squire hospitality.

BSE’s Brisbane team had the opportunity to be part of this exciting project which is Mantle Group’s first development in New South Wales. BSE provided professional engineering consulting services including mechanical, electrical fire, hydraulic and security services and delivered the project from initial briefing and site survey through to construction completion.

Like every project, Squires Landing had its own unique challenges, such as coordinating all services with existing large structural beams, while still meeting the clients brief for high ceilings in the front-of-house areas. Furthermore, integrating services for the newly built freestanding, fully glazed microbrewery with the two-level restaurant and turret was an additional challenge! The delivery of The Squires Landing has been a great start of 2018 at BSE.

Location: The Squire’s Landing: Northern end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay Way, The Rocks, 2000

Photo Credit: James Squire Website & Latte Luxury News

BSE’s Brisbane team revel in go-karting!

BSE’s Brisbane team went head to head for a Go-Karting night out at Kingston Park Raceway.

The team savoured the opportunity to let their hair down, and engage their competitive sides and share in plenty of laughs together.

After a fierce context, Cameron Webb took out 1st place, followed by Ben Barker in 2nd place and Tim O’Regan in 3rd place. Honouree mentions to Shen and Peter who shared the Mr Magoo Award and Sashin with a disqualification.

New Fully-Equipped office space for Melbourne CBD

The BSE Melbourne office has delivered a 1500sqm commercial office fitout for Compass Offices in the Melbourne CBD. Compass Offices offer shared and fully-equipped office space for businesses to grow.

A major focus of this project was to ensure the quality and finishes of the meeting rooms and offices meet with the building's Fitout Guide. To develop the services design, BSE adopted cutting edge laser scanning technology to provide an accurate appreciation of the existing building services within Level 17, 570 Bourke Street. BSE delivered electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and fire engineering for design and during construction.

On a typical commercial fitout project such as this, laser scanning is a highly cost-effective process to guarantee accurate services dimensioning and this valuable process equates to approximately 0.15% of the project construction budget. It’s a common concern with the Interior fit out of an existing space that uncertainty exists relating to the existing services in the ceiling space.

At BSE, our preference is not to solely trust any available as-built documentation but also to have the ceiling tiles removed where possible to visually inspect the roof space. By doing this we can reduce variations and minimize the services requirements at the inception of a project. In doing so we aim to minimize the services spend so that more of the budget is available for more ‘visual’ components of a project such as enhanced quality furniture or audio-visual services.

Michelle Wang and Ping Lu celebrates 10 years with BSE

This week, our Sydney team took the opportunity to celebrate with Michelle Wang and Ping Lu on their 10-year anniversary at BSE. Michelle and Ping’s commitment and dedication towards BSE has been a huge contributor towards our ongoing success!

Michelle Wang (Accounts Administrator) and Ping Lu (REVIT/CAD Operator) have both been with BSE since 2008 and their significant contributions were honoured with a lunch, plenty of gifts, memories and laughs.

Andrew Fraser, CEO, took the opportunity to express his personal appreciation for the enthusiasm and skills Michelle and Ping bring to BSE’s national team!

Exciting well-deserved promotions for our Sydney Engineers!

Congratulations to Chris Moore, Ryan Kidd and Maggie Xia for their well-deserved promotions!

Their hard work and dedication is celebrated by BSE, as is their commitment to delivering successful projects and exceptional quality of work.

Chris Moore, our new Associate, has shown exceptional dedication to each project and delivery of client’s needs. With his leadership and commitment as part of the interior and refurbishment team, Chris is a valuable team member of BSE.

Chris commented: I have been at BSE for two and a half years and it has been great to develop within the business, with the help of a great team. I am looking forward to developing future business and delivering more great projects with our fantastic clients. 

Ryan Kidd, Senior Electrical Engineer, has a strong knowledge of electrical services across a range of projects, with dedicated capacity to think outside the box, he delivers outstanding project results for clients and partners.

Ryan commented: “The flexible working environment and good atmosphere has enhanced the experiences gained while working at BSE.

Some of the opportunities in terms of projects, from well-known global entities to local businesses have provided me with a broad wealth of experience within the building services industry.”

Maggie Xia, Senior Electrical Engineer, has more than 8 years’ experience delivering electrical engineering for a huge variety of projects. Her ability to understand and coordinate projects to exceed client expectations makes her an integral part of BSE’s building and infrastructure team.  

Maggie commented: “BSE creates an opportunity for engineers to grow their careers and share their values. Progressing to a senior role with BSE has encouraged me to take a major step in my career and given me the confidence of being better.”

An exciting new project at St Mary Mackillop College, ACT

BSE’s ACT team has commenced a new and exciting educational project at St Mary Mackillop College in ACT.

This project involves the refurbishment of an existing science block into teaching facilities and offices and an extension to accommodate a new canteen.

BSE is delivering electrical, communications, security and dry fire services for the project with construction scheduled to be completed by January 2019. BSE is working in collaboration with CCJ Architects.

BSE ACT Manager Brendon Newham commented, “BSE is excited to be working on this educational project. As we develop our Canberra office we are continually looking to work on interesting new projects with good clients and  consultants partners and this job is exactly that”.

Home Co Marsden Park Opening

In August 2016 Home Consortium agreed to acquire the former Masters portfolio. The overall portfolio of Home Consortium centres comprises over 500,000 square meters of retail space, located across five states.

Since that time, Home Consortium has commenced a process of re-purposing sites into a best of brands retail precinct.

Each centre will comprise of retailers covering one of three distinct retail offering categories:

• Daily retail needs
• Leisure & lifestyle
• Homewares & electrical

The national portfolio of centres are expected to be open by early 2019.

Home Consortium at Marsden Park is one of the many sites where BSE has provided mechanical engineering services for the national rollout. The Marsden Park centre has a total size of approximately 13,000m² and 8 tenancies. Some of the retailers at the Marsden Park centre include Pet Barn, Nick Scali, Rebel Sport, Bing Lee, Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us.

BSE’s role at Marsden Park encompasses a collaboration with Fusion HVAC to provide an innovative solution for air conditioning and smoke exhaust ventilation. BSE provided a high-level review of mechanical engineering services for the reconfiguration of the site. As a result of the works, the new Home Consortium layout will be provided with comfortable internal temperatures.  

Redeveloping the Heritage nature of the International House

BSE have recently been appointed to provide the engineering services consultancy to redevelop the existing heritage building located at 284-292 Pitt Street, Sydney. International House was originally constructed in 1907 and has historical significance as the home for over 50 years of Bennett and Wood, a well-known Sydney supplier of motor cycles and parts. The building currently consists of 7.5 storeys and 1 level of basement and the works entail retaining the existing structure and refurbishment of the existing levels plus the construction of approximately 7 additional storeys.

The existing structure and services are to be exposed as part of the works and all existing services are to be retained. In addition to this, various internal columns, sandstone lintels and external facade are to be sandblasted to highlight and complement the heritage nature of the existing building.

The proposed extension will have a modern look to create delineation between the heritage podium and additional floors for a mix of old and new.

BSE will deliver all mechanical, electrical, hydraulic fire and vertical transport services for the design and engineering, advice and support during construction, and we look forward to collaborating with the project team to realise an exceptional outcome.

BSE ‘travelling well’ at the Brisbane Transit Centre

Brisbane Transit Centre is located on Roma Street, above and alongside Roma Street Railway station. The complex includes two commercial office towers, two levels of retail, commercial car park and coach terminal.

BSE has maintained an ongoing relationship across multiple projects and the range of project work includes office fitouts, full level refurbishments and an array of base building services upgrades. BSE are currently delivering multiple projects across both towers.

Brisbane office Director Cameron Webb commented “our relationship with the Brisbane Transit Centre and its other partners has been a great journey for all of us involved. Having an intimacy as to the client and building needs, we can provide the sort of value to our client and play a part in keeping this development at the forefront of sustainability and occupant comfort”. 

Penrith City Council opens new community centre at Jordan Springs

Jordan Springs Community Centre has recently been completed and is open to the general public. Penrith Council’s latest neighbourhood venue was a collaboration between Lendlease and Penrith City Council.

The multi-functional centre is a purpose-built Community Resources hub that also caters for people with disabilities. The centre comprises a hall/ function room, multipurpose activity room, meeting and IT rooms, kitchen facilities, parent’s room, accessible change rooms, covered and open outdoor spaces, car and bicycle parking, barbecue facilities and amenities.

BSE has collaborated with Lendlease to provide all engineering services including electrical, hydraulic, fire, mechanical and sustainability services for design, documentation and construction services.  

The 4,000sqm facility is the first public building in NSW to be built with cross-laminated timber (CLT), a more sustainable and efficient form of construction.

Photo Credit: Penrith City Council

Stuart Johnson who is Head of Buildings at BSE commented, “We are very pleased to have assisted in delivering a great outcome for Penrith Council. Its pleasing to deliver engineering services on a community building that is both innovative and functional.

Address: 2-6 Cullen Avenue, Jordan Springs, NSW, 2747.

Department of Employment

Delivering a great commercial office in the centre of Brisbane.

BSE collaborated with IA Design in Brisbane to design a contemporary and innovative workspace for the Department of Employment (DOE). The refurbishment on Levels 5 (full) & 8 (part) at 215 Adelaide Street in QLD has a total size of 1,270sqm and was designed with the concept of functionality, collaboration and communication for the staff.

The project consolidated and their existing space into a contemporary workplace which included meeting rooms, lunch rooms and office space. BSE was assigned to design the mechanical, electrical, fire protection and hydraulic engineering for DOE.   

Source: Images from IA Group Website 

Construction stage commences for Kiama Aged Care

BSE has been working closely with Blue Haven and APP throughout the design phases of this project. The Kiama Aged Care, Centre of Excellence (KACOE) has now commenced construction on the site of the old Kiama hospital.

This $73 million development offers a range of facilities for independent living, assisted care, low-care and dementia care. The project includes 134 aged care beds within the RACF, 16 assisted living units, 51 independent living units and the refurbishment to a heritage community hall and meeting rooms.

BSE is delivering engineering services including electrical, mechanical, fire, hydraulic, communications, security, ESD and vertical transportation.

We are excited to collaborate with Richard Crookes Construction during the construction phase of this project with a predicted completion date at the end of 2019.