St Martins of Tours P.S New Discovery Centre, Rosanna

Overview: With an increase in students, St Martins of Tours Primary School was in desperate need of new spaces. The buildings were constructed by Conrad Construction in conjunction with the Building the Education Revolution (BER) Scheme as a part of the Australian Government’s response to the global financial crisis, which saw the doubling of recent levels of capital investment in schools. The building was architecturally designed to fit the school, as spacing was quite tight and was all part of a larger plan that the architects, Smith and Tracey had for the school. Having collaborated with Smith and Tracey in the past, they were confident in Conrad Construction’s ability to handle everything from tendering to estimating all the way up to handover. Difficulties Faced: There were a few challenges that Conrad Construction faced during this project. The first was that the project did have quite a long duration. Taking approximately 12 months to complete, there was no avoiding working during the school year, which meant there were students around during most of the construction process. The other challenge that Conrad Construction faced was the location of the building. We had a very limited amount of space to work in which did make things difficult at times. While no renovations were completed on existing buildings, Conrad Construction did need to work around them including a 3 metre high 50 metre wall that had been built on an embankment back in the 70’s/ 80’s. With very different building standards during this era, we had to be careful that the existing buildings would not be impacted by the changes we were making to the surrounding areas. Solution: We found that the best way to overcome both of these challenges was to maintain effective communication and to keep the health and safety of all those who were impacted as the number one priority. Through clear signage and regular communications Conrad Construction were able to keep the school informed of our progress and movements meaning they could help keep the students away from the impacted areas to ensure everyone’s safety and also that the job was completed on time. Result Desperate for the space, this humble, but growing school of around 700 students were so thrilled to receive the new buildings including a new library, discovery centre, classroom and other much needed children’s facilities. Designed by Smith and Tracey and built by Conrad Construction, the new facilities have had such a positive impact on the children’s learning and the schools overall community. No matter what your next building project entails, Conrad Construction is ready to help you bring your vision to life. Get in touch with Conrad Construction today to discuss your needs and get started!