PROJECT
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higher floors was limited and the lifts were not yet in
operation, so the various teams had to rely on having to
walk up and down staircases or scaffolding, and if they
caught a break they would get to use the hoist system.
PROJECT DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
The client brief and subsequent design in terms of
the wet service was to develop a robust system that
facilitated ease of maintenance and one that employed
Green Star principles as a minimum, regardless of
whether the building would go through the Green Star
process when completed.
Although currently there is no rainwater harvesting or
greywater reclamation in place, the design catered for
a dual water reticulation system where these systems
could be implemented at a later stage. One of the
reticulation systems (with an alternative source such as
water re-use) would be for flushing toilets and urinals,
and the other dedicated to potable water use.
The hot water installation is circulated by means of a ring main that re-connects with the
hot water storage vessels to ensure constant hot water supply.
Consideration was also included for a ground water
source such as a borehole, so in future if there is a
decision to implement an alternative water source or
water re-use, the infrastructure is already in place to
support it through the installed plumbing system.
CHALLENGES OF MEETING DESIGN SPECIFICATION
One thing that proves a common challenge in development
like Katherine Towers is that when you are dealing with
tenants, the tenant criteria can change all the time. What
also happens is that you may have different tenants per
floor which can further complicate the plumbing work
required, or forward thinking about the plumbing. Small bore copper pipes were installed as well as large bore galvanised pipes. HDPE
drainage and rainwater systems were also installed.
Your start is always a base design and hopefully
tweaking the design can accommodate a tenant’s
specific requirements. There may be the need for special
pause areas, kitchenettes, a bar, a gym, and so on, so it
may become tricky to easily satisfy all of the needs. then a tenant is thrown into the mix that needs to be
accommodated. You should always try to make your base
design as flexible as possible so you can manage the
changes or special request by identifying the most likely
positions for these.
The base design is always quite simple, but where the
challenges start is when construction is ongoing and It does sometimes happen that you get get the odd
request for a bar in the middle of nowhere and then the
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July 2019 Volume 25 I Number 5