9 Carlaw Park, Gateway Hotel and Commercial Precinct

Miller Design was invited to tender on this project through the normal tendering process for what was initially to be a standard curtainwall installation specification. We were then engaged as one of only a small few contractors that could realistically undertake the project in terms of complexity, scale and time frame. Throughout this engagement, the project moved from being a standard on site glazed curtainwall project, to an all encompassing façade design. Miller Design happily picked up and ran with the ball.

The outcome of the negotiation process saw Miller Design assume complete responsibility for the floorslab 'out' - wherever there was curtainwall on the Commercial Precinct - that is, we were engaged to design the bracketing system, design and manufacture the curtainwall, install the walkway webforge, and to design and install the shading louvres. On top of this, there was to be no scaffolding for access, so Miller Design had to incorporate the required design into its own factory glazing process.

Key principles of factory glazing are to decrease the time it takes to close in/water proof the building, and to improve quality given that the process of glazing takes place within a factory rather than in a site environment. As a consequence, the two commercial buildings were weathertight in approximately half the time it would have taken had site glazing occurred, with a reduced number of install crews.

In addition, Miller Design took responsibility for the design, manufacture and installation of the glazed atrium area which is a key feature of the design of the Commercial Precinct, and the Gateway Hotel. Overall, the project required the development of six new aluminium extrusion dies in order to cater for the design and installation methodology.