February 15 2006
Laing O'Rourke (the new owner of Barclay Mowlem) has started construction of IKEA's first and largest Australian stand alone superstore, a new 29,200 square metre store in Logan, south of Brisbane.
IKEA, the world's largest home furnishings retailer appointed the company as the Principal Contractor to manage construction of this new $60 million superstore which replaces the nearby 7,500 square metre IKEA Springwood.
Richard Hynard, IKEA's Construction Manager, said the company embraced IKEA's project delivery philosophy involving an integrated team approach.
'The company demonstrated their extensive experience and commitment in working closely with, not only the client, but with all parties incorporating consultants and sub-contractors, to deliver a successful project within a very tight construction program,' Mr Hynard said.
Building Area Manager for SEQ, Glenn Rashleigh, said that the challenge facing the team is the tight milestones to enable IKEA to fit out and stock the store as construction proceeds.
"We will deliver the project late September this year as IKEA plan to open for trading in October, the home furnishing company's busiest month,' Mr Rashleigh confirmed.
Construction began on the superstore project in mid-January after the completion of the early works, demolition and piling works. The new two-storey superstore incorporates a basement car park for 1,109 cars plus additional ground level carparking for 400 cars, showrooms covering an area of 6,200 square metres, a storage warehouse, a massive on-site customer self-serve warehouse, a market hall, a 380-seat restaurant, numerous play areas for children, and internal administration areas, offices and staff room. The scope also incorporates major infrastructure works including upgrading existing roundabout and motorway entry, construction of new roads adjacent to the site, and relocation of existing aerial power lines and upgrading the services to the site.
The structure consists of a reinforced concrete frame with a post-tensioned concrete floor slab throughout, a structural steel frame roof with Colourbond metal cladding, and walls of generally 150mm thick pre-finished insulated metal sandwich panels.
Mr Rashleigh added that this external facade, which will significantly reduce heat absorption, is just one of the many design innovations to be implemented in line with IKEA's strict world-wide ecologically sustainable development approach.
'The building has been designed to be environmentally friendly. The superstore will not have air conditioning but instead have a chill beam cooling system, whereby cold water runs through pipes that in turn keep the temperature cool and constant throughout the year.
'This will bring economies to energy consumption and ongoing costs, particularly as IKEA is utilising the sprinkler water storage tanks as chilled water storage for the chilled beam system,' explained Mr Rashleigh.
This installation of this system is both a first for IKEA and the construction company.
Other initiatives include rainwater harvesting, solar power for water heating, natural light into the warehouse space, and a building management system to control and monitor the lighting and mechanical systems.
