Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne VIC
One of three world heritage listed cultural sites in Australia, conversation works valued at $20M will reinstate the Dome Promenade, a popular 1880's visitor attraction.
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The situation
Over 140 years old, The Royal Exhibition Buildings, serve as a proud example of outstanding design and architecture. There have been many renovations and refurbishments done during its long history, each one bringing the grand old building back to life once more. In keeping with the designer's vision to maintain authenticity, to access the dome a new lift will be installed in the same location as the original 1888 Waygood elevator.
Once completed, the eventual plan is to open up the buildings more regularly to the general public.
This latest upgrade included the provision for access and fall protection to the multiple flagpoles erected on the roofs. Egress onto a newly constructed observation deck was also required, not such an easy undertaking as all the components would need to be craned in and constructed on-site.
Additional to that is the heritage listing, which also comes with it's own restrictions, limitations and regulations. Above all it was most important that any systems installed were as sympathetic as possible to the existing structure.
But how do you make modern day equipment blend into historic architecture?
Solution
A large vertical rung ladder fitted with fall arrest protection and midway rest platforms was constructed.
To ensure as little impact as possible was made to the structure, rung ladders were powder coated by Kattsafe prior to installation and were colour matched to perfectly blend in with the existing facade.
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As the project required all the components to be craned to their location, modular lightweight components were the obvious choice. Systems had to be constructed up and over rooflines and welding and heavy industrial machinery often required for this type of install was not practical or possible.
Stairs were used for their versatility. By using the unique Kattsafe T-bolt the stair units could be adjusted down to the minutest details in order to fit the existing building. Considering the age, this would have been extremely difficult without Kattsafe stairs modularity and being able to be fitted "on the fly".
A very successful project now sees modern and effective access and fall protection systems installed on the Royal Exhibition Buildings ensuring that even historic buildings can offer fall protection and height safety to their workers without compromise.
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