UTAS River’s Edge Joinery

UTAS River’s Edge Joinery

Project Data

Client

University of Tasmania

Architects

John Wardle

Duration

12 months

Value

$3.5 million

Completed

Jun 2023

An impressive feature about the joinery in the UTAS River’s Edge building are the atrium hoods which seamlessly interconnect sustainably sourced Tasmania timber and honour Tasmanian hardwood. Located at 2 Invermay Road, Launceston, the $3.5 million project was procured via tender. The project at UTAS River’s Edge offered an opportunity for Fairbrother’s expert Joinery team to demonstrate exceptional workmanship.

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The impressively intricate project was the reward for hours of skilled joinery labour to weave together over 15,000 lineal meters of solid timber feature linings and the use of 1200 carefully selected matching veneer sheets for the project. The joinery team delivered the project without any significant delays, and problems relating to material procurement. The project team worked hard and extended their workshop hours to 19 hours per day and implemented 12-hour days on-site to ensure the successful completion of the project.

 

The joinery in this project breathes life to a natural, wooden environment of atrium hoods; acoustic wall linings; Tasmanian Oak timber feature battens; perforated wall and ceiling linings; solid Tasmanian Oak tables; and architectural joinery. The project craftly tied together Tasmanian Oak installations throughout the building by hand selecting the veneers of the hoods and laying the panels by hand to maintain the consistency of the wood grains. Likewise, the remaining building veneers were deliberately ordered in batches to keep the grain matching. The novel, complex tasks across long hours, inspired innovation in the installation of the atrium hoods and provided learning opportunities for all team members. The installation involved building a scaffold through the atrium, with a full working area of plywood decking and using jacks to hoist the hood modules into place.

 

The contemporary atrium hoods complete the centerpiece of the newly constructed UTAS River’s Edge building.

Previous project: 39 Frankland Street