Outside the square: meeting complex design and engineering requirements for University of Wollongong

A complex tier one commercial air conditioning project for the University of Wollongong’s new Western Building provided an ideal showcase for Climax Air Conditioning’s in-house design and engineering capabilities.

Designed to accommodate diverse functions across the disparate schools – The Arts, English and Media, Health and Society, and Geography and Sustainable Communities – the Western Building features a vast array of facilities across 10,000 sqm floor space, comprising four floors and a rooftop plant room and including facilities such as recording studios, theatres and laboratories. The complex and varied requirements of the building required a bespoke HVAC system.

Our team specialises in the agile, ‘out of the square’ thinking required to design and build a solution to meet this challenge. Climax Air Conditioning was engaged by Richard Crookes Constructions to provide a wide range of mechanical services, from cooling towers to individual extraction exhaust systems, acoustic-designed air control, and reverse cycle air conditioning for office and research spaces.

Embedded in the innovative design was an array of custom-designed features to deliver high quality air control sensitive to the acoustics of theatres and recording studios, along with individual exhaust systems for laboratories and workstations and a unique fire smoke exhaust extraction system. Every element was exhaustively tested to ensure optimal performance, including a comprehensive smoke vent test (view a video of the test in action here).

Our team specialises in the agile, ‘out of the square’ thinking required to design and build a solution to meet this challenge. Custom-designed features deliver high quality air control sensitive to the acoustics of theatres and recording studios, along with individual exhaust systems for laboratories and workstations.

This was an exciting and challenging project in which our capabilities, expertise and project management were on full display. Thanks to the creativity, technical knowledge and skills of our team, the project was delivered successfully and to the highest possible standard, ready to meet the diverse needs of every space, function and occupant of this stunning building.