December 22, 2008

LSB Protects Archeological site in The Rocks.

In January 2006 the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority called for innovative proposals for the design and conservation development of the area known as the ‘Big Dig Site’ in the historic precinct of The Rocks. The 2650m2 site has outstanding cultural significance and contains rare physical evidence of Australia’s first European settlement. In 1994 the first major archaeological excavation of the site was begun, unearthing over 750,000 artifacts and the remains of more than 30 buildings.

The winning proposal, which conserves the in-situ archaeological remains as well as establishing an interactive history and education centre, was chosen from four designs short-listed by an expert evaluation panel. The Youth Hostels Association will build a contemporary, environmentally-sensitive youth hostel on the site.

The building has been designed to minimise impact on the site. A steel truss system will raise the building off the ground on a series of pillars, minimising points of contact with the ground and interference with the remains. The location of the footings has been carefully negotiated between architectural, heritage, archaeological, structural and geotechnical consultants. The building will be made of lightweight steel.

LiteSteel beam (LSB) is an important contributor to the success of this site with its long span and light weight attributes preferred over timber as the joists throughout the 4 storey structure. LiteSteel Technologies engineers worked closely with the builder (Built Pty Ltd) and the engineer (Taylor Thomson Whitting) to support the construction of the building.