Education is entering a new age in Adelaide with the completion of the innovative Health and Innovation Building (HIB) located in North Terrace (part of the University of South Australia), due in October this year after 12 months of construction. Led by builder Hansen Yuncken, the 14-storey UniSA project will be the next step in completing the SA Health and Biomedical Research Precinct. The developments $247.3m price tag makes it marginally more expensive than the $246m Adelaide University building next door. HIB will house the Centre for Cancer Biology and UniSA’s pharmacy school, with 450 researchers between them. Rondo’s involvement included providing ceiling and wall systems using our Shaftwall One-Way Erected System, KEY-LOCK® Concealed Ceiling System and PANTHER® Access Panels to create the desired effect.
To help achieve the timber panel ceilings, KEY-LOCK® was added into the surrounding areas of the curtain ceiling system and access panels were inserted across 13 floors. It was decided to insert our KEY-LOCK® Ceiling System into the curtain ceiling system due to the heavy weight of the ceiling. Independent stud dropper/plenum bracings (constructed of heavy duty steel stud) were built to connect the main track of the curtain system and to counter for any extra excessive load applied. Vice-Chancellor David Lloyd said the project was, “the biggest thing we’ve ever done” and the museum would be, “Adelaide’s biggest playground”. The 30,000m2 of floor space will make the building twothirds the size of UniSA’s current City West campus and have 500km of data cabling and 7000 network points, more than any Adelaide building, except of course for the Royal Adelaide Hospital.