St Francis De Sales College

Horticultural Trade Skills Centre

The new Horticultural Trade Skills Centre at St Francis De Sales College is rectangular in plan, with a pitched roof and large veranda. The building was constructed on raft concrete footings (also using concrete piers where the fill was used on site), a structural steel frame with metal and danpalon cladding.

The internal finishes have an industrial feel to keep the overall project cost down and to provide maximum usability for the Centre as intended. The external works including civil, paving and installation of rainwater tanks with the objective to make the Centre as sustainable as possible, giving the Centre a green edge.

Constant, clear and open communication channels were set up and maintained with the project team and the School to mitigate risks for staff and students as the new Centre was built in an occupied site.

We worked closely with the School and the District Council of Mount Barker to negotiate an alternate access route through the adjoining Council land. This mitigated the need to access the site through the School Campus minimising risk associated with plant, equipment and deliveries.  

Preventative measures were undertaken to minimise impact of soil erosion and wash away during the earthworks phase, including managing the sequencing of the cut, provision of temporary swale and filtration.

Our company managed to successfully meet the timeframe and completed the work in October 2014 with great outcomes.

The Centre is the home of a new training program delivering qualifications in horticulture to address the skills shortage and to encourage more interest in this field.