Defence EP2 Building Upgrade

This project provides a new lease on life for a 1940’s heritage listed building that was very important in relation to the weapons testing that occurred in the State’s north near Woomera. Half of the 2-storey building with a small basement has been fully upgraded with a new fitout as Stage 1 of the project with a second stage soon to commence. The layout was of its time with many small insular offices and had been patched and small areas changed over time so there was no consistency or cohesion between different areas.

The new design is in accordance with the Defence Office Accommodation Guidelines which is based around modern ways of working with open plan work areas supplemented by many breakout and collaborative spaces of different sizes for varying number of users.

Due to security provisions and the groups accommodated in the building, the meeting rooms are congregated in a central wing area and are available for booking. Timber has been used extensively in screens to provide warmth and to break up the space into smaller areas. Due to adhoc changes over time there were services randomly across the exterior of the building and these have been removed and the airconditioning consolidated with a new installation throughout. The design has embraced Defence’s environmental policies achieving much higher energy efficiencies and using recycled content wherever possible.