McNabb Loop Retirement Village

• All load-bearing structural steel columns were required to be hidden inside the plasterboard lined steel stud walls. We undertook careful planning to ensure exact placement of the structural steel columns.
• Curved gyprock walls were supplied by the client. Prefinished timber skirtings had to be bent and shaped to suit, while additional noggin support was required within the walls to allow for adequate fixing.
• The building was positioned on a sloped site. Increased elevation of the building was required to meet council guidelines in relation to height limits.

• Curved balcony: The curved balcony at the main entrance was constructed from KingFlor Bondek. Produced in New Zealand with an 8 week lead time, the Bondek profile and strength is greater than locally produced products and allows the floor to cantilever from the Ritek lift shaft walls and run 16 metres in length to the furthest point of the balcony. This design allowed for a wide expansive arched lobby entrance, frameless glass sliding doors and an open ceiling line.
• Shade sail awnings to the building’s two courtyards and north facing balcony provide weather protection and privacy to the residents. The awnings are made from a combination of powder coated punched metal sheeting and stretched canvas fixed to a steel frame through a rail system.
• The building is surrounded by a landscaped area framed by a sloping, reinforced, curved, in-situ concrete wall. This wall is faced with natural cut limestone blockwork and decorated with custom artwork fencing. This wall runs along the north elevation of the building. The feature fence was commissioned as part of the required artwork component of the project. Within the perimeter fencing is the landscaped garden area consisting of exposed aggregate concrete, a beautiful round gazebo and water feature with roman styled CFC columns and timber framing surrounds.

The structure consists of a traditional built form, with the use of Ritek, structural steel and Bondek. External highlights include feature brickwork cladding and a modern facade.

The building’s external façade consists predominantly of Manor Red face bricks with a two coat render and a lightweight Aerostone corbel band that runs the perimeter of the building. The corbel band was installed after the brick work due to the specific dimensional detail required to meet the architects design.

Each bedroom has a curved balcony with a glass balustrade and custom-made stainless-steel stanchions.

The roof structure is Colorbond and was fixed to pre-fabricated timber trusses. The design of the trusses was coordinated meticulously with the mechanical services contractors to accommodate the spatial requirements of the building’s air conditioning services and mechanical exhausts feeding from the basement kitchen, laundry and car park areas.

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