Construction

OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT

TIME & COST FACTORS

ACTIVITY DURATION START FINISH

Preliminary Building Programme 625 1/09/2001 31/08/2003

Design 300 1/09/2001 16/08/2002

Architectural 260 1/09/2001 1/07/2002

Structural 300 1/09/2001 16/08/2002

Services 160 18/10/2001 22/04/2002

Construction 530 18/10/2001 27/06/2003

Sub-structure 130 5/11/2001 18/03/2002

Super-structure 400 19/03/2002 27/06/2003

Commissioning 55 28/06/2003 31/08/2003

Summary of construction programme from start to completion.

In this project, proper time management is essential as the project duration is only 22 months, in which the design, construction and commissioning has to be completed.

From the above table, construction starts shortly after the start date of the project. This is a typical characteristic of design & build projects; construction is often a concurrent activity with design. The design stages and construction stages progress hand in hand for a great part of the project duration.

Commissioning is the only independent activity and can only be carried out when both design and construction stages are completed.

Function Floor Area (m2) Levels Cordell's Rate ($/m2) Total Cost

Office 950 13 $1,460 $18,031,000

Retail 1080 3 $1,148 $3,719,520

Basement 820 3 $638 $1,569,480

Sub-Total $23,320,000

Project Overheads, 20% $4,664,000

Sub-Total $27,984,000

GST, 10% $2,798,400

Sub-Total $30,782,400

Profit, 5% $1,539,120

Sub-Total $33,580,800

Demolition $350,000

Project Cost $33,930,800

Estimate of the cost of construction of the project.

The above table shows the estimated cost of the project. As the building has allocated different floors for different uses, the prices for construction of floors for different uses also differs.

In the above estimate, office floors is the most expensive to construct, followed by retail and basement.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

The site is in the heart of CBD Sydney at 317-331 George Street (5 blocks of land). The site is on the west side of George Street and east of Wynyard Lane, between Bank House of north and BNZ House of south. The site has a frontage to George Street of about 45 meters and depth to Wynyard Lane of about 27.8 meters, having an area around 1,250 square meters.

From the illustrations in the attached sketches, the building has a steel and reinforced concrete frame and aluminium curtain wall facades. The proposed project is 19 levels commercial building with 3 basement for parking (extending under Wynyard lane), entrance lobby with three mezzanine levels of retail, 12 office floors and plant and lift motor room(LMR) level.

ANALYSIS ON DESIGN

The design of this building is made up of different areas of concern, which includes namely architecture, structure and services. Design considerations influencing each area is discussed as follows:

Architecture

The architectural design should suit the purpose for which the building is to be built. The building should be designed in such a manner that it gives the occupants of the building protection from the elements. Design should include considerations on weatherproofing matters, aesthetic appearance, sound insulation, air leakage and noise proofing. As often than not, omittance of such important design considerations would result in substantial damage to the interior of the building as well as impact on the high wastage of energy consumption.

The building to be built must be able to accommodate the function of the building and at the same time to fit into the allocated client's cost budget. The materials chosen for the building should also be taken into consideration. The materials to be used should be relatively cheap, durable and easily obtainable albeit the resultant erected building features should contain the required exclusive and distinctive appearance within the local vicinity in the CBD area.

Design considerations should also include constructability of the building to be erected. It should not impose excessive dead load and which results in unnecessarily expensive and massive foundations. The building should be designed in a manner that it fits into the relatively small, congested area. An interesting point to note is the capacity of the design to incorporate the necessary services in the building construction without incurring unnecessary costs.

Structural

The structural design should ensure stability of the building. The structure should be able to withstand the structural, imposed dead and live, and wind loads. These include focusing

particular attention to areas from the rooftop till the foundation of the building.

The excavation works done for the construction of the basement car parks and the foundation of the building should take extra precautionary measure so as not to affect the foundations of the adjacent buildings, creating hazards to motorists along the nearby roadways as well as the underground services and train tunnels from the nearby Wynyard train station.

The main structure of the building should be designed in such a manner that the positions of columns do not interrupt the work areas in the upper office areas of the building especially the valuable, prime space in the three mezzanine levels of retail in the lower levels of the building. Another important consideration would be the floor-height level in each storey--it must be high enough