Kingspan Insulated Panels’ new prestige facade range Benchmark Evolution has been used in the design and construction of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children in Canberra. The project continues Kingspan’s long and international association with public health construction projects and presents a visually impressive landmark edifice to the local community.
Built on the Canberra Hospital campus, the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children brings together a broad range of public health services, including maternity, maternal and foetal medicine, gynaecology, neonatal intensive care and paediatrics. These services are all located in a single, state-of-the art, three-storey facility.
While the thermal performance of Benchmark Evolution was an integral driver in the specification of the high-performance facade, BVN Architecture associate Peter Burns says “the wide-spanning panels and stunning aesthetics were [also] crucial dividends on this project.”
“The 8.4-metre-long panel modules created a strong horizontal banding effect … they also require fewer supporting purlins and can be faster to install.”
The facade is finished with Evolution panels in the colour ‘Copper Penny’. “The net effect is quite captivating. Patients and the general public have commented on the natural variations in colour at different times of the day, which are not unlike the colours in the natural landscape,” Burns says.
The Benchmark range of facade and roof applications allows architects and designers to meet their clients’ expectations while providing contemporary and creative buildings, such as the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children. Evolution, part of the range, is an un-profiled insulated panel that gives the facade a rain screen appearance, with the added benefit of insulated panel technology. Benchmark Evolution panels offer a completely flat facade effect, and are available in varying widths. The panels used were 50 mm thick, 600 mm wide (KS 600EVO) and 900 mm wide (KS 900EVO), providing an R-value of 2.65.
High-performance panel installer Wayne Richards of Erincole Building Services has become familiar with architectural panels from Kingspan. “I’ve installed them on numerous projects, yet I’m still surprised at how arresting the final work can look,” Richards says.
Richard Biston, national sales director Australia at Kingspan, said that the architects BVN Architecture, builders Leighton Contractors and installers Erincole Building Services had created something special. “It is enormously pleasing to Kingspan that the people of Canberra have a hospital that’s set to serve them for decades to come. Generations of Canberra residents will be born in this facility. What’s more, it is an added bonus that this project could be constructed with such finesse, so affordably,” Biston says.
Project details
Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, Canberra
Installer: Erincole Building Services Pty Ltd
Architect: BVN Architecture
Builder: Leighton Contractors
Products: KS600EVO and KS900EVO
Building use: Hospital
Photography: Steve Turner Photography