Location: Cottermouth, ACT
Country: Australia
Following a devastating bushfire, the Shakespeare Centre for Scouting at Camp Cottermouth, ACT, has turned to steel covered modular buildings to rebuild their centre.
The scout's original cabins were burnt down during the 2003 bushfires and had to be redesigned to incorporate steel-only finishes and exteriors to remove the danger of another fire taking out the centre.
Architects Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn worked with builders Mod-Eco to design the 14 new modular buildings which provide 22 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, three kitchens and eight open plan living areas to accommodate up to 70 scouts at one time.
As well as being bushfire resistant, the modular buildings also had to require minimum maintenance and blend into the environment.
Adrian Pye, Managing Director for Mod-Eco, said: "Our modular units offered the perfect solution for the scouting centre. They were built off-site in our original factory in Albury, NSW, then transported directly to the site which reduces the construction time to just 90 days."
Because of this, the buildings had to be incredibly lightweight so that they could be transported easily and placed on the site with as little disturbance to the land as possible, hence the reason so much steel has been used in their construction.
Each modular building features roofing made from COLORBOND® steel in the colour Dune® and walling made from COLORBOND® steel in the colours Bushland® and Woodland Grey®. As well as being bushfire resistant and lightweight, steel was also chosen for its durability and low maintenance which was ideal for the remote setting.
Each building incorporates a number of sustainable features including rainwater tanks to feed all toilets, additional insulation and airtight seals on all operable windows and doors to increase energy efficiency, heat pump hot water services and inverter split system air conditioning units.
Additional benefits of COLORBOND® steel for the Shakespeare Centre for Scouting at Camp Cottermouth:
- Flexibility of design from contemporary to traditional
- 20 standard colours now incorporating Thermatech® solar reflectance technology
- Ideal for strong, lightweight roofing, guttering and walling
- COLORBOND® steel is 100 per cent recyclable
- Backed by BlueScope Steel warranties for various applications
- Fast and easy to install, safe to handle
