The finishing touches - NCV set to open 5th January 2009

PLEASE NOTE: This is an old post, the NCV opened on the5th January 2009

With just days till the handover of the NCV the final touches are being applied. The inside of the building is completed, the landscaping will be completed in a few days and the last few jobs such as final cleaning, distributing the soft furnishings and completing signage is almost done. The shots below show how wonderful the building looks. Note that the sign was affixed by abseiling down the main blade - not a job I would have liked.

We are still taking applications so it isn't too late to get a room in the finest university accommodation on this campus and probably at any Australian university.

Above: View of the acoustic screen and main Anzac Parade signage

Above: NCV South Eastern elevation

Above: The north eastern elevation of the NCV

Literally a million dollar feature of the NCV is its wonderful acoustic screen on the front of the building to ensure that the building is VERY quiet. It also serves as a major aesthetic element to the building. Below are some close-ups of this significant architectural feature.

The finishing touches - NCV set to open 5th January 2009

Latest aerial shots of the building

Here are two wonderful shots that show the emerging facades of the building, the closeness of the city and that give a hint of some of the great views to be had from the building on all sides.

Above: View of the Southern facade from the UNSW L5 building

Above: View of the Southern facade from the UNSW L5 building showing the city skyline in the background

Latest aerial shots of the building

A building emerges from the scaffolding

I haven't posted photos for s few weeks because most of the obvious progress on the building has been inside. And this progress has been significant. For example:

• Carpetting up to level 4
• Furniture being installed
• Level 7 (last floor) walls completed and fit-out well advanced
• Kitchens and built-in items largely installed
• All major services (e.g Air conditioning) virtually completed

Outside the building progress is also good.

• Balcony rails and awnings are being installed
• All the facade finishes are well advanced
• The acoustic screen on Anzac Parade is now being installed

Up to this stage, the outside of the building has been shrouded by the scaffolding; but as it is being slowly removed the beauty and scale of the building are obvious. I have received numerous comments from varied sources about just how good the building looks (well done Lipman and AJC). In the next few weeks the scaffolding will be completely down and the building's quality will be clearer.

The good news is that we are on track for completion before Christmas this year. Our first resident will arrive on January 5th 2009.

Here are some recent images.

Above: Northern elevation viewed from NIDA

Above: Eastern elevation, the acoustic screen is now being installed

Above: The north-eastern elevation from Anzac Parade

Above: Partial view of a studio Kitchenette (sink, cooktop, fridge, microwave)

Above: Bathroom fittings (all 316 bedrooms have a bathroom like this)

A building emerges from the scaffolding

A 'Skybridge' to New

The New College Village has been developed by New College. One of the wonderful characteristics of the New College community is its sense of fun. Each year it plans and mounts a Revue of the year's activities which is always a great production and is open to the College, University and the public. A revue is meant to be an amusing or satirical commentary on life on the College. One of the items on the program last week was 'The Skybridge'. It was one resident's 'tongue in cheek' comment on how we might bring the old New College and the new "New College Village" together. What do you think?

Not sure if this is an engineering possibility! As for the cost, I'm sure it would be well beyond us. Thanks to David Butterworth for letting us use his image. For the record, the Revue was a wonderful celebration of the talent of the College community. Perhaps the New College Village will have its own Revue in 2009 in the Main Common Room.

A 'Skybridge' to New

Latest Shots

Above: View of the building from Anzac Parade

Lipman is still making good progress on the New College Village. As previously reported the structure is completed. As well:

* Internal walls are now completed for all floors
* Most gyproc internal walls are completed
* Tiling of bathrooms and most fittings are completed to level 1
* Tiling is under way on levels 2 & 3
* Windows are installed to Level 6
* The installation of elevators is well advanced
* Most electrical, mechanical and haudraulic services are finished to Level 7
* External surface finishing is well progressed
* Sealing of the roof is close to completion

Above: Shot from the top of the L5 building

Above: Waterproofing the roof slab

Above: Shot of the northern facade from NIDA

Above: The kitchenettes are being installed in the studios

Latest Shots

Views of the completed structure

As I said in my last post the structure is now completed - all seven floors are erected and the roof has been poured. Fitting out is proceeding at a rapid pace. In summary:

• Internal walls are almost erected to level 6
• Services are roughed in to Level 6
• Painting and tiling have begun on Levels 1 & 2
• External surfaces are well advanced.

Here are two shots that give a sense of the shape and mass of the structure (even with scaffolding).

Photo 1: View of the northern facade from NIDA

Photo 2: View of the southern facade from the top of the L5 Building at UNSW

Views of the completed structure

The structure is complete!

Above: The slab slab is poured (Level 8b - the last half of the roof)

This has been a big week. On Wednesday the second half of the roof slab was poured (see above). This means that the entire structure is now complete. Of course, there is still much to do to complete all external finishes, internal walls and services and fit-out. But progress has been excellent. The photos show, rather than tell, the story of the progress.

Above: View of the eastern facade from Anzac Parade

Above: : Level 1 corridor (gyproc well advanced Levels 1-3)


Above: External wall finishes underway


Above: View of the inner courtyard looking east to the campus


Above: View of the northern facade from NIDA

The structure is complete!

The Village Reaches the 6th Floor

Above: View of the structure from the UNSW L5 building (opposite New College)

Progress continues to be excellent and the structure is now completed up to the 6th floor. Work has commenced on the 7th floor slab floor and so we are within about 2-3 weeks of seeing the structure completed. The key milestones continue to be met for completion by December.

There has been other good progress in addition to the structure:

• The external wall finishes have started
• Internal walls are well advanced on Levels 1 and 2 and have commenced on Level 3
• First floor windows are being fitted and walls are being lined on Level 1
• Electrical, hydraulic and mechanical services are also well advanced on Levels 1 to 3
• Level 4 has also been stripped ready for internal walls to commence
• Work has also commenced on the foundations for the glass screen on the Anzac Parade facade

Above: View of the NCV from NIDA (Southern facade)

The building has now developed quite a presence in the area and can be seen for some distance. Views from the upper floors are also impressive with the city skyline (and even Anzac Bridge) visible from the Northern side of the building and Botany Bay visible to the south.

Above: Views to the west from the 6th Floor

The Village Reaches the 6th Floor

The View from NIDA

The latest photo of the northern elevation of the New College Village taken from NIDA. This shot shows the three storey bridge between the East and West wings. This section of the building has a games room on the ground floor and two floors of studios. Residents will enter the building off the University Mall through the undercroft of this section of the building.

The View from NIDA

Progress on the services and finishing

While we've been preoccupied with the structure in recent times (for obvious reasons) it's encouraging to see lot's of work occurring inside the building. Internal walls are going up on Levels 1, 2 and 3, windows are being fitted and all services are progressing with well advanced plumbing, air-conditioning and electrical work on Levels 1 and 2.

The structure itself is up to the 6th floor with both the 6A and 6B slab floors due to be poured next week. Rain has disrupted things this week a little but hopefully this will still occur next week. The complete structure is due for completion by mid July (about 6 weeks).

Work on the marketing of the Village is also well progressed with a new website to be launched in a few weeks and promotional work already occurring. Applications are coming in and some places have been offered. I am now beginning to think through the specifics of the pastoral care and academic support that will need to be in place by January.


Above - Looking out to the inner courtyard from the Level 3 south-west common room


Above - Walls going in on Level 3









Left - Walls and insulation going in on Level 1

Progress on the services and finishing

A great aerial shot of the Village

This shot taken from the UNSW L5 building opposite New College gives a good sense of the bulk of the building and the progress.

For UNSW alumni a note on the L5 building. It replaced the old bowling alley which was later Unisearch House. The University has built a wonderful 8 storey high building on site (actually our builder for the NCV - Lipman actually built it!!) which houses the University Foundation Studies Program for overseas students and also a major IT research centre (NICTA). UNSW sold the building last year and those parts of UNSW still using it have leased the space back. The building has won many architectural awards. In a review Architecture Australia comented that the building "is flawless, both in execution and conception".

A great aerial shot of the Village

At the half way mark!

Yesterday we reached the halfway mark with the structure. The second half of the fourth floor slab was laid and the walls for half of Level 4 have been erected. In fact, if you include the basement we are well past halfway and the structure is growing one storey each 13 days. We expect the final floor of the structure to be completed by mid-July.

The central courtyard will (I suspect) be one of the key sites for social interaction in the Village. It will be the site of Friday afternoon BBQs that Carmen and I intend to host. While it is currently used to store materials, it will eventually have a raised lawn and garden, a BBQ area and wireless access to the Internet.

At the more micro level, it has also been exciting to see the services beginning with plumbing well underway. We will also see the first windows installed this week and Level 1 will soon be completely stripped ready for full fit-out.

At the half way mark!

Work on the 4th floor commences

Progress on the NCV was slowed a little last week due to Sydney's rain and holidays. Rain occurred on 13 consecutive days which I think is a record for Sydney. In spite of this we were not badly affected until Tuesday last week. We also had a public holiday on Friday and this is always associated with a rostered day off across the construction industry in this country. We also lose Saturday on long weekends. The outcome was a week that had 2 work days rather than 6. Nevertheless, the project program has built in holidays and allowances for wet days so the impact on the completion date is not great.

This week has seen cold days and clear skies so progress has been good. The second stage of the 3rd floor slab was poured yesterday and work is well on the way for the first stage of the 4th floor slab to be poured next Tuesday. The walls for the 3rd floor are well advanced and should be completed by next week.

As you can see from the image above the building is beginning to take on significant bulk and height. This image shows the inner courtyard viewed from the North East corner of the 3rd floor. Yes, the crane tower will eventually go!


ABOVE - Admin section on the ground floor (I know it has some way to go before we can use the phones)


ABOVE - Main common room on the ground floor (this will seat 120 people)


ABOVE - West wing of the ground floor

Work on the 4th floor commences

Up to the 3rd Floor

The first half of the 3rd floor slab was laid this week and the erection of the walls for this floor also commenced. The bulk of the building grows each week with its presence on Anzac Parade being observed by all who enter the University via the main University mall. In spite of regular daily showers this last two weeks there has been good progress.


Our marketing program is also well underway and already applications are being received for accommodation in the New College Village. Bookings have also been taken for conferences in 2009.

Up to the 3rd Floor

New College Village from the air

Some shots from the top of L5 show that the structure is on the move. They also show what a great location this is!

New College Village from the air

Level 2 takes shape

March was a great month for construction with no days lost due to rain. As a result there has been good progress on site. The last ground floor slab was pouted this week and work on Levels 1 and 2 are well advanced. All of the AFS walls have been erected for Level 1 and 60% of Level 2. With the completion of the missing link slab at ground level we will see the structure rising (eventually) at a uniform rate. The East and Southern sections of the building will continue to be in advance of the west and north for some weeks.

A prototype room is nearing completion, and as well as allowing Lipman to test construction methods and materials, will allow us to show prospective residents what the accommodation will be like.

View of the southern wing across the inner courtyard

View of the southern and western wings and the courtyard

View to the west showing existing western campus buildings

Level 2 takes shape

The structure begins to rise

Progress on the building has been good during February and March and hence the structure is beginning to be more obvious on Anzac Parade. The floor slab for Level 2 is beginning to take shape and we should see the first of two major pours tomorrow. Once all of the Level 2 floor has been poured the structure will become more repetitive and faster so we should see even more progress. The following shots give some sense of the progress. The picture above is from the top of the L5 building.

Above - part of the inner courtyard and the walls of Level 1 emerging.


Above - view from the NIDA end of the site looking south.


Above - The Level 2 slab being prepared for the pour.

The structure begins to rise