The National Museum of Australia and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is an important Australian building. It was conceived by Walter Burley Griffin to be in the central park of the city but after years of changes to planning of the city it was controversially moved to replace the hospital on Acton Peninsula.

Many erudite words have been written about the design of the Museum and the degree to which it succeeds. It is extensively reviewed in Architecture Review 075. The planning and construction was handled by the Acton Peninsula Alliance which was composed of the federal and ACT governments, consultants, project managers and other stakeholders.

The precast concrete facade was designed for part of the complex and is noteworthy for its innovation in design and manufacture. Individual units were up to 13 tonnes in weight, 1200 wide and 12000 long and were designed to lean in two planes. The main architectural feature is a varying 150 deep embossed black painted pattern that could not have been created without computer assistance as the facade profile was transferred directly to the moulds from the architect's CAD files. Hanson also provided precast flooring for sections of the project.

The project architect, Howard Raggatt, commented on the construction technology philosophy as "something to dream about - surfaces, structures and services in one seamless file, emailed for manufacture to arrive in easy to assemble components. Complex surfaces are unfolded, transforming facade construction into a kind of giant dressmaking."

On site, the pattern delivers a variety of optical impressions when the embossments are viewed from different positions. These include 3D braided columns, curved panels, horizontal stepping and variation in colour intensity.

The precasting task was a complex one which required not only the construction of a mould from a computer file but also the design of shuttering to allow the embossments to carry through to raked ends and difficult corner panels. The result gives substance to Hanson's often repeated statement that what can be achieved in architectural precast concrete is limited only by the needs of the architect. More specifically, the use of computers in the design and manufacturing of precast concrete allow solutions that were impossible ten years ago.

The precast facade in the National Museum demanded that the precaster push outside the conventional boundaries of architectural precasting. All the problems associated with this difficult job were resolved and indicate the opportunities open to architects on future project.

Contact Details

To discuss whether we can assist you contact our estimating manager.

Phone: 02 9627 2666

Fax: 02 9627 5161

Email: precast@hanson.biz