The redevelopment of the Hornsby Shoppingtown and Northgate malls in Hornsby was a massive undertaking made more complex by the need to keep pedestrian access and shops open during construction. The finished project, completed in 2001, contains over 300 stores, a nine-screen cinema complex and over 4,000 car parking spaces.

Westfield architect in charge, Rick Wade, was faced with the need for a high quality but economical finish for the facade. As well as the internal Westfield requirements for quality, Hornsby Council also had architectural requirements. Westfields are experienced users of precast concrete as well as experienced shopping mall builders and knew that the best result here would come from precasting. Over 14,000 square metres of architectural precast was used on the project.

The architectural solution was to have most of the facade clad in precast panels. Spandrel units were sandstone textured sandblasted panels while the columns were polished. The colonnades and feature areas were clad with red reconstructed granite. To provide for economical manufacturing and erection it was desirable to use very large panels and this was achieved by precasting many panels with multiple finishes. Thus polishing and sandblasting as well as the two contrasting concrete mixes were present on the one panel. Large panels have additional advantages in that their use minimises the amount of joints to be sealed and reduces the number of fixing points needed.

Hanson developed a crinkly finish for wall panels required by Hornsby Council in one mall area. This demonstrates again the limitless range of finishes that precast concrete can provide to achieve architectural objectives. Hanson was able to provide further economies by supplying economical hollowcore walling where possible and by precasting over 200 curved seating plats for the cinemas.

Mr Wade said that "By tapping into Hanson's technical expertise we were able to design and install large precast panels incorporating three different finishes and thicknesses - polished, off-form and sandblasted. This enabled us to address the pedestrian level with quality finishes and sharp, three dimensional detailing, while the upper levels of the same panels addressed the passing vehicular traffic with a uniformly coloured, but faceted facade."

"One of the most satisfying aspects of a large development such as this is to watch preassembled components such as structural steel and precast concrete being assembled like a giant jig-saw puzzle; this is only possible with close cooperation between the supplier and the project team. I am happy to say that the entire precast package arrived and was installed with no major hitches at all. Obviously this had major implications for critical cost, time and trading date parameters. Reaction from our multiple clients and the general public to the appearance and quality of the precast facade has been most enthusiastic"

Hornsby Shoppingtown is another example of Hanson's ability to provide complex precast concrete economically and on time to a complex design-as-you-build project. The result has satisfied all the requirements of Westfields and of the community.

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