Design: Scentre Group Design & Kaynemaile Ltd
Installation: GRJ Developments & Auzmet Architectural
Kaynemaile collaborated with Scentre Group’s design team—turning a carpark into a stunning functional and highly visible landmark. The wave-shaped façade takes inspiration from the world-famous beaches nearby. During the day the sun sparkles off the ten million individual polycarbonate rings, while at night a second layer of Marine-coloured mesh becomes a rippling wave moving with the breeze from the Pacific Ocean.
The newly redeveloped Pacific Fair Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast is the fourth-largest shopping centre in Australia. The facade runs the length of the shopping centre’s 6500-space car park. Each of the 10 million 28mm polycarbonate rings are strong enough to hold a person’s weight. The installation is thought to be the largest kinetic mesh facade in the southern hemisphere.
The facade comprises 188 multi-layer seamless mesh panels, totaling 1,850 square metres, and two Kaynemaile-Armour™ flat panels, totaling 600 square metres. The largest panel is 50m wide by 9m tall and was installed by hand in one lift.
The product answered a number of challenges for the Scentre Group design team which managed the design and construction of the Pacific Fair Shopping Center redevelopment for owner AMP Capital. In particular, Kaynemaile mesh offered benefits at the construction stage. The mesh is lightweight and doesn’t require a crane for installation. Screens over 50m wide or 50m high can be erected by hand in a day, unlike metal mesh, which has to be unrolled in limited widths and lifted by crane or heavy equipment.
Kaynemaile mesh offered a number of other benefits too. It is non-combustible and meets the requirements for natural ventilation of car parks. Sustainability was a concern for AMP Capital, and Kaynemaile was able to meet and exceed all its requirements. In addition, the product maintains outlook, so drivers can see from the inside out, while the 3D mesh gives 80% visual privacy.
Stephen Simpson, Regional Manager Design Projects, Scentre Group Design, adds “We were also really impressed by the speed with which Kaynemaile expedited the project. The usual timeframe would be eight months to a year, but the timeframe for this facade was six months and Kaynemaile succeeded in delivering within four.
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