News
A preview of Sydney Central 28.08.07
Not all granite is created equal 28.08.07
Historic gates return home 24.08.07
Changes to Eastern Avenue completion dates 22.08.07
Shepherd Street parking station bus service 12.06.07
posted 28.08.07
Although it’s not finished, as a group of senior managers from the University found out, the new Sydney Central building is already very impressive.
The group of managers included many future occupants of the building. They had been invited to tour the site to get an understanding of the design themes and the building’s many unique features, including those that earn it its 5 star green energy rating.
Read the full article
posted 28.08.07
The granite soon to be laid on Eastern Avenue is not just any old granite. It has been carefully selected and inspected by experts to ensure it maintains its strength and beauty for hundreds of years.
While granite is the most common rock in the earth’s crust, the quality varies significantly from site to site explains Dr Tom Hubble, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Environmental Geology and Pro-Dean, Faculty of Science.
“Both the granite and the company processing it must be carefully selected. Checks must be done firstly to ensure that there are no inherent intrusions within the rock. Secondly to make sure it is correctly handled and that the processing does not cause any weakening. If there are any fractures within the rock it is likely to shatter once it has been laid.”
The best granite available, which also met the stringent requirements of landscaper, Mike Horne of Turf Design, was sourced from China. To make sure the granite would stand up to the many years of heavy use it faces, Tom, along with Con Kerpiniotis, Project Manager for Baulderstone Hornibrook, and Chris Skeggs, Senior Project Manager, Abigroup, travelled to the quarry in China. While there, they inspected the quarry and its processes and selected the actual stone for Eastern Avenue.
“We have selected dimension stone, which is a high quality stone produced by smaller quarries” Tom said. “We checked samples of the stone and also monitored the entire process from the initial quarrying through to the production of the stone.”
Peter McGeorge, Assistant Director, Campus Planning & Development, noted how valuable it was to have Tom’s input. “We appointed Tom as consultant to the project when our test patch of granite started to weather and crack after a few short weeks of use. He made us realise that not all granite is created equal”.
posted 24.08.07
The historic gates, which have stood at the entrance to The University of Sydney since 1924, were originally the gates to the neighbouring Victoria Park. The University has returned the gates to the City of Sydney Council who will be relocating the gates to their original home near the corner of Paramatta and City Roads, directly in line with the University's clock tower. The three large pillars, their light fittings and iron work will all be restored before being reinstalled. The two smaller pillars, not part of the original gate set, will also be moved to Victoria Park and will flank the new stairs being built as part of the Law School development.
posted 22.08.07
The completion dates for Stage 1 - Eastern Avenue and Stage 2 - Eastern Avenue Gardens of the Camperdown Public Domain works have shifted slightly.
This winter's inclement weather combined with the excessive amount of underground service pipes, cables etc discovered under Eastern Avenue (many dating back to the 1920s) have delayed work on the Eastern Avenue boulevard. The planned completion date is now late November/ early December 2007 rather than late August.
However, work on Stage 2, the gardens, has been undertaken concurrently with Stage 1, bringing the completion date for the whole of Eastern Avenue forward by a month from the end of December 2007 to the end of November.
posted 12.06.07
Last year, in preparation for the changes to parking caused by Campus 2010, the University implemented a strategy to reduce the demand for casual parking. As a result there is ample additional parking available in the Shepherd Street car park, located behind the School of Information Technologies building.
The University has also introduced a free bus service to make it easy to travel from the carpark to the Fisher Library and the Quadrangle.
The bus runs from the Shepherd Street parking station from 7am to 10.15am Monday to Friday (except for public holidays) until further notice. The bus will travel from the parking station to the Quadrangle and Fisher library on a continuous loop at about 10-12 minute intervals.
You can catch the bus at Blackwattle Creek Lane at the Shepherd Street Gate (adjacent to the Aeronautical Engineering Building) with set downs at Madsen Bldg, Manning Road, Great Hall and Fisher Library.
Spots for disabled drivers, university owned vehicles and loading zones have been retained as near as possible to their original locations.
Shepherd Street Car Park map
