Overview

ARC was engaged as the principal’s project manager to steer and complete the design for the Brickworks Shopping Centre Place Improvements project. Based on market research, the design brief informed a distinguished new look and feel. Works included upgrades to internal lighting, floor, wall, and ceiling finishes, amenities refurbishment, dining seating, and both internal and external landscaping works. The project was successfully delivered within budget and to the satisfaction of the client.

Role

During the engagement ARC optimised the design, delivering value for money whilst maintaining the original project brief and intent. ARC undertook contractor procurement and value management workshops before proceeding to construction. Through the construction phase, ARC implemented systems to reduce impacts to the shopping centre operations, minimising customer disruption and ensuring operational readiness at stage transitions. The nature of the facility, with long operating hours and complex stakeholder groups, required controlled communication to effectively manage risk and expectations, and to ensure all tenants were considered through the staged construction planning. A strong contractor management framework was in place that assisted in the management of time and cost where latent conditions were experienced in the aged facility.

Challenge

- Working in a live environment with extended public and tenant access to the building that has an operating period of 22 hours per day 364 days per year.

- Complex stakeholder management with daily operational impacts to tenants, patrons, and centre management.

- The building has changed use several times and been through many generations of refurbishment, challenging both design and construction aspects of the project.

Solution

- The project achieved a significant placemaking improvement due to aesthetically targeted scope, providing significant look and feel value at low cost.

- To prevent major disruption, temporary amenities were provided during the project utilising high sanitation vacuum amenity systems.

- Trunk infrastructure upgrades were coordinated outside operating hours minimising disruption.

- Staging of work to reduce footprints and interactions with customers, patrons, and operational staff.

- Dynamic project scheduling was implemented through weekly bulletins and collaboration with the client and centre management.