KHD recently supplied a 47,000 L VersiTank, Bionic Tiles and Australian Bluestone for the Bairnsdale Library and Community Hub Project. The project, designed by NOWarchitecture, involved an alteration and extension to an existing 1889 heritage listed building and included the demolition of a 1970’s extension.
The project was designed for energy efficiency, which lead to the specification of a VersiTank. This provides water for the toilets and irrigation system but is also used to significantly reduce the running costs of the air conditioning systems. Large diameter plastic pipes were buried beneath the VersiTank to allow tempered fresh air to securely enter the Library at a low level as part of the passive cooling and ventilation system.
Bairnsdale is a regional hub and the centre of town is busy with lots of diesel vehicles, which have higher nitrous oxide emissions than petrol vehicles. With that in mind, the Bionic Tile supplied by KHD was chosen not only for its aesthetics but also its ability to remove nitrous oxides from the air. NOWarchitecture specified white tiles to help reflect the afternoon heat. Bionic Tiles are also self-cleaning which will help keep ongoing maintenance costs low.
Australian Bluestone was used in the project to pave the public plaza area on the eastern side of the building. The interface between the plaza and the public footpath was paved with Bluestone and then Bluestone pavers were used as markers within the exposed aggregate of the Plaza to signal entry.
