The Morisset Police Station was originally envisaged as a refurbishment and extension of the existing building but after careful review by Enfold it was proposed to be a total demolition and reconstructed as prefabrication.
The Police were relocated nearby off site only while the site works were undertaken which was minimised.
The individual modules of the new building were assembled from structural steel in a factory in Melbourne. Each of the nine modules is of a different size. Construction of each module resembled the fished layout for the building, flooring and roof installed, all internal and external walls erected, all electrical and plumbing services installed for future connections, external cladding and windows were installed and all painting completed.
Whilst the prefabrication was undertaken the site was prepared and the new module footings with steel gantry erected to take the modules. Delivery was by truck and modules craned into their positions in one day.
All modules were fixed together and to the gantry. Waterproofing and all gaps sealed. The interior ceilings, doors and final painting were completed then the furniture installed.
The main difficulty with the construction of this building was maintaining the required 2,700mm internal ceiling height. Due to transport restrictions, the external heights of the modules are restricted to a maximum height limit. Enfold solved this problem by working with the HVAC contractor and Engineer to limit the size of ductwork and its location within the ceiling voids.
The building surprised the judges in its appearance, there is no obvious indication that it is a prefabricated building, all the junctions are seamless and there is little to no repetition, it looks and feels purpose built.
An excellent use of prefabrication.