Almost all areas of large-scale design and construction work needs to be compliant before it can be aesthetic, including exterior cladding. Following a building fire in Melbourne in 2014, exterior cladding regulations for compliance have been updated in each state and are available on each of the state’s Government website. Here is how Formula Interiors operates in alignment with both aesthetics and compliance when incorporating exterior cladding into our projects.
Regulations For Exterior Cladding Compliance – A NSW Example
As an example of the regulation changes, combustible exterior cladding was banned from December 2018 forwards in NSW. This is according to the NSW Government Department of Planning and Environment, under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Regulation 2018, which identifies buildings with combustible cladding, and State Environmental Planning Policy Amendment (Exempt Development – Cladding Decorative Work) 2018. (Different states will have different regulations)
Owners of certain buildings must register them with the NSW Government. This can be done via a simple registration portal on their website. As gathered from their website, exterior cladding regulations extend onto the following building types:
- Residential apartment buildings
- Other types of residential buildings where people sleep. For example, hotels, boarding houses, backpackers, student accommodation
- Aged-care buildings; hospitals and day surgeries (and any associated single dwellings within the building)
- Public assembly buildings. For example, theaters, cinemas, schools, and churches (and any associated single dwellings within the building)
Our Work With Exterior Cladding
USC Clinical Trials Facility
Formula Interiors was engaged for this project on a Design and Construct basis by the USC. The brief was to convert an existing campus zone to a medical-grade training facility where safe, ethical medical research studies are accomplished in partnership with experts and industry. For this project we incorporated the repair and restoration of 1000m2 fiber cement exterior cladding.
Fiber cement exterior cladding is non-combustible and generally more durable for construction as opposed to other commonly used materials. It is water resistant and unlikely to warp, rot or crack.
Brine St Child Care Center
Formula was tasked with the new building extension to create a more secure main entry, children’s library/reading room, new staff amenities, and admin office. A new kitchen was also installed to help maintain their consistency in the future of being rated with the “Five Star Golden Plate Award.”
The work scope included structural demolition, excavation, new slab, structural steel, new sawtooth roof to provide additional natural lighting, and composite non-combustible wooden feature exterior cladding.
This project proved that you can have both aesthetics and compliance with exterior cladding. We have taken on projects that have had internal fitout works and exterior cladding works to update the look, BAL rating, and compliance.
Contact Formula Interiors for more on exterior cladding or to chat about other prospects for other projects.
