Celebrating top honours…twice!
Alder Constructions has been recognised at the prestigious 2020 Master Builders Housing and Construction Awards with two projects coming away with the top honours.
Alder Constructions took out the Tourism and Leisure Facilities up to $10mil category for their work on the world class flying simulator – Sky Voyager – iRide and Refurbishment/Renovaton over $750,000 for the $2.6 million revitalisation of Ashmore City Shopping Centre.
General Manager, Dean Cheffers says the Sky Voyager project, which is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, posed many unique challenges for his team but the result is nothing short of spectacular. “It was an honour to be involved in bringing this iconic ride to life and to be recognised for our efforts with this award,” said Mr Cheffers.
“Dreamworld’s Sky Voyager – iRide is Australia’s first-ever flying theatre offering a complete 4D simulated ride experience with special effects including wind, sound, light, mist, and various scents to put the rider in a new level of augmented reality. The family attraction celebrates the amazing sights and sensations our beautiful country has to offer as it takes riders over the iconic high-rise flanked stretch of white sand at Surfers Paradise, to whitewashed waves crashing over the 12 Apostles, and the rolling acres of vines in the Barossa Valley. The creation of the ride was not without obstacles and there were many hurdles for our team to overcome while working in a live operational environment,” he said.
“Challenges included the removal of asbestos, limited access for excavation works, protecting components of the ride during periods of heavy rain, plus the installation of five layers of sound-proofing materials to the roof cavity to ensure the best possible sound experience. Our team worked on the project from the initial external demolition of the existing facade, through to installing the technical elements of the project from iRide, and rolling out the high-end finishes that will ensure Sky Voyager is a crowd favourite at the park for many years to come.”
Alder Constructions worked in collaboration with MODE Design who crafted the design of the project and PICO, who were responsible for the theming of the exterior, the pre-show areas and retail space.
Project Lead from MODE Design Francis Greenman said it was a privilege to work on the creation of the project and to see the Sky Voyager- iRide come to life. “The very nature of the Sky Voyager saw the design and construction of the project evolve in parallel which created a logistically challenging integration that relied on effective communication throughout the project,” she said. “It was an honour to work with the Alder Constructions team on a project that is instrumental in introducing a new level of augmented reality to Australia”.
The Sky Voyager – iRide represents one of the two entries Alder Constructions had running in the awards with their work on Ashmore City Shopping Centre entered in the refurbishment/renovation over $750,000 category.
Ashmore City Shopping Centre has been an iconic Gold Coast landmark for over three decades and despite the challenging conditions, Alder Constructions were able to breathe new life into the centre with a well-deserved refurbishment.
The live operational environment of the centre saw the project team work around the clock in order for construction activities such as demolition and the installation of the centre’s new entrance to be completed outside of trading hours.
Gold Coast-based firm HHH Architects completed the design of the project which involved the internal demolition of existing mall tiles and reinstatement of new tiles, the demolition of amenities and installation of new amenities including a full-equipped parent’s room.
The extensive refurbishment of the shopping centre included a complete overhaul of the existing external facade with a new facade and entrance structures installed along with new fencing and concrete walls.
As the recipient of this award, Alder Constructions receives automatic entry into the 2020 Master Builders Housing and Construction State Awards which are set to be held in October.
Published – Gold Coast Bulletin – Prime Site 14 August 2020
Learn more about these projects > Sky Voyager and Ashmore City Shopping Centre
