After a fire destroyed the 150 year old St. Barnabas Church in Broadway, Ultimo back in 2006, Architect Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp from FJMT Architects was called upon to design and build a new modern church from the burnt-out shell.
FJMT Architects’ final church design concept featured a modern design with distinguished use of space and natural light.
Knowing that the new church required architectural build techniques that would go above and beyond normal practices, FJMT Architects decided to utilize PANDAMO concrete surfacing systems.
Concrete contractors, Honestone's installation of the PANDOMO Wall and FloorPlus led to the team winning 1st place in the Overlay section and 2nd place in the Vertical Application section of the 2013 Decorative Concrete Council Award at the American Society of Concrete Contractors’ World Concrete Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
Pandomo products used within the rebuilt church include a total of 600sqm of Pandomo FloorPlus and 280sqm of Pandomo Wall, applied in the main foyer at the lower level and in the main auditorium at the upper level including the lifts lobby and the feature curved walls. Pandomo FloorPlus achieved an R10 slip rating.
PANDOMO suppliers Ardex Australia worked closely with FJMT Architects, Buildcorp and Honestone to develop solutions to a number of complex situations that emerged during the church’s construction stage.
A concrete slab was installed with a setdown of around 50mm, which caused potential issues in relation to the height of the finished floor. To solve this problem, Ardex recommended the use of ARDEX A38 advanced rapid cure cement screed to fill the gap created by the setdown; ready to be primed and finished with 6mm of Pandomo FloorPlus.
Another concern the team faced was the application of the curved concrete walls using a “shotcrete” spray method. The curved wall had a very rough surface which required smoothing prior to the application of Pandomo Wall. ARDEX A45 patching and repair mortar was used to fill-in surface imperfections.
Matching colour between Pandomo FloorPlus and Wall was also an issue, but numerous colour samples were produced and site samples installed to assist colour
concept approval.
“It was an amazing experience to be part of this project,” said Ardex Sales and Marketing Manager Fabian Morgan.
“Not only were we able to help rebuild a well-loved community facility, but we were also part of a project which established a new benchmark in design excellence for our industry.”
