Three different fibre cement materials from Innova™ were specified for various areas at the AFL Max sports and recreation centre in Adelaide, SA.

Much more than your average recreation centre, AFL Max has been designed as a complete entertainment facility for the whole family with a broad range of activities such as climbing, trampolining, VR gaming and more, with the common denominator being a shared love for Australian rules football.

A brainchild of James Podsiadly, a former Crows and Geelong player, the entertainment centre was conceptualised to provide a ‘genuine, exciting and immersive indoor AFL themed experience’ that the whole family could enjoy. Working with co-founders Darren Thomas and Eddie Taylor, he finally brought his vision to life.

Given the variety of different playing areas, it was vital to select the most suitable materials for each of the different surfaces according to the purpose of the area and building regulations. Some areas needed to be fire-rated, some required the use of water-resistant linings and other areas would be exposed to heavy traffic and, therefore, needed impact-resistant linings.

To accommodate these requirements, three different fibre cement materials were selected: Duraliner™ Plus, a highly effective fibre cement board used in wet areas as well as for fire and acoustically-rated interior walls; Duralux™ Plus, also ideal for interior linings in wet areas; and Duracom™ Greystone™, a prefinished facade system offering high impact resistance, a raw concrete appearance and simple installation.

Other products used in the project included GTEK 13mm plasterboard, GTEK fire-rated plasterboard and GTEK wet area plasterboard.

Working with Upside Building, a supplier of plasterboard and fibre cement linings, Innova™ selected the most suitable products that met the architect’s specifications. Upside Building then supplied these products to King Constructions, the head contractor for the project for installation onsite.

“Innova™ were great to work with on this project. We wanted to work with a local supplier so we could manage deliveries of materials to site; a seamless process was undertaken by Innova™ from ordering through to delivery to site. Transport and delivery were key ingredients to the efficiency of the project, Innova™ didn’t let us down in this regard,” said Brett Grove - Upside Building.

“We were delighted to build the AFL Max facility; it was an exciting project to be involved in as we all love AFL footy. The end result of the project was fantastic due in part to the quality of BGC materials supplied by Upside Building,” noted Aaron King - King Constructions.