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The Challenge
For more than a decade, Luke Doerner had a vision. The coastal town of Dodges Ferry, east of Hobart, is a growing coastal community of more than 20,000 people, including around 4,000 children under 14 years old, yet it had no local dedicated swim centre. The nearest facility was 25km away. That gap is what drove Doerner to build one himself.
“It ended up just being a project I wanted to get done, and being pretty stubborn, that was it,” he recalled.
The Southern Beaches Swim Centre was not a small undertaking. The facility required a steel frame construction spanning approximately 1,200 square metres, housing a competition-standard 25-metre pool, 15 metres wide, holding roughly 530,000 litres of water. The site is entirely self-contained which means it’s not connected to mains water and relies on a cutting-edge water treatment system combining UV, ozone, and saltwater chlorination to produce high-quality water year-round.
With a pool of that volume, thermal management was a critical design consideration. The facility heats its water from 28.5-29 degrees Celsius in the morning, reaching 31.5-32 degrees Celsius by the afternoon, temperatures maintained consistently year-round. Achieving that kind of energy performance without excessive operating costs meant the building envelope had to work hard. Heat lost through the roof is heat paid for twice.
Doerner also understood the facility needed to make an impression. In a region long without a dedicated aquatic centre, the building had to signal quality and permanence to a community that had waited too long.
Owner: Luke Doerner
Builder: Merlin Constructions
The Solution
Doerner came to Bondor with existing confidence. He had previously worked with the company on a large refrigeration project (a commercial freezer for an ice cream manufacturing operation) and the experience had left a strong impression. He knew what Bondor delivered: reliability, speed, and flexibility when the demands of a construction timeline shifted.
For the Southern Beaches Swim Centre, Bondor supplied the complete building shell using SolarSpan® Insulated Roofing Panels. The all-in-one system combining roof, insulation, and ceiling in a single panel was well suited to the aquatic environment. Its non-corrosive properties addressed the specific challenges of a pool building, where moisture and chemical exposure can compromise conventional materials over time.
“It ticked all the boxes for us – energy rating; looks really good; and works well in the pool environment, so it’s not corrosive,” Doerner said.
The energy performance of SolarSpan® has proved directly relevant to the centre’s operating economics. Pools are expensive to heat and run. Doerner was not prepared to lose that investment through an underperforming roof.
“We didn’t want to be losing heat or energy throughout the building. The Bondor product is very good for that,” he said.
The building opened in July 2026, and in the first four weeks of operation 300 children enrolled, plus the centre is already averaging between 300 and 350 lap swimmers per week. Community response has been strong, with positive feedback received on both the design and the services. Doerner aims to double those participation figures by term four and again within 12 months.
The 15-month build was not without complications typical of major construction. But Bondor was not among them. The company delivering as expected – adaptable, professional, and consistent.
“They’ve been very good. I’ve used them before, so I knew what to expect. They’re flexible in working in with their timelines and being adaptable if something needs to change,” Doerner said. “They’re just good to work with.”
