Regional Shopping Complex – Tasmania

The Challenge

It isn’t every day that Bondor Metecno Tasmania are approached to supply product for a ‘ground up’ shopping complex build, but when the opportunity came up in regional Tasmania in 2024 it was a challenge the team were ready to tackle.

The shopping complex was centred around a supermarket with additional tenants to include a bakery, a takeaway, and a bottle shop, with concrete tilt-up walls and an exposed roof structure.

The brief that came across State Manager – Tasmania, Ashley Moore’s desk was to supply panelling that was not only thermally effective but commercially and aesthetically pleasing.

As with any project involving food and produce storage, not just any product would do.

The project needed to deliver in three key areas—thermal performance, ease of installation, and aesthetic qualities.

The project needed to deliver in three key areas—thermal performance, ease of installation, and aesthetic qualities.
MetecnoSpan® roofing, MetecnoInspire® walling, and MetecnoPanel® for the cool rooms and freezers provided the perfect combination.

The Solution

“This project is a great example of the wide range of panelling Bondor Metecno can offer for various commercial and industrial applications in a single project,” Ashley said.

“The roof, walls, and cool room show how our products work together for quick installation, strong thermal performance, and a consistent, functional design.

“Although we’ve done several projects with cool rooms with food safety requirements, what is unique about this project is the choice of Monument dark panelling for the internal roof and wall finishes.

“The architect selected the colour scheme not only to complement the supermarket anchor tenant, but also because it helped camouflage exposed services like cable trays, electrical work, and ductwork that are visible on the underside of the roof.

“The uniform, dark appearance not only helped conceal internal building services but also offered visual simplicity and a clean, streamlined look to the building’s interior.

“In fact, the colour scheme has become a recurring design choice for the supermarket chain,” he said.

The final building features:

  • Roof: MetecnoSpan® Surfmist over Matt Monument x 2815m2

  • Perimeter lining internally: MetecnoInspire® 60mm Monument over White x 840m2

  • Cool rooms: MetecnoPanel® 100mm Monument over Monument x 274m2

  • Freezer: MetecnoPanel® 150mm Monument over Monument x 108m2

The outcome of the project proving that the client and complex truly could have it all: form and function.

Today, the regional shopping complex is visited daily by hundreds of locals stocking up on essentials who get to enjoy the ‘cool’ aesthetics and even cooler internal temperature with the application of the MetecnoPIR product.

MetecnoSpan®, MetecnoInspire®, and MetecnoPanel® all feature a polyisocyanurate (PIR) rigid core between layers of BlueScope® COLORBOND® steel. They deliver extreme thermal efficiency and are fire retardant, CodeMark™ accredited, GreenRate certified and FM Approved to FM 4880 and FM 4471.

Sunpath Passive House

The Challenges

When Architect and Certified Passive House Designer, Niall O Healaithe of Sunpath Architects, was designing his family’s home in Melbourne’s Albert Park, he faced several site constraints and design challenges to achieve both the liveability and passive house certification he desired.

The property’s limited access and small lot size made it difficult to bring in all the necessary materials and prefabricated elements. Everything had to be carefully manoeuvred on site through the front garden, and later, through the front door opening into the home. Site constraints meant Niall also had to carefully consider construction techniques and building materials to maximise the home’s finished floor area.

Achieving the stringent building standards to meet passive house certification also posed a significant challenge. Airtightness and thermal bridge free construction are crucial for energy efficiency and minimising heat losses and gains. Niall needed a product that could create a continuous layer of insulation around the entire building envelope to avoid the thermal bridging associated with traditional masonry, concrete or framed walls on boundaries.

Bondor’s Equitilt FlameGuard®, a non-combustible and fire-rated walling product, provided the ease of installation, airtightness, and long-life durability Niall needed to meet passive house standards and create a highly energy-efficient home for his family.

The Solution

Drawing inspiration from historic shipbuilding techniques, Niall paired traditional post and beam structural framing with modern, high-performance Bondor building materials to achieve an innovative and aesthetic passive house design.

“The design has been really heavily influenced by maritime architecture of ships and sailboats and harbours,” Niall said, “I love sailing and the sea, hence the choice of location.”

“I wanted to build an ‘ark’ for our family that was close to the sea—connecting us back across the oceans, to my native Ireland—and that would guard us against the worst extremes of climate as it changes.”

He worked closely with skilled builder David Brewer of Feature Properties Vic, who also shares a love of the ocean sailing as well as practical solutions and high-quality construction.

For the structural design of the home, Niall and David used sustainably sourced timber to create a skeletal framework of vertical posts and horizontal beams. They then hung or fitted the walls and roof, including Bondor’s Equitilt FlameGuard® insulated panels, onto this timber frame.

The Bondor panels, with their continuous Mineral Wool core and exterior cladding, seamlessly integrated with the timber structure to create an airtight and insulated building envelope. The slim profile of the timber frame and attached Bondor panels also helped optimise the floor plan.

The panels’ fire-resistant core was also crucial for meeting fire safety regulations along the property boundaries with the neighbouring homes in very close proximity.

“I won’t be able to get in there in the future to clean them and paint them, so the pre-finished COLORBOND® exterior, which is guaranteed for 25 years, means there’s minimal ongoing maintenance required,” Niall said.

“The panel could all just get lifted in off the street by one crane operator and dropped into position and fixed in place by two people on the ground. It really helped in constructing the home in a confined space between neighbouring properties.”

The completed house achieves an eight-star energy rating and is certified Passive House Plus, requiring less than 15 kWh/m²/yr for heating/cooling. It also has consistent indoor temperatures of 21°C year-round, minimal heating/cooling costs, and high energy efficiency.

“The home reads as a language of exposed timber structure with the cladding panels like the hull of a ship,” Niall said, “There are porthole windows, rear and central decks, curved edges and handrails and rich luxurious finishes from the heyday of steam ships.”

Equitilt FlameGuard® is a non-combustible and fire-rated walling product with a non-ozone depleting Mineral Wool core, encased in BlueScope® steel pre-finished in COLORBOND® . The Equitilt FlameGuard® wall system not only has high thermal performance and energy efficiency but is fire-resistant walling panel well suited to long spanning applications which require Non-Combustibility, FRL or FM Approval for insurance purposes.

Melton Beach House

The Challenges

Despite its location in Melton on Melbourne’s western rural–urban fringe, homeowner and building designer Jessica wanted to create a home with a beach house feel. A mum of three, Jessica’s vision was for a home that was not only sleek and modern, but also one that felt open, spacious, and able to accommodate her family and friends.  

With time to make up after COVID-related restrictions delaying build time, Jessica needed products that were quick and easy to install while making efficient use of the available space and giving plenty of natural lighting.  

As seen on the eighth episode of 9Life’s Open Homes Australia season 5. 

 

The Solution

Jessica decided to incorporate Bondor’s InsulRoof® and LuxeWall® in the design and construction of her home, giving it a modern and monochrome look and feel. 

“Although I live in Melton, I still wanted a beach house. Using the available space, I decided to build something similar to a beach house – something with a modern feel in the suburbs,” Jessica said 

 Jessica opted for LuxeWall® on the exterior of the upper floor to take advantage of the panel’s advanced lightweight cladding technology and decorative COLORBOND® 

Basalt finish, offering a cost effective and sustainable addition to the build. 

“I went with LuxeWall® on the upper level to complement the concrete panels on the lower level, which gave a slick, modern look to the home.”  

 “Using LuxeWall® prevented the need to build layers upon layers in the understory, keeping things light and fitting the sleek design.” 

 Jessica also incorporated Bondor’s InsulRoof ® panels in the COLORBOND®  Surf Mist.  

 “InsulRoof ® panels were the perfect inclusion to our design thanks to their span across our rooftop and low maintenance,” Jessica said.  

“We were able to incorporate this roofing solution to ensure we maintained the valuable natural light and regulated temperature.” 

 Despite not living on the beach, Jessica achieved her dream beach house – an open-plan home with plenty of natural lighting and space.  

Emerald Drive, Warragul

The Challenges

In Warragul, one family wanted their perfect forever home, with a property that took in stunning sweeping views to the north of the surrounding mountainous ranges. 

With a sloping block positioned high up, the family wanted a design on the top floor that was low to no maintenance, was modern and contemporary looking with a slight industrial feel. Any new design into their home needed to fit in seamlessly with the remainder of the property, providing one distinct style.

With the positioning of the property, more planning was required in order to meet the needs of this new design.

Leigh Allchin from Allchin Builders chose Bondor’s LuxeWall® in COLORBOND’s Basalt Grey for the property’s external wall cladding.

As seen on episode 5 of 9Life’s Renovate or Rebuild.

The Solution

“Due to the height of the building, a maintenance-free product was the best option for external wall cladding,” Leigh said.

“The site slope and height of the first floor provided the biggest challenge, but Bondor helped address these.”

Leigh said the final result showed a sleek, modern design with Bondor’s LuxeWall® in COLORBOND’s Basalt Grey that met the industrial feel the property owners wanted.

“With the lack of maintenance required as they didn’t want to repaint it every year, as well as how well it fit in with the rest of the home’s industrial style, LuxeWall was a no brainer.”

With this being the first build using Bondor in their projects, Leigh was impressed with the ease of installation and the final result. Because of this, Allchin Builders is already planning to use LuxeWall in two future projects.

Mickleham Distribution Centre

The Challenges

The Mickleham Distribution Centre, Australia’s biggest distribution centre, was a landmark project, consisting of insulated panelling for a separate freezer cold store with multiple refrigeration zones (sized at 10,500m2) and a thermally controlled distribution warehouse (73,200m2), all on an expansive 28-hectare site.

The freezer and chiller refrigeration plant was not completely designed when Bondor was engaged, with the design of the refrigeration penthouse only a prototype for each zone. As such, there were many challenges in perfecting the design of the penthouses in order to provide bespoke panelling solutions.

To meet this challenge, Bondor sat down with Vaughan Constructions and the refrigeration contractor to work through ideas and come up with solutions for the design of these penthouses. Bondor shared product design data, including doors and heat-trace, so this could be incorporated into the overall design.

Vaughan Constructions chose MetecnoPanel® and MetecnoInspire® to create a well-designed and insulated large-scale distribution centre.

The Solution

This world-class facility saw Bondor install over 73,000m2 of MetecnoPanel® and MetecnoInspire®.

Vaughan Constructions Project Engineer Adrian Elderhurst said the team reached out to Bondor to help on this project due to their known reliability from past projects.

“Bondor has an extensive library of panel, door and heat-trace details that the Vaughan Constructions consultants could work with to incorporate into the design, making them the best choice for this project,” Mr Elderhurst said.

Bondor worked with Vaughan Constructions on the high-pressure freezer penthouse units to modify their doors and hatches so they would function effectively and without fault in this low temperature environment.

All panelling provided in the freezer area had to provide stringent thermal control with varying temperature zones throughout the facility, which is what MetecnoPanel® with high thermal performance provided. 

Both systems offer a superb finish with shorter construction times and reduced labour periods on site, allowing the Mickleham Distribution Centre to be completed quicker than otherwise possible.

Mr Elderhurst said the collaborative partnership with the Bondor team made the project easier, despite the challenges and restrictions posed by COVID-19.

“Bondor’s team was always available for Vaughan Constructions to approach and query, flesh ideas out and to meet with the contractors and consultants,” Mr Elderhurst said.

“We could rely on the Bondor team’s knowledge and proactive approach.”

The work done alongside each other, demonstrating the determination and hard work of both teams, ensured a distribution centre was created like no other. This collaborative partnership has been highly successful, with Bondor and Vaughan Constructions also working together on an upcoming project in Clayton.

Cedar Creek

The Challenges

When architect Matt Riley first saw the 25-acre property at Cedar Creek in the picturesque Samford Valley west of Brisbane, he had a vision of designing a sustainable ‘off the grid’ home for his growing family of six.  

“Primarily we wanted the house to be as sustainable as possible and as open as possible while blending into the landscape,” Matt said. 

“We designed the home to be long and low, orientated to the North / North West, so that it would sit into the sloping site to maximise the all-encompassing views and engagement with the surrounding landscape. 

“We took mid-century modern inspirations to design courtyards, decks and other hard landscape spaces that blended the inside and outside spaces.   

“We needed to meet the requirements of BAL (bushfire safety) while minimising the damage to the surrounding bush environment during the build process. 

“Given the general isolation of the project, we also needed a prefinished panel system that minimised delivery, time on site to lock up and enabled hand-based construction rather than machine assisted.” 

Bondor’s LuxeWall®, InsulWall®, SolarSpan®, BondorPanel® insulated panel and roofing products provided Matt with all he needed to make his ‘off grid’ vision a reality.

Check out this stunning project, as featured on Open Homes Australia here.

*Photo credit: Christopher Frederick Jones

The Solution

The end result is a stunning mid-century modern-inspired four bedroom, three bathroom home with a guest studio, home office, media room and a double garage / car port.  

The home is separated into a living area pavilion and sleeping area pavilion, which is connected by a breezeway space centred on a converted precast water tank swimming pool surrounded by a timber deck. 

The home is completely off-grid and is self-sufficient for power, waste and water, featuring Solar, an Ozzi Kleen waste treatment system and 45,000 litre rainwater tanks. 

The house was masterfully constructed by Aaron Griggs and the team from Lions Pride Building, who have had experience using some of the Bondor product range previously.

Aaron’s dedication to the project is evident in the quality of the finishes. The Lions Pride team bought practical solutions to achieve some of the unique details evident in the design. 

“We used SolarSpan® roofing – the trimdek profile colour COLORBOND® Basalt® and simple skillion pitch roof allowed the roofline to follow and blend in with the natural sloping contour of the site,” Matt said. 

“It provided insulation and enabled clear simple spans without structure to improve construction time. The underside profile’s elegance allowed for the mid-century (country style) theme to be introduced to the home offering texture and light. 

“Insulwall® for the walls allowed for a unified structural insulated panel system, which with the COLORBOND® steel Surfmist® Matt finish, enabled a durable and prefinished wall. Great with kids in mind. 

“Luxewall® was used to finish and insulate the recycled shipping containers we used in the project for service / wet areas and the guest studio.”

Other Bondor panels were used for window hoods and awnings these provided a simple method to provide shade and weather protection for the windows on the flat façade and creates 3D effects to the façade. 

“We’re only 30 kilometres outside of the city yet we’re completely off the grid; I often joke with the kids that we could survive the zombie apocalypse here,” Matt said.

Open Homes Australia, Season 7

Plenty, Victoria

The Challenges

After 40 years working in the building industry in a variety of roles from an architectural draftsperson to managing landmark commercial projects and capital works for local government, Dario Bolzonello was able to bring something outside the norm to the design and build of his one-of-a-kind family home. 

“When I designed the house, I had promised my partner that I would build her a walk-in cool room and freezer to eliminate the use of three fridges and 2 freezers. I thought if a cool room can have a temperature of -18 inside and 21 degrees outside, why couldn’t I build an entire house using the same principles?” Dario said. 

The 2.4 x 2.4 walk-in coolroom and the 1.5 x 1.5 freezer is included in the final design. 

After visiting Bondor, Dario discovered the Codemark® accredited LuxeWall® architectural luxury walling system and he knew he had found what he was looking for. 

“I had the plans and vision, Bondor had the product. Unlike standard cool room panels, LuxeWall® offers 900mm wide panels at any length and the finish comes with a range of Colourbond Matt & Metallic finishes. Bondor could also supply folded external corner modules, finished with a concealed fix ‘UniSmart’ architectural trim and capping system,” he said. 

“So, I decided to build the exterior of the house and the eaves entirely from LuxeWall® panels.” 

As seen on Open Homes Australia: Season 4

The Solution

Dario designed and built the unique 509m2 home over a three-and-a-half-year period from 2017, working on the home part-time in the first year and half and completing the home full-time after his retirement in 2019. 

Located in the town of Plenty to north-east of Melbourne, the home was designed around fully tiled concrete pool / spa with four water jets and LED strip lights throughout the pool and surrounding spotted gum decking. 

“We used LuxeWall® for the vertical panels in both Surf Mist and Monument colour finishes, while for the horizontal façade, the panels were ordered to size with the only cutting needed for the mitre joint on the corners,” Dario said. 

“The panels were so quick and easy to install, my brother-in-law and I were able to fit them together without needing any other tradesmen. The panels also eliminated the need for external stud walls; all I needed was 20mm battens for the plumbing and electrical. 

“But by far the most attractive feature of LuxeWall was that it creates a complete thermal shell for a perfectly insulated home.” 

The finished home needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Design features include 3.6m high steel front doors with double-glazed windows, a cinema room, 3m high ceilings throughout most rooms with a 3.6m high coffer ceiling in the lounge dining area.  

A 3.6m long fireplace in the lounge is suspended 150mm off the floor to enable the return air from the air con units past the fire box to heat the room. 

The home includes Cbus automation, which allows programming for any switch any area. It also features a Holiday Mode, which when activated, allows the internal and external thermostat to open the high bay windows to control the temperature without using air-conditioning equipment. 

LuxeWall®’s high performance integrated insulation delivers superior thermal performance helping to lower energy usage from inefficient heating and cooling that in Australian households contributes up to 40 percent of a resident’s energy bill.

Open Homes Australia, Season 7

Riverslea Homes

The Challenges

Creating a contemporary, stylish home that captured spectacular views of East Gippsland’s spectacular Ninety Mile Beach, Lake Tyers and the surrounding mountains, while achieving a mandatory 6 Star Energy Rating and Bushfire Attack building requirements (BAL), was both an opportunity and challenge for Riverslea Homes.

The design brief was for a very modern home that capitalised as much as possible on the sweeping waterfront views of the 90-mile beach. There was a strong appetite for a blend of complementary cladding to further enhance the architecture.

Bushfire attack was another challenging feature at the site, given that the East Gippsland Shire is currently rated at the second highest level in the BAL rating. Water tightness and weatherproof cladding performance was another important factor given the home’s exposed coastal location.

Check out this stunning project, as featured on Open Homes Australia here.

The Solution

Achieving the 6 Star energy rating is always an accomplishment with the region’s southern coastline inviting south facing view windows. The 426m2 Architectural Double Storey Home comprises four bedrooms, two bathrooms, expansive living areas and structurally challenging rooflines.

“The homeowners, the McEntee family, bought their own initial design to the table, from there we did some serious design refinement work, followed by intense engineering,” Riverslea Homes owner Peter Grundy said.

“This is where Bondor’s LuxeWall® cladding really came into its own, especially in the upper story areas. Achieving the 6 Star Energy Rating with the expanse of south facing glass was always going to be a process, every incremental performance gain was going to be critically important.

“Of the five individual claddings selected by the owners LuxeWall® offered the highest thermal performance-rating gain by a considerable margin.”

LuxeWall®’s bushfire attack resistance capabilities are a huge step forward in this environment as well, especially in this region that lived through the recent New Year’s Bushfires. To further combat water tightness and weaterproof cladding performance, LuxeWall®’s concealed fixing method combined with its unique sealed jointing system and most importantly the window trim system, was the easy answer.

Mr Grundy said the biggest game changer from using the LuxeWall® system was the speed of installation, particularly on the home’s upper levels.

“We were able achieve that ever desirable weatherproof lockup in a single process, with no multiple trades required with this system. The support and advice from Bondor prior to installation really made me wonder why other cladding manufacturers don’t offer the same around their products.”

LuxeWall® is a high-performance lightweight walling product with architectural exterior finishes that is raising the bar for upmarket exterior finishes to the modern Australian home. It offers an innovative cladding system all new home buyers should consider given Luxewall® ’s BAL & Thermal qualities, simplicity and speed of installation and superb weather resistance performance.

Red Hill Cinemas

The Challenges

The iconic Red Hill skate arena a was burnt by fire in 2002 and had stood derelict for almost 17 years before it was added to the council’s heritage register in 2016.  

In 2017 a $10 million redevelopment by Five Star Cinemas was set to restore the auditorium to one of its previous incarnations as a cinema. 

One of the key restoration challenges was to retain the different layers of history to the building and keeping some of the original graffiti intact. Existing steel trusses were to be retained, along with the street facade and arches. 

There was a challenge in redeveloping a site that was abandoned for a long time – both structurally and from a design perspective.

The Solution

The developers spent more than six months stabilising the roof, restoring key features of the old skate arena and revealed the century-old archway. 

Many of the timbers from the original structure that survived the fire now make up the ceiling for the lower area of the building. Some original graffiti was kept intact, with additional movie-themed graffiti added to the inside of the building to reflect its latest incarnation. 

The weatherboard walls along each side of the auditorium above the brickwork were replaced with Bondor’s non-combustible and fire-rated walling product FlameGuard®, a product with a Mineral Wool core, encased in BlueScope® Colorbond® Steel. 

FlameGuard® was selected as a key product supplier due to the rigid requirements set out by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission and Australian Building Codes Board regulations. 

FlameGuard® was well suited for the project with long spanning application required for the building, as well as for its high thermal performance and energy efficiency. The panel also offers Non-Combustibility, FRL or FM Approval for insurance purposes and has been tested and certified to achieve up to a 3 Hour Fire Rating.

Panelup

The Challenges

The PanelUp Prefab System combines Bondor’s SolarSpan® roof panels and InsulWall® wall panels with 3D BIM computer technology and custom-made machinery to speed up construction by more than 50 per cent. 

Sasha Veselinovic, the founder of Panelup’s vision was to change the way people approach building homes by challenging traditional construction methods and innovating the way homes are built. 

The system was developed over seven years by Mr Veselinovic, for his offsite manufacturing company ‘Panelup Systems’. He also owns a home construction company, Unique Style Homes that builds around 15 prefab homes a year using the prefab system.

The Solution

The PanelUp Prefab System is the fastest panelised house construction system in Australia and can speed up home construction by more than 50 per cent. A two-storey house can be built to lock-up from the slab up to the roof in just seven days using the system.

The PanelUp Prefab System is a 100 percent Australian innovation using Australian manufactured Bondor SolarSpan® roof panels and InsulWall® wall panels. 

Every house component is manufactured offsite in the PanelUp factory and then trucked to the building site, where it fits together perfectly and can be erected by virtually any carpenter. 

The system also offers a huge return on energy savings over the life of a home, as InsulWall® and SolarSpan® panels form a complete thermal shell to that significantly exceeds current Australian requirements for Energy Ratings. 

“A Panelup Prefab home is built twice as fast, offers twice as much benefits but costs less than a traditional home. We also offer a lockup stage only to owner builders and other trade professionals, Sasha said.