contacts
technologies

A butterfly rising elegantly skyward

Press Release / December 2017

A butterfly rising elegantly skyward

Aurora – the new signature building in Melbourne

In the city centre of Melbourne, Australia, the formwork solution from Doka and Lubeca is helping build the Aurora Melbourne Central, a luxurious residential tower with a design all of its own. The combination of Lubeca's platform system with the Doka protection screen Xclimb 60 tailored specifically for the Australian market enhances efficiency and safety in the construction process.

Aurora Melbourne Central on La Trobe Street will be the tallest residential tower in Melbourne's CBD. It will also be the only residential complex to have its own direct access to the underground City Loop rail station. The residential tower, expressing luxury and elegance in its every detail, will have 92 floors and stand more than 271 metres tall from the footpath. Architects Elenberg Fraser designed the Aurora Melbourne Central for Malaysian based developer, UEM Sunrise.

For this out-of-the-ordinary project, Tier-1 Australian contractor Probuild, one of Australia’s largest construction companies, selected Doka and Lubeca as suppliers of key elements of the formwork solution. When completed in late 2019, the highrise will accommodate 959 residential units and 252 serviced apartments, plus commercial office and retail spaces. Formwork know- how from Doka and Australian Doka subsidiary Lubeca is helping to ensure rapid progress on the build. The buildings core is being built with two separate platform systems, and this speeds up the cycle times. Consequently, the Aurora Melbourne Central build is rising in the steady rhythm of a four-day cycle. The project ranks as Doka Australia's biggest single contract to date.

Out-of-the-ordinary design
As well as being one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne, with its unique curves and fascinating glass façade complete with vertical fins and integrated LED lighting, the Aurora tower will be an architectural highlight on the city's skyline. Seen from above the building looks like a butterfly. From the 68th floor upward it transitions into a heart shape. Alexei Simm, Project Director at Probuild said that even with the unique geometry and non-typical elements, record levels of daily curtain-wall panel installation had been achieved to date, due to the integration of lifting structures into the Doka screen design.

Innovative façade screen formwork with Xclimb 60
Working in close cooperation with Doka Australia, the highrise experts at headquarters in Amstetten developed an innovative façade screen solution for the Aurora Melbourne Central build. "As well as being totally unique, the Aurora build is also in many ways a trailblazer project. It's a very long way from Amstetten to Melbourne, but even so more than 90 % of the material, that's 4100 m² of formwork, was delivered to site on time. This is the first time that a Doka protection screen 24 metres in height has been used, and it has proved to be a superb solution", asserts Richard Wimmer, Project Manager in the Global Expertise Center Highrise.

The Protection screen Xclimb 60 enables construction work to be carried out on the top building levels of highrise projects in great safety, and protected from the weather. "The façade panels are installed from inside of the building. So the workers are in a fully enclosed environment without risk from working with slab edges and without adverse weather affecting progress. That's a quantum leap forward in improving safety and the direct result of Doka's innovative drive", emphasizes Christian Unger, Managing Director Doka Australia, summing up benefits of the façade screen solution.

Xclimb 60 is a hydraulically climbed system that can also be lifted quickly by crane when crane capacity is available. It is continuously structure-guided, so it can be operated even at high wind speeds. In combination with an integrated monorail system it makes the façade panels safer and faster to install, which also helps save costs.

About Doka:
Doka is a world leader in developing, manufacturing and distributing formwork technology for use in all fields of the construction sector. With more than 160 sales and logistics facilities in over 70 countries, the Doka Group has a highly efficient distribution network which ensures that equipment and technical support are provided swiftly and professionally. An enterprise forming part of the Umdasch Group, the Doka Group employs a worldwide workforce of more than 6, 200.

In short:
Project: Aurora Melbourne Central
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Type of structure: Residential building
Height: 271 metres
Floors: 92
Developer: UEM Sunrise
Construction work by: Probuild
Architect: Elenberg Fraser
Start of construction: July 2016
Scheduled completion: Late 2019
Systems used:
Products: Doka protection screen Xclimb 60 with single-rail system, Lubeca platform system
Services: Project management, Engineering, Ready-to-Use Service, Assembly, Logistics, Formwork instructor on site

Formwork planning: Doka Australia, Global Expertise Center Highrise (HQ Amstetten), Lubeca

Press contact
Doka Group
Michael Fuker
Public Relations Manager
M +43/664/9610657
press@doka.com

Photos:
Please include details of copyright for publication.

Shaped like a butterfly, the Aurora Melbourne Central residential tower is rising skyward.
Photo: Aurora Melbourne Central.jpg Copyright: Probuild

Australian Doka subsidiary Lubeca supplied the platform system for the formwork.
Photo: Aurora Melbourne Central (c)Doka_1.jpg Copyright: Doka

The Doka protection screen Xclimb 60 measuring 24 metres in height is being used for the first time for installation of the building's glass façade.
Photo: Aurora Melbourne Central (c)Doka_2.jpg Copyright: Doka
 
press contacts

Michael Fuker
Austria
Mob.:
+43/664/9610657
e-mail original [rar 668 K]
technologies

© 2007