University of Adelaide Plant Accelerator

Completed in December 2009, the $15.5 million Plant Accelerator Building at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus at Urrbrae, South Australia, is a two-level 4,485 m2 crop research and plant breeding facility with the ability to process 160,000 plants a year.

The structure consists of a ground slab, structural steel columns and beams supporting an elevated concrete floor for the upper level, which is enclosed in a proprietary aluminium-framed and Plexiglas-clad greenhouse system.

105 drains in the suspended greenhouse slab drain water and wash down material away to settling tanks. Recycled water is used for irrigation with the remainder being further filter-drained into the stormwater system. Retention ponds to the northern part of the site collect run-off water to minimise sediment entering the stormwater system.

The ground floor laboratory area has been constructed to PC2 and QC2 standards.

Internal works include walling, joinery, furniture, benching and racking. Specialised mechanical, hydraulic and electrical services are included throughout, with a lift linking the two levels.

External works include landscaping, asphalt car parking, loading areas, roadways and kerbs.

The natural fall of the site required extensive battering and application of Shotcrete, to stabilise the ground, once the suspended slab was complete. Built Environs successfully proposed constructing a precast retaining wall over conventional in-situ concrete to save construction time.

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