Kingfield Galvanizing hot dip galvanized (HDG) 18 tonnes of steel for the new St Kilda Adventure Playground located just 20 metres from an aggressive coastal environment. This replaced a termite-infested wooden structure that served as a community hub for over 30 years. The HDG steel work provided significant benefits over the original design in aesthetics, constructability, durability, public safety and cost.

Project highlights
Duration: 30 days
Type: Adventure playground
Cost: $1.5 million (total stage 1 development)
Tonnes of Steel: 18

What makes the design so unique?
The project was the biggest playground refurbishment of its type to be undertaken in Australia. Central to the design is a three-level structural steel castle, standing 14 metres high containing 18 tonnes of steelwork. The new structure was designed to withstand the rigours of an aggressive coastal environment (C4) without the need for maintenance due to corrosion for many years.

Key challenges overcome
With a very tight project timeframe of 30 days, constructability and durability were the key drivers in the development of the final design of the structure and emphasis was placed on eliminating any onsite welding works, given the aggressive coastal environment. The design was developed in collaboration with the fabricator to maximise use of prefabricated elements. With consideration to galvanizing size constraints, bolted connection details were used throughout the playground as well as sleeved assemblies for platform and column connections.

Kingfield Galvanizing’s QA Manager, Ashley Clinnick said that due to the coastline location, the project constraints called for the galvanized steel not to have onsite welding requirements or uncoated surfaces to improve durability. “The complete sub frame as well as all staircases and handrails were hot dip galvanized and every connection was sleeved and then bolted onsite,” he said.

Stakeholders working together
As Kingfield is a Victorian-based company and the fabricator was in Adelaide, extra care was required to minimise loads and load handling. The semi-trailer load of steel arrived on a Wednesday, was galvanized and then reloaded onto the truck for a return delivery on the Friday of the same week.

Project outcomes
The St Kilda Adventure Playground project provides a great example of how HDG steel provides the perfect solution for construction in a coastal environment with long-term durability benefits, eliminating maintenance needs.

The project supports Kingfield Galvanizing’s recent win at the 2017 Premier’s Sustainability Awards for our low emissions, sustainable and highly automated hot dip galvanizing plant.

Project team
Client: City of Salisbury
Architect/Designer: PT Design
Developer/Builder: BluBuilt Constructions
Fabricator: Macweld Industries
Hot Dip Galvanizer: Kingfield Galvanizing