The Lights Community & Sports Centre, Adelaide

The new facility includes three multi-purpose courts, two basketball courts, a cafe, office and commercial space. ASKIN Performance Panel supplied Volcore ViviD panel with a Silkline profile, made from COLORBOND® steel in 12 Custom colour shades of blues, greens, and violets.

The Project

The City of Port Adelaide Enfield in partnership with the South Australian State Government wanted to create a modern, sustainably managed and fit-for-purpose indoor recreation facility.

The goal was to build a premier recreational venue where people from a diverse community can lead an active and healthy lifestyle and participate in a range of sports.

The new facility includes three multi-purpose courts, two basketball courts, a cafe, office and commercial space. Studio 9 Architects was awarded the contract to design the facility.

The Requirements

The requirement for this project was to use materials that were lightweight due to the soil conditions of this particular site. When considering an insulated panel cladding solution, ensuring the panel product complied and exceeded fire and safety considerations was essential. As always, being conscious of cost also played a part in determining the right building solutions. As a result, ASKIN Volcore was NATSPEC specified as per 0437p ASKIN VOLCORE® PERFORMANCE PANEL CLADDING.

Studio 9 Architects Associate Architect, Kirsty Coultas, said creating a space that was flexible in nature with a high focus on community was a very high priority for the client.

“The process itself was excellent, with the community, council, and consultants working through the design so all in all it was an inclusive process,” she said.

The Approach

ASKIN Performance Panel supplied Volcore ViviD panel made from COLORBOND® steel in 12 custom colour shades of blues, greens, and violets, with a Silkline profile. Volcore panel system is a lightweight, insulated panel product with a non-combustible core, which addressed all the requirements for this project. This one component wall solution doubled as the external cladding and the robust internal wall lining, exceeding the client's expectations.

Becoming involved in the project in the early stages of design meant ASKIN could address any concerns around the fire safety of Volcore with documented testing, certifications and approvals, so all those involved felt confident they were using a safe and conforming Australian building product.

Kirsty described working with ASKIN as being very collaborative. “We had conversations with the ASKIN team in the early stages of design regarding fire properties. We worked through the details and requirements and this flowed through to the construction phase,” she said.

Together ASKIN and Studio 9 Architects selected the 12 shades of blues, greens and violets, which are all Custom colours manufactured by BlueScope and made from COLORBOND® steel.

Selection of the 12 colours to meet the client’s expectations, maintaining ASKIN’s panel quality and ensuring a warranty was available from BlueScope required collaboration between all the parties.

Consideration of darker and lighter colour placement, as well as the panel lengths for each elevation, was required to maintain the thermal deflection of an insulated panel wall system.

Volcore is a non-combustible insulated panel system with the added benefits of acoustic properties and is thermally efficient with R Values that far exceed the NCC minimum requirements. Its continuous insulation properties will ensure the centre stays cool during summer and warmer in the winter months.

Kirsty explained with the recent issues here and abroad in regards to fire and non-combustibility, they were really conscious of going with something that had the right certifications. “We began investigating products in the early stages of the project and ASKIN’s Volcore with a mineral wool core, ticked all the boxes,” she said.

Result

The result is a modern, cutting edge design for the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, focusing on flexibility and functionality, providing a multi-use space for the local community. The main priority was to build a facility that is inclusive and accessible to all has been achieved.

“Working with ASKIN was fantastic and we are very happy with the outcome,” said Kirsty.