baiyangbaiyaang – Charlestown Residential Eating Disorder Centre

Following a competitive tender process managed by NSW Public Works (which subsequently also administered the construction contract), Graph was appointed to construct the Charlestown Residential Eating Disorders Centre (CREDC) in remnant bushland on a large site which already accommodated three other substantial public health facilities of the Hunter New England Local Health District. CREDC is the first publicly owned facility of its kind in NSW, and it accepts referrals from across the state for people aged 16 and over, being designed to bridge the gap between community-based care and hospital admission. As well as eight bedrooms (four single and four double) and associated residential areas, the building also includes spaces for clinical and administrative purposes.

BCA Classifications 3, 5 and 9b all apply to the building, and BCA compliance emerged as a complex issue, particularly in regard to fire rating, during the course of construction.

An early and costly activity in the building contract was the grouting of old mine workings which, despite the high risk of cost blow-outs, was completed within the provisional sum allowance of $1.2m.  Some 2,500m³ of grout was used.

The design of the building uses the natural slope of the site to allow ground-level access to both floors of the building – it incorporates a C-shaped lower ground floor, plus a larger H-shaped ground floor above which extends onto natural ground at the higher (southern) end of the site.  The lower ground level of the building is of reinforced concrete, and structural steel framing supports the spaces above the suspended/on-ground concrete slab at ground level.  Although simple in principle, the unique and inspiring design of the building called for complex detailing that presented multiple challenges to the project team, sometimes interrupting the planned sequence of construction activity.  The finished product however is an outstanding testament to their combined efforts.

The contract works also included associated civil construction (roadway, car parking and state-of-the-art drainage), together with landscaping (hard and soft), with the building design optimising connections to the outdoors.

Following the completion of construction, the facility was named baiyangbaiyaang, an Aboriginal name meaning “Butterfly – the one who flutters”.  Butterfly Foundation is the national charity for anyone in Australia impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, as well as the families, friends and communities who support them.