St Hilliers completed the construction of the Ibis Hotel, Wollongong, comprising 150 rooms, an a-la-carte restaurant and secure off-street car parking.
Prior to construction commencement in August 2005 the 2,500 square meter site was excavated and approximately 7000 cubic meters of iron stone was removed using both conventional machinery and chemical blasting.
The hotel was constructed on land leased from the adjacent, historically significant St Michael’s Anglican Cathedral precinct.
To complement the Cathedral and its setting we worked closely with the architect, and consulted the NSW Heritage Office on all hotel design and architectural considerations such as internal and external finishes. This included the use of Bowral blue and brown bricks and zinc cladding.
The hotel was also designed as two building linked by a unique glass bridge, which provided an opening with an uninterrupted view of the Cathedral’s spire.
With the site located on a main thoroughfare close to the Wollongong CBD, traffic management and minimising disruption to the surrounding premises was a major challenge for the project team.
We were able to accelerate the program to complete construction four weeks prior to the practical completion date.
The fast track construction required, strong management and coordination of specialist subcontractors to streamline the procurement of items and to maximise the speed of the construction.
