This Project was awarded to Stubbs Constructions Pty. Ltd. as a design & construct contract. The Burnie Civic Centre was originally constructed 25 years ago, and at the time it was clad with asbestos cement sheet. As the cladding was deteriorating it was decided by the Burnie City Council to re clad the building.

The most critical area of the project was the safe removal of some 2500 m2 of asbestos cement sheet. Due the height of the building, up to 15 m, significant scaffold access was required. And to mitigate the contamination of the CBD area with asbestos, measures were implemented, such as full enclosure of the scaffold, a chute to convey the asbestos into lined bins, and air monitoring to ensure levels were at acceptable levels.

Lateral thinking resulted in the use of Trespa Meteon as the primary replacement cladding. While Trespa is extensively utilised in Europe, the Civic Centre was only the second instance of its use in Australia. Trespa is highly regarded for its low “net environmental impact” i.e. the total environmental impact taken over the life of the product – from energy and materials used for manufacture to its final application & maintenance, and recyclability