Our Projects

CONTRACT VALUE: $1.07M

Our task on this project required that we construct an impressive national monument honouring Australians who died during the Vietnam War. The monument design included a podium surrounded by a moat, three rather large concrete walls with suspended granite ring, memorial altar, wreath wall, seating, lighting and landscaping.

The unusual shape of this structure provided our team with some interesting challenges. A high technology concrete formula was specially created for the project. We collaborated with the concrete supplier, testing and sampling various mixtures until the final product suited the exacting specifications of our structural engineer. The beautiful black granite was purchased in bulk at the beginning of the project to achieve colour consistency throughout the structure. Each granite tile was painstakingly cut to a slightly different shape and fixed to the wall face to maintain vertical and horizontal lines. We placed the granite ring by supporting it with rigid scaffolding before suspending and tensioning it from the walls via stainless steel cables and fittings. The complex twisted shape of the concrete walls was achieved through extreme care in planning, surveying and construction of the formwork.

The sandblasted image of Australian soldiers being airlifted to Nui Dat on the northern wall was indeed an achievement. The image was copied from a photograph taken during the war. Using procedures developed on site, the image was carefully sandblasted out of the granite wall using a black and white enlargement of the photograph. The surface was then finished with concrete sealant and anti-graffiti treatment.

This project was awarded the Master Builders Association ‘Project of the Year’.