Thiess News, Volume 1, 2000

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MPV gets the finishing touches VIC/SA/TAS/NZ Business Unit Thiess is putting the finishing touches on Melbourne’s Multi-Purpose Venue (MPV), adding another jewel to the crown of Melbourne’s world-class sports and entertainment precinct at Melbourne and Olympic Parks. “This sporting precinct has no peer anywhere in the world,” according to Australian Open Chief Executive Paul McNamee. “We’re very lucky, especially with its proximity to the city. Melbournians have built something that’s unique.” Utilising state-of -the-art technology, the MPV roof closes twice as quickly as that of the neighbouring Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, ready to respond to Melbourne’s infamous changes in weather. As its name suggests, the MPV is truly multipurpose and unrivalled in its versatility and flexibility. It can be changed to suit almost any event - from ice skating to opera, cycling to basketball, and of course tennis. This is achieved through an innovative seating design using removable, raisable and retractable seating designed to ensure that spectators are close to the action for all types of events. The venue accommodates 10,000 for tennis, basketball, concerts, opera and so forth, and 4,500 for cycling. Raisable seating reveals a world-class velodrome for local and international cycling events. The velodrome has a baltic pine cycling track supported on timber trusses. Everyone has an opportunity to see the movable roof move through its paces, but only those behind the scenes see the raisable seats in action. Two sets of winches raise the 3,216 seats in less than four minutes to execute the conversion to velodrome mode. State-of-the-art timing systems, score boards and sound systems are also essential accessories for such a facility. Another essential is food. The main kitchen in the basement and smaller kitchens at transverse and superbox levels accommodate the catering needs of the 1,900 corporate guests in the corporate lounges, and the 10 kiosks on the ground level serve the general public. One less obvious feature is the careful attention to the design and location of the entry doors. Operating costs for such a facility are an important consideration. Each entry and exit point must be attended and so doors are significant from the perspective of operating costs as well as functionality. The MPV has only four sets of five doors (20 doors) for public access into the stadium, which is less than half the number in other comparable facilities in the Australia and the USA - achieved without compromise to circulation, functionality or safety. Scheduled for completion in April, the MPV offers another sporting venue of excellence in Melbourne’s inner city sporting precinct. 4 Thiess News Volume 1 2000
MelbourneFootbridges keep sports lovers moving Melbourne continues to consolidate its position as Australia’s sporting capital and is currently upgrading access to Melbourne Park, Melbourne’s Sports and Entertainment Precinct and home to the Australian Open Tennis Tournament. Thiess is responsible for the design and construction of three pedestrian bridges, including a new 7m wide, 250m long bridge connecting the MCG to the Tennis Centre, which will help move pedestrian traffic to and from the MCG much faster. The link between the MCG and the Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park replaces a smaller bridge built only 11 years ago and will substantially reduce overcrowding, congestion and delays. With attendance numbers for the Australian Open reaching all-time highs and the imminent completion of the 10,000 seat Multi-Purpose Venue, the need for the new bridge was reinforced. This project presented the Thiess team with a challenge as the existing bridge had to be removed and a new facility built while maintaining pedestrian access and without disrupting any of the infrastructure and activities below. This meant maintaining full service of the four lane arterial road, ten train lines, tram lines, service roads to two car parks and access the tennis precinct. The project team worked closely with all 12 stakeholders to ensure that the construction of the bridge went smoothly. This was achieved through weekend night shift operations to install bridge piers and beams under complete occupation of roads, train and tram tracks as necessary. There was detailed planning and hour-by-hour co-ordination to ensure that the transport services were not interrupted in any way. One of the stakeholder groups affected by these works was the train and track maintenance activities of Thiess Infraco. As though this was not sufficient challenge, the bridge was constructed against the accelerated Thiess program of eight months rather than the conforming 13-month program. The major stakeholders for the project were the Office of Major Projects, the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Trust and the Melbourne Cricket Club. The project team worked closely with this group to ensure that the works were complete for public use of the footbridge for the Boxing Day test match and the 2000 Australian Open. VIC/SA/TAS/NZ Business Unit Thiess News Volume 1 2000 5
Page 1 and 2: Volume 1 2000 Innovation in the Hea
Page 3: University of Queensland (continued
Page 7 and 8: All Aboard At Thiess Infraco Shapin
Page 9 and 10: Thiess secures Thiess recently ente
Page 11 and 12: Foxleigh A New Approach to Coal Min
Page 13 and 14: These exercises, led by David Medla
Page 15 and 16: Training Centre harnesses local ski
Page 17 and 18: Building on PT The hydro-power stat
Page 19 and 20: Aurion sets a new standard in HR Ma

Thiess News, Volume 1, 2000

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