Sustainable construction for meat processing facility

In the wake of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference and alongside the federal government’s 2050 net zero target, industry leaders are pledging to reduce the Australian construction sector’s environmental impact during 2022. While efforts to tackle climate change will be distributed across many facets of the sector, there will be a strong focus on one rapidly growing area: industrial construction.

One example in the food sector is the 25,000 m² HFA Heathwood Meat Processing Facility in Queensland, constructed by Hansen Yuncken in response to the shift towards online food delivery.

“A key feature of this building is Australia’s second-largest rooftop photovoltaic solar installation, which provides approximately 50% of the site’s energy requirements. Skylights with daylight harvesting were also installed in the warehouse’s roofing, reducing the amount of energy spent on lighting,” Salveson explained.

“Adoption of renewable energy technologies at scale, such as in this project, reflects Hansen Yuncken’s commitment to environment sustainability and desire to create forward-thinking buildings which stand the test of time.

“During early design, we implemented building implementation (BIM) to aid coordination between the building structure, services and elements of principal supplied specialist equipment. On this project, BIM enabled quick, efficient collaboration within the design and construction team. Adoption of critical new digital technologies like BIM is a cornerstone of Hansen Yuncken’s working model, allowing us to realise greater efficiency across our business.”

Completed in March 2019, Salveson said the project was delivered in just 19 months with the overall project contract totalling $102m.