THE BUILDERS CHOICE commercial “The right contractors were an essential part of that.” The Kapinkoff Family was very happy with their selection of Utopia Industries Pty Ltd, managed by Fabio Spera, as the Builder and fitout contractor on the project.
Mr Iemma worked closely with Squires' Sydney based interior designers – Collins and Turner to ensure the fit-out matched their branding guidelines, and constant co-ordination via conference calls and emails kept everyone aligned both in Sydney and in Perth. A “pressure cooker situation” The project had a deadline of 12 weeks from start on site to completion. Managing the logistics of transporting non-local materials and specialised manufactured items to Perth, while coordinating a local team of contractors, was achieved through effective and ongoing communication. “When you have tight timeframes it's important to get the right fit-out contractors who have good communication with their subcontractors. It was a pressure cooker situation in order to get it finished,” Mr Iemma said.
Working within an existing building posed “challenges” The combination of tight deadlines and working within the existing building posed challenges. The ceiling heights and the presence of existing slabs, sprinkler runs and other factors meant that it was tough to ensure the venue met the required standards for climate control and other issues. The kitchen canopy extraction system provided another challenge. The hotel had not provided a suitable connection point and they couldn't obtain permission to connect into the hotel's main service kitchen system nearby. Building above the tenancy and openings nearby meant you couldn't meet “distance and odour” regulations using a standard install. Following discussions with the kitchen design consultants, Mr Iemma recommended a specialist canopy system, one which was a two-stage filtered system designed to take smells out of the cooking area and discharge it outside at an agreed location. Although costly, they no longer had to adhere to the same proximity regulations. Branding essential The minimalist, raw finished and textured design palettes proposed by Collins & Turner were both challenging and helpful according to Mr Iemma. “They helped to some extent with the construction programme in that there were no secondary or third linings or additional finishing required to/on walls and ceilings in the major areas,” he said. The branding relies largely on rope, copper, wood and black mesh. Extensive use of graphics tells the story of James Squire on the internal walls of the venue, and these were done by Sydneybased firm Extra Black.
Prosperous Ceilings
Residential and Commercial Drop ceiling, partition and fit out Old house renovation 20 years experience All jobs 10 yrs warranty
0416 834 880 Email: prosperous.wong.ceiling@gmail.com 48 The Builders Choice Magazine – March 2015