Early works on this project began in August 2005. During this time Equiset were working with the design team and Sydney City Council to resolve key issues with the site prior to the lodgement of the Development Application.
These issues included that all the existing buildings on the site were heritage listed, and more significantly, that the heritage listed Church building needed to be reduced in size to make way for the footprint of a new seven storey teaching building. This required the relocation of a 94 tonne mosaic inside the Church.
After consultation with Council, it was determined that the project was of state significance, and was referred to the NSW Department of Planning for approval. Approval was given for the project in March 2006.
By this stage considerable work had gone into the methodology and engineering of relocating the significant 94 tonne mosaic inside the Church. Made using over 750,000 tiles, the mosaic is entitled ‘The Risen Christ’, and was commissioned by the Archdiocese and made by the Vatican Workshop in Rome. This was originally shipped to Australia in one metre by one metre sheets, and reassembled on site, and cast into the concrete. Equiset successfully relocated this significant artwork, without the loss of a single tile.
The project works were completed in December 2006, allowing classes to commence in the first semester of 2007.
Features
- Construction of the AU$20 million Darlinghurst campus
- Construction of a new 3,500m2, seven-story building
- Significant heritage restoration
- Landscaping and courtyard development
Project program/milestones
Stage one
- Construction commenced May 2006. Refurbishment of church, school and presbytery
- Construction completed February 2007
Stage two
- Construction commenced October 2006
- Construction completed February 2008
