RP Infrastructure

The ABC Melbourne Accommodation Project was undertaken to align with the ABC’s strategic goal to maintain its leadership position as an innovative and independent media organisation capable of meeting the current and future demands of an ever-developing digital media environment. It included the relocation and consolidation of its operations in Ripponlea to a new purpose-built facility in Southbank.

The new facility is immediately adjacent to its existing Southbank location in Melbourne’s CBD, with the intention to promote the effective and regular exchange of knowledge and professional skills between its staff and visitors.

Project Overview

The redeveloped Southbank facility consolidated both television and radio broadcast operations for the first time into one facility. The Southbank facility contains three new purpose built studios and their support infrastructure. The three studios range in size and functionality and have been constructed to meet the current and future demands of an ever developing digital media environment in the most efficient way possible.

The functional design of the building was based around efficiency of operation, a requirement to enhance collaboration, be environmentally sustainable and provide a healthy and enjoyable working environment for ABC staff.

Our Role

RP Infrastructure was commissioned to provide strategic advice, project management and contract administration services to the ABC. The project was delivered via a Managing Contractor delivery method with RP Infrastructure as the ABC’s agent responsible for ensuring that the Managing Contractor fulfilled its contractual obligations in their management of the project’s planning, design, construction and delivery phases.

To mitigate the challenges in delivering a project in and around an operating broadcast environment a staged construction and refurbishment approach was developed and adopted to allow the ABC’s technical, office and ancillary operations to continue uninterrupted.

Key Challenge

Retaining recently installed and functionally sound elements of the existing Southbank building whilst integrating elements of the new purpose-built facility to achieve one seamless, integrated building that addressed both environmental and financial objectives for the project was a key challenge. The building design was developed in close consultation with the ABC to ensure the proposed building met the client requirements as well as fulfilling design and statutory standards.