Melbourne University
Book Storage

The Dawson Street Bookstore Facility project for the University of Melbourne involved provision of a fully refurbished facility that maximized storage potential for the existing and additional book collections in an accessible and environmentally controlled facility.  The existing facility contained over 175,000 books and also housed an archive storage area for highly significant museum items that formed part of the Percy Grainger Museum Collection.

The existing building suffered from substantial roof leaks, poor access for deliveries for the book store and the museum, inefficient lighting and no heating and cooling systems to provide a controlled air temperature environment for the books. Part of the solution to compliment the new heating and cooling systems was to provide a proprietary roof system. The roof replacement had its own logistical issues in that access was only available to the site from two street frontages which both contained high voltage power lines. The project team was able to devise a demolition and replacement plan and program that safely carried out the works within the site without the need for expensive costs or temporarily shutter down power and streets to enable loading from either of the two very busy street frontages.

Other logistical challenges that were successfully overcome included protecting the existing collection of historical- stored artworks, musical instruments, furniture  and other artefacts that could not be relocated whilst the works were being undertaken. Replacement works were undertaken during appropriate weather conditions and carried out to ensure removal and replacement of sections could only be started and completed within the day.