The $1 billion Sydney Fish Market – the city’s most significant harbour project since the Sydney Opera House more than 50 years ago – has achieved a major milestone with the final roof panel installed over its 230-metre floating roof.
“This milestone is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our construction team and partners. We can’t wait to see visitors enjoying this impressive building when it opens to the public,” according to Daniel Murphy, Multiplex’s NSW Regional Director, adding that 400-plus roof panels are supported by 594 timber beams. Mr Murphy said the new roof weighs a staggering 2,500 tonnes, with attention now turning to waterproofing and starting on the building’s internal finishes.
Last year, Wood Central spoke to Paolo Aschieri, the director of Theca Timber, who said 700 timber and more than 1,000 steel elements combine to form the southern hemisphere’s largest Fish Market roof. “All timber elements arrived in Sydney from Rubner’s timber engineering production facilities in Dolomites, Northern Italy, in late May, before the first beams were installed on site.”
“The roof has a unique shape that uses the winds to extract warm air and protect workers from the southerly winds,” Mr Aschieri told Wood Central. “The canopy is a blend of wood and aluminium, designed to be outwardly as porous as possible while blocking direct sunlight and minimising the need for building cooling.”
Paolo Aschieri, Director of Theca Timber who spoke to Wood Central about the Sydney Fish Markets project.
Designed by 3XN and working with Sydney firms BVN and Aspect Studios, Multiplex was appointed the project’s principal contractor more than four years ago. Without question, the highlight is a distinctive wave-shaped and scale-patterned timber hybrid roof that pays homage to the fishing industry.
Last week, Wood Central revealed that the new floating roof has a “gentle wave-like canopy that generates electricity for the markets.” The 230m long roof canopy comprises more than 400 individual cassettes assembled on top of a temporary steel frame structure and placed on top of a glulam timber frame.
“Glulam was selected for its durability, resilience, and aesthetic appeal, adding a natural finish to the project,” the NSW government said. “The roof is built from repetitive modular elements, creating a seemingly complex shape from a relatively simple system,” they said, adding that ” this approach will minimise material waste and help ensure a safe and efficient building process.”
From the Dolomites in Northern Italy to the Sydney Harbour
Theca Timber, who represents many of Europe’s largest timber manufacturers, said that “more than 1,800 cubic metres of spruce glulam and more than 50 tons of steel were needed to prefabricate the timber roof…these parts were transported with over 30 special transports to the harbour in Monfalcone in Italy—where each element was then loaded onto the ship.”
“Over 1,000 steel elements were needed to connect the timber roof structure in a single shipment via waterways in the ship’s hull. These elements have collectively traversed approximately 11,500 nautical miles, equivalent to around 21,000 kilometres, with the longest element stretching more than 33 metres in span.”
“The roof has been designed to create the impression of a wave,” said Adam Shears, Theca Timber’s Director in Charge of the project. The roof’s height varies from 18 to 25 metres across different parts. The roof is built from repetitive modular elements, creating a seemingly complex shape from a relatively simple system. This approach will minimise waste and help ensure a safe and efficient building system.”
“As partners of Rubner, we were involved from the early stages of works,” Mr Shears said, with the Multiplex project team requesting qualified inputs to price the job during the tender phase: “The challenge was spelled out clearly: to identify the more sustainable and efficient way to transport the roof to the site, allowing for the quickest possible erection time while remaining as faithful as possible to the original project,” he said. “We responded with advanced construction solutions, DfMA strategies, and a sophisticated transport methodology.”
- To learn more about the Fish Market’s roof engineering, click here for Wood Central’s exclusive report last week.
