Arthur Phillip High School

Paramatta CBD NSW

The NSW Dept of Education commissioned this multi storey school as part of the redevelopment of inner city education.  This project was considered a prototype both in its application and its use of exposed steelwork

Given the location there was a considerable emphasis placed on an open and architectural feel hence the reason steel was selected, however, passive fire protection to the almost 50% of the steel which was external was a major problem to be solved.  Given the multiple requirements for passive fire protection of up to two hours, durability of coating, the intricate design of the steel elements and the need for an architectural finish the selection of a product proved to be problematic.

The International Paints product, Chartek has been successfully used in the Oil and Gas sector for many years, however, it was never considered that it could be applied with the high level architectural finish required.

Our role was to develop an application method that would meet these needs and still ensure that the project could remain under budget.

A paint facility was created in the premises of the steel manufacturer, SA Structural and though a series of test applications, a method was developed where the application of the Chartek would mimic that of the passive fire protection used on the internal elements of the building.  This included pre-treating the material in a method requiring specific approval from International Paints, a change away from the standard pump recommended for this application and a complete revision of the painters application technique.

The resulting bespoke finish created by Portolesi Structural is so similar to standard intumescent paint that almost impossible to identify and the steel throughout the building has an even feel regardless of where it is installed.

As one of the largest passive fire projects in Australia for 2018, the outcome exceeded the expectations of all stakeholders and we believe, ensures Portolesi Structural is the leader in this type of work for any project, regardless of where, in Australia the project is located.