Terracade by Austral Bricks

Chadstone Place, a $100 million expansion, allows the centre to regain the title of Australia’s largest shopping centre and brings Main Street back to the shopping experience. “We wanted to create a point of difference with this precinct”, explains Andrew Mackenzie, project director for architects The Buchan Group, “to put it in a Main Street environment with Main Street componentry such as street lighting and a substantial landscape to give it a softer edge”.

Working with him on the project were Ossy De Silva, project architect, and Brenton Reynolds, design assistant. Construction was carried out over an existing carpark, which placed load limitations that precluded conventional walling solutions such as precast concrete. Terraçade, Austral Bricks’ revolutionary lightweight terracotta façade system, not only ticked that box but gave the project a raft of other pluses.

Terraçade – pronounced as in “terracotta façade” – is available in two systems. The heavier duty system, Terraçade XPTM, is suitable for buildings to 40 storeys and was selected for this project. Its lighter cousin, Terraçade TNTM, is ideal for smaller projects including residential. Both systems use the same size tile module: 600x300mm. Both are installed similarly.

The wall structure is battened and where necessary a breathable Frameshield 100 vapour and moisture membrane is installed. Aluminium mounting rails are then fastened and the tile modules are captured on these rails and finished with anodised or powder-coated trims. All Terraçade tiles have the long life, colourfastness and natural appearance characteristic of genuine kiln-fired terracotta.

“We chose Terraçade because of the variation in texture and colour that allowed us to create the look of a series of individual buildings along the ‘Main Street’ façade”, Mackenzie explains. “It is also a lighter product which gave us the flexibility to create a series of varying façade treatments.”

Complementing the Terraçade façades and reinforcing the Main Street theme are extensive areas of paving, predominantly in Austral Bricks Terrace Red clay pavers complemented by a smaller number of Terrace Cream clay pavers. The pavers are mortared to a series of concrete slabs and finished with narrow – three to five millimetre – slurry-filled gaps. The paving stretches along the development frontage and down Chadstone Lane and is particularly distinguished by a series of paved steps and entranceways. “The standard size pavers have a finer grain and we were conscious of the need for that with this sort of sidewalk treatment”, says Mackenzie.

The development is also the first Australian shopping centre to be awarded a 5 Star Green Star Certified Rating from the Green Building Council’s Shopping Centre Design pilot rating scheme.

“The execution of the Terraçade installation is fantastic”, commends Andrew Mackenzie. “All the feedback we are getting from the head building contractor and the owners is that the installers have done a great job and the product is really doing what they hoped it would do. Everybody’s happy!”