UNSW, Canberra Library Project
Client: UNSW, Canberra
Location: Canberra, ACT, Australia
UNSW Canberra, at the Australian Defence Force Academy, needed a customised storage solution to house and preserve its rare and valuable Special Collections, including the John Howard Collection. APC was awarded the contract based on its project management capabilities, as well as its ability to manufacture and install within a tight deadline.
Briefing:
The Special Collections are of national significance, comprising of three million documents and include the Australian Literary Collections, Military Collections and the John Howard Collection. APC was invited to put together a proposal to store the collection in the Special Collections Wing in the Academy Library.
Challenge:
The university required a purpose-built storage solution for its large number of important documents. Specifications stipulated mechanically assisted mobile shelving for easy access to the multitude of documents. The project was of high importance and needed to be completed around Special Collections staff and patrons.
Solution:
We installed an Ezi-Drive Aislesaver (mechanically assisted mobile shelving), which included customised pull-out reference shelves for quick access by archivists. Our storage solution also included incorporating Uni-Span (long span shelving) for archive box storage and purpose-built 14 drawer plan cabinets for documents and flat items into the mobile shelving system. Non-electrical and height adjustable workbenches were desired for the handling and viewing of documents. The benches were designed using pneumatics: a branch of engineering that uses gas or pressurised air; allowing the benches to be adjusted easily without electrical power. Two types of purpose-built trolleys were required: a box trolley, to store flat packed archive boxes which could be easily manoeuvred and a paper roll trolley, to conveniently store packaging paper. Detailed planning by our project management team was put in place to ensure the installation was completed with minimal disruption to staff and patrons. Our in-house design and engineering teams were involved to ensure the storage systems met the compliance standards of the library.
Result
APC delivered an outstanding customised storage area for UNSW. APC fulfilled the client’s vision while completing the project within a tight timeframe.
Go to UNSW Canberra Storage Update for a video walkthrough of the fitout.