Old Perth Observatory
The customer asked to provide different options to permanently water-proof a historic building in the heart of Perth. After the best option was picked, legacy material and contaminations had to be carefully removed (including lead flashings and Asbestos layers). The original concrete roof top emerged with its beautiful architectural features (like drainage channels, stepd donws, and ornaments) and was prepared to receive a high-tech, seamless polyurethane membrane. The outcome delivered a stunning return to its orignal beauty, functionality, and appearance. The UV stable top coat colour was customised to match the original look. The roof top shed hundreds of kilos of un-neccesary products and is 100% protected from the elements now. Our specialised methods also meant that the historic geolocation datum did not have to be moved as we were able to encapsule and overcoat crucial contaminated areas of the footing (this allone saved the customer about 40,000 AUD in cost).
The original Perth Observatory was constructed in 1896 and was officially opened in 1900 by John Forrest, the first premier of Western Australia. The old observatory is located at Mount Eliza overlooking the city of Perth and today is providing office space for the National Trust. Its chief roles were keeping Standard Time for Western Australia and collecting meteorological data. It was also closely associated with the co-ordination of the surveys and the mapping of the State. In November 1900, the centre of the Transit Circle mounting at the Observatory was connected to the State triangulation system and, in 1901, was adopted as the origin of Western Australian Surveys. This historic Datum (and the entire roof-top) had been contaminated with Asbestos over the years as different methods of water-proofing were employed. Our solutions could not only provide non-toxic and environmentally friendly permanent water-proofing, but also re-established the original design of this part of the building.
ANOTHER VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER!