ShapeShift Technologies provides GRC and FRC material solutions for architectural façades, wall cladding and bespoke building elements. We collaborate with architects, façade consultants and building professionals to develop lightweight, durable solutions tailored to projects across Brisbane and Queensland.
ShapeShift Technologies’ Queensland work runs from major transport infrastructure through to one of the most technically demanding interior geometries the company has built.
| Project | Architect | Builder | Material | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross River Rail | HASSELL and Weston Williamson + Partners | PULSE Consortium | ShapeShell™-RC | Facade, exterior wall cladding and structural finishes |
| Brisbane Girls Grammar School Science Learning Centre | m3architecture | Lendlease | ShapeShell™-RC | Central void and soffit panels, over 100 double curvature panels |
| Abian Tower | ShapeShell™-RT | Internal cladding | ||
| Marina Concourse | The Buchan Group | Sunland Group | ShapeShell™-RT | Facade feature |
| Parklands Disk, Commonwealth Games Village | ARM Architecture | ShapeShell™-RT | Public artwork |
Queensland covers a wider range of exposure conditions than any other Australian market ShapeShift Technologies supplies. Coastal and subtropical exposure in the south east, cyclonic wind regions further north, and high UV load throughout. Three consequences follow for panel selection.
First, corrosion. In a humid coastal setting, reinforcement corrosion is the mechanism that ends most concrete facades, and ShapeShell™-RC has no steel in the panel to corrode. Second, wind. Cyclonic regions drive the structural design of both the panel and its fixing, so the wind actions and deflection limits belong in the specification rather than being assumed. Third, colour stability under UV, which is a coatings question and one reason through-pigmented colour is specified in preference to a painted finish where it suits the design.
The Science Learning Centre at Brisbane Girls Grammar is the clearest example of what glass reinforced concrete does that other non-combustible cladding cannot. The building’s plan is a square with a circle cut from its centre, and the void through it is a funnel curved in two directions. Over 100 double curvature GRC panels line it, almost none of them identical, meeting each other in a space students look down through seven levels.
Queensland work has been delivered with HASSELL, Weston Williamson + Partners, m3architecture, The Buchan Group and ARM Architecture, and with builders including Lendlease, the PULSE Consortium and Sunland Group.
The sequence is the same wherever the building is. Panel types are rationalised against the elevations, because mould count rather than area is what drives cost and programme in a moulded material. The fixing approach is engineered with the structural engineer and the builder, including whether fixings are concealed and whether a single panel can be replaced later without disturbing its neighbours. Moulds are fabricated from the approved shop drawings, panels are manufactured and finished, and delivery is sequenced to the install program.
Two things are worth settling early on any job. The first is the panel type count, the only large cost lever still available at design stage. The second is the fire evidence, because a compliance question raised late can force a material substitution after the facade has been priced. Both are covered in what drives GRC panel cost and non-combustible facade cladding.
Does ShapeShift Technologies supply projects in this city?
Yes. Panels are manufactured and delivered to site, and the projects listed above were all supplied that way.
What is the typical scope?
Design, engineering and manufacture of feature elements, from standard panels in stock sizes through to one-off sculptural work. Installation is generally carried out by the builder or a specialist installer.
Which material suits my project?
GRC for external facades and anything needing to be non-combustible, FRP for sculptural, long-span or weight-critical elements, GRG for interiors. The comparison is in FRP vs GRC vs GRG.
To scope a package, send the elevations, the dead load allowance and the compliance pathway through contact. Other cities are listed at facade projects by location.
