ShapeShift Technologies provides fibre-reinforced material solutions for architectural façades, wall cladding and bespoke building elements. We collaborate with architects, façade consultants and building professionals to develop lightweight material tailored to projects across Melbourne and Victoria.
Melbourne is ShapeShift Technologies’ largest body of Australian work, spanning stadium and transport infrastructure, university buildings, apartment towers and some of the city’s best-known public art.
| Project | Architect | Builder | Material | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Stadium | Grimshaw | John Holland | ShapeShell™-RC | Feature elements |
| West Gate Tunnel | Wood Marsh | CPB Contractors and John Holland | ShapeShell™-RT | Civil infrastructure |
| Pakenham Station | Genton | North Western Program Alliance | ShapeShell™-RT | Canopy |
| Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre | STHDI+MCR | Grocon PCL | ShapeShell™-RT | Facade and colonnade |
| Deakin University Law School | Woods Bagot | ShapeShell™-RT | Internal | |
| Victoria Pride Centre | Grant Amon Architects and Brearley Architects + Urbanists | Hansen Yuncken | ShapeShell™-RT | Facade feature |
| RMIT Penrose Building | ARM Architecture | ISIS | ShapeShell™-RT | Building facade |
| Swanston Square Apartment Tower | ARM Architecture | Probuild | ShapeShell™-RT | Facade |
| Orbis Apartments | ARM Architecture | LU Simon | ShapeShell™-RT | Facade |
| Wesley Place | Cox Architecture | Lendlease | ShapeShell™-RT | Pillar Facade |
| Moondani Balluk, Victoria University | Gresley Abas | SHAPE | ShapeShell™-RC | Cantilevered planters |
| Gem, Waterline Place | Elenberg Fraser | Buildcorp Commercial | ShapeShell™-RC | Terrace planters |
| Piccolo House | Taylor Cullity Lethlean | Lang Construction | ShapeShell™-RC | Planter Box |
| Jackson House | Architectus | Maxcon Constructions | ShapeShell™-RC | Facade |
| Little Saigon Welcome Arch | McBride Charles Ryan | MouldCAM | ShapeShell™-RT | Public artwork |
| Docklands BeachBall | McBride Charles Ryan | Brookfield Multiplex | ShapeShell™-RT | Building artwork |
| 308 Exhibition Street | Fender Katsalidis and Cox Architecture | Multiplex | ShapeShell™-RC | Podium |
| Circle of Elders | Dja Yingila Art & Rebecca Phillips | ICON | ShapeShell™-RT | Public artwork |
| Shipwreck | Denton Corker Marshall, McGregor Coxall | Simpson Construction Company | ShapeShell™-RT | Public artwork |
| 11 Eastern Road | Rothelowman | Hacer | ShapeShell™-RT | Internal |
Two patterns stand out in the Melbourne portfolio. The first is sculptural and public art work, which is why so many of these projects use ShapeShell-RT: fibre reinforced polymer is the lightest of the substrates and holds the sharpest detail, which is what an arch, a sphere or a modelled facade needs. The second is civil and transport infrastructure, where elements have to survive public exposure and be replaceable without closing the asset.
Melbourne’s climate adds a specific design consideration. The daily temperature range is wide, and thermal movement across a large panel is absorbed by the joint rather than by the panel. Joint width, sealant selection and the movement allowance at each edge are where thin-section facades succeed or fail, and they belong in the design rather than in the site meeting.
Melbourne work has been delivered with ARM Architecture, McBride Charles Ryan, Cox Architecture, Elenberg Fraser, Architectus, Gresley Abas, Grant Amon Architects, Brearley Architects + Urbanists and Taylor Cullity Lethlean, and with builders including Lendlease, Probuild, Hansen Yuncken, Brookfield Multiplex, LU Simon, Buildcorp Commercial, SHAPE, ISIS, MouldCAM and Lang Construction.
For the FRP-specific detail on Melbourne work see architectural FRP in Melbourne.
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.
FRP, fibre reinforced polymer, is the lightest of the three ShapeShell materials and the one specified most often in Melbourne for large curved facade elements, canopies, soffits, screens and balustrades, where weight has to come off the structure.
Melbourne pushes projects toward FRP for different reasons. Large daily temperature swings make thermal movement a real design case, and a light panel on a well detailed fixing accommodates it more easily than a heavy one. Tight CBD and tram corridor sites also limit crane access and road occupancy, so reducing panel mass shortens the install window.
FRP is not a non combustible material. On external walls it is assessed through the performance solution pathway, supported by a full scale AS 5113 facade fire test, AS 5637 Group 1 and EN 13501-1 B-s2,d0. Where a project requires non combustibility to AS 1530.1, the GRC route, ShapeShell-RC, is the answer instead.
Sizes, finishes, fixing detail and the full specification sit on the ShapeShell-RT page, and the material choice across the whole range is compared on cladding panels compared.
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.
