We are extremely proud to announce that Justin Mendiolea, has been awarded the Australian Steel Institute (ASI) Leadership in Steel Sustainability Innovation Award.
Over the past years our internal IP relating to connection design, detailing for erection / disassembly has been championed by Justin as the Chief Design Engineer and Design Manager for the business. Justin drives these outcomes working in conjunction with Architects, Detailers and Workshop mangers through the business, and is currently undertaking a Masters in Sustainability and Environmental Management to further his understanding in this area, specifically around climate change and embodied carbon.
Further to his work specifically regarding steel design, Justin also undertakes certification of all Civil Engineering aspects of work the business undertakes and is currently the appointed GSAP (Green Star Accredited Professional) on a number of our projects. He is actively involved in the ASI Committee in Queensland, and seeks to champion improved steel design processes through involvement with groups like the IStructe, whilst supporting undergraduate and PHD students from the University of Queensland during their work placements.
Read more about Justin’s work below:
Justin brings both technical expertise and local knowledge to every project. A strong advocate for sustainable design, he is a key player in Spaceframe’s sustainability efforts, working on numerous projects seeking Green Star certification and striving to bring similar sustainability initiatives into all our projects across the board.
Projects such as L’Oréal (Redbank, QLD) and Kilcoy Global Foods Value Add (Corbould Park, QLD) were designed and certified by Justin as the RPEQ Engineer, with Civil Engineering aspects of the design also certified under his remit.
These three projects have been showcased as they demonstrate the specific structural design intent with which Spaceframe undertakes its work, having developed a large body of Spaceframe-specific design and detailing tools over the past few years to drive sustainability outcomes. Spaceframe are able to invest the time in achieving these outcomes through their position as a one stop shop with Architects, Engineers, Detailers and Fabrication all internal to the business.
In these projects efficient portal frame and connection designs were achieved through an iterative design process where different arrangements of internal column supports and bay spacing was looked at, and the suspended offices floors. Workshop fabrication ideas that minimise weld lengths and welding difficulty are bought directly into the design office; and an iterative steel detailing process ensures steel wastage is kept a minimum through consideration made to stock and delivery lengths. Other design initiatives adopted in these projects include the use of non-typical lapped purlin designs; the use of unpropped Condeck solutions to reduce the embodied carbon associated with reinforced concrete solutions and the use of steel fibre reinforced concrete and footings.
In each of these projects the total tonnage and embodied carbon of structural elements was determined at an early stage in the design process, and through measures such as challenging the brief and iterative design processes the necessary upfront carbon reductions required by Green Star provisions were obtained at an early stage. The buildings were all designed to accommodate solar panels; the roof drainage system designs considered water re-use, and all steel was fabricated in Australia at Sencova Steel Fabricators.