Whitehorse Performing Arts Centre
For City of Whitehorse
2024 IPWEA Excellence Award Winner for Best Public Works Project over $5m
Cover photography by Leo Showell
Our story
Also known as ‘The Round’, this $80 million new performing arts centre developed with architects BKK, Kerstin Thompson and ASPECT Studios was set in a topographically complicated precinct and within a flood plain with the building sited directly in the overland flow path. Works were staged over three stages and included new public realm, multistorey carpark, and highway access works. David Worsley was the Civil Engineering Lead for the project working within an allied consultant team.
A key objective was achieving a flood-proof building to make the development viable. David was responsible for the flood modelling study that created the flood-resilient building concept. The study incorporated climate change projections, accounting for anticipated increases in runoff and flooding.
This design involved changes to site grading and the installation of a culvert fully integrated with the main entrance to the building, as well as large underground trunk drainage infrastructure and swale drains to safely divert flows around the building.
"I appreciated David's client-focused approach. I found him responsive and proactive to come to the table to solve problems during a complex build."
— Andrew Butterfield, Project Director of Whitehorse Performing Arts Centre
