JURY CITATION
As with traditional shearing sheds, the architecture of this project is all about the roof. At the Deepwater Woolshed, however, the big sprawling roof has been totally revised using an off-the-shelf rolled Colorbond product called Aramax. The architect has not only employed the structural capacity inherent in Aramax to bridge the long spans between just three portal frames, but the roofing product also extends way beyond the end frames to create massive overhangs that increase the protected sheep handling areas.
Stutchbury has also re-interpreted another Australian classic, the Coolgardie safe, traditionally made of wet hessian bags. This time, expanded metal mesh provides the perforated surface necessary for the evaporative cooling effects, as well as serving as a sun-shading device.
The Deepwater project also includes a smaller ancillary building for the spraying and drenching of sheep. Here the Aramax roof sheeting is anchored to the storage block and cantilevers over a large work area uninhibited by columns.
In both the main shed and ancillary building, the suitably super-scaled folded plate profile of Aramax reads clearly in the expansive rural landscape, striking a memorable profile and a lasting impression of the good sense that emerges from a highly productive client-architect collaboration.
DEEPWATER WOOLSHED
Architect Stutchbury & Pape. Project architect Sacha Zehnder, Peter Stutchbury. Design architect Peter Stutchbury. Structural consultant Structural Mechanics and Dynamics: Professor Max Irvine. Builder Atlex Stockyards: Ian Crafter. Station manager The Bulls Run: Andrew King. Photographer Patrick Bingham Hall, Peter Stutchbury.
