TRENDS IDEAS MAGAZINE

"TEAM EFFORT"

Darling Harbour's Watershed Hotel was completed in nine weeks by OneBuild. Rebuilding a commercial property generally needs to be completed quickly, not only to keep costs down, but also because lost operating time equates to lost profits. The Watershed Hotel in Sydney's Darling Harbour was built on the site of an older restaurant by construction company OneBuild, which worked with owner Trans Media, project managers APP and architect Patrick Nicholas Design to complete the project within nine weeks including the Christmas period.

The new hotel covers two floors, with a large main bar area for food and drinks on the lower level and a Heineken bar and lounge upstairs. On the lower level, outdoor seating overlooks the promenade around Darling Harbour. This level also has inside access to the Harbourside tourist shopping precinct. Director of OneBuild Tom Silk says his company was able to complete the project on time because of its practice of working as a team with both the client and the architect.

"Our primary objective in any project we undertake is to earn and maintain the confidence of our client by performing efficiently and with professionalism," he says.

"Our key focus is communication between all parties and we put maximum resources behind planning and systems in the initial stages of the project. From this vantage point, we deliver what the client wants and, importantly, when they want it," says Silk.

"We've used this approach across all types of projects including commercial, industrial, retail, telecommunications, hospitality, health and educational buildings."