When the Dulux® corporate head office was refurbished, the Dulux® Protective Coatings team was ready with a first-class steel protection system.
Dulux's corporate head office is a striking, four-storey structure with a vibrant red and orange colour palette. Its high visibility location on Melbourne's busy Dandenong Road makes it especially eye-catching, not to mention its unique design. The building utilises a cantilevered floating slab construction, supported by five external trussed posts that extend diagonally outwards from the ground to the curved roof.
According to project coordinator, Yuying Lim, the refurbishment was prompted by general wear and tear.
"The condition of the existing coatings were fair, although there were several unpainted areas. While protecting those surfaces, we decided a general freshen up was needed to represent the brand at its best," he explains.
Two-part coatings system does the job
Senior Business Development Executive, Daniel McKeown says Dulux Protective Coatings provided specification advice for the entire building refurbishment, including the precast concrete panels.
Coatings contractors Higgins were selected to brush- and roller-coat the building in its striking, signature colour scheme. A two-part system was specified for all steel elements:
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Coat 1: Dulux® Durebild® STE. This high performing, surface tolerant epoxy has been developed specifically for Australian and New Zealand conditions.
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Coat 2: Dulux® Weathermax® HBR. This locally developed, high build recoatable polyurethane coating can be used over a wide range of suitably primed substrates such as mild steel, galvanised steel, concrete and aluminium. It is ideal for high build roller or brush application.
"The contractors found both products very easy to apply," Yuying says. "The excellent finish is exactly what we wanted for the Dulux head office – home to all our brands as well as our industry-leading research and development lab and product testing facilities."
Leveraging Dulux's in-house expertise
Yuying says a highlight of the refurbishment project was the opportunity to use the relevant expertise and resources within the Dulux business to achieve an outstanding outcome.
"Here at Dulux, we have the benefit of expert coatings products and specifications from Dulux Protective Coatings, along with colour advice from the Dulux Colour Studio, concept art from our creative agency Pod and of course paint supply from our Dulux Trade Store network," explains Yuying.
A contemporary colour palette was chosen for the refurbishment, including the following Dulux colours:
Looking good for years to come
"The combination of Durebild STE and Weathermax HBR is a proven system, chosen to refresh all surfaces and continue to keep corrosion at bay," Daniel explains.
"We are very pleased with the result. It's really enhanced and modernised the look of our headquarters," said Yuying.
