Westfield Bondi Junction Roof

The Ask:
Replace four damaged skylight panels without disrupting busy shoppers.

The Scene:
Bondi Junction is one of Westfield’s busiest shopping centres in Australia. Our job was to replace four damaged skylight panels that weighed 170kg each and measured 2m x 2m.

We could only work at night, when the mall was closed; roof weight limits meant only less than 100kg was allowed on each panel at a time - so no glass could be carried over the roof, and no crane was able to reach the roof as it was located inside the shopping centre. In addition, the existing panels had water ingress issues.

Result:
We took three months to glass match against a discontinued product, with new Low E coated energy efficient glass. For installation we devised a rope access method so that the glass weight was distributed to the rope system, suspended over the roof and not handled by people. The rope systems were motorised, creating manoeuvrability and taking the full weight of the glass. The method ensured the highest possible safety outcomes for Westfield and was applauded by the national Scentre Safety team.