The completion of a memorial honouring the sacrifice made by servicemen, service women and their families has been judged the best construction project in New South Wales in 2019.

The completion of a memorial honouring the sacrifice made by servicemen, service women and their families has been judged the best construction project in New South Wales in 2019.

Construction company Built has won the Outstanding Construction Project Award as part of the 2019 Excellence in Construction Awards hosted by the Master Builders Association of New South Wales for its Anzac Memorial Centenary Project

Constructed over two and a half years at a cost of $40 million, the centrepiece of the development featured a water cascade that had been envisaged by the architect for the original memorial but not constructed at the time due to economic pressures during the 1930s.

As well, new underground and education spaces allow the memorial to showcase its collection and to deliver education programs.

The underground addition is organized around the new Hall of Service: this new public civic space is environmentally and visually connected to the existing memorial and its park setting though an open oculus, a direct reference to the memorial’s Well of Contemplation.

As well, new artworks which offer an opportunity to engage and reflect on NSW’s past have been integrated into the Hall of Service.

These include soil from 1701 places from around the state which are listed as places of enlistment for World War 1.

Technical challenges during construction included the need to undertaking piling immediately adjacent to the old memorial, complete a full refurbishment of the inside of the memorial and the inclusion of very large precast beams in the new memorial along with stone which was sourced from quarries in Australia which have now closed.

The newly completed memorial was opened by Prince Harry and Megan in October 2018

Built Managing Director Brett Mason said the company was honoured to deliver such a culturally significant project.

“Just to be part of a project which is so significant to all Australians, The Anzac War Memorial – it speaks for itself,” Mason said.

“It is so important to the culture of Australia. For us to be given the privilege to complete something that wasn’t able to be finished over 100 years ago has been so important for Built”

The MBA judging panel praised the development for its material selection, attention to detail and construction techniques.

“The builder demonstrated that the successful completion of the project was achieved by the client and builder working together in selecting and engaging the best possible team of consultants, specialist contractors, suppliers and specialist trades people, to work with the Built site team to be innovative in overcoming design problems and site constraints and completing this unique project within the very critical time frame,” a statement from the judging panel read.

The awards were presented on Saturday at The Star Event Centre.