A new A$3.2 million facility in Bendigo is providing hi-tech solutions to local businesses, combining state of the art technology with simple, high quality design.

The Bendigo Business Continuity Centre is the first building in the new Central Victoria Innovation Park. Operated by Bendigo Community Telco, the new world class computer centre is the information technology hub of Central Victoria.

One of the very few continuity facilities built outside of a capital city, the Business Continuity Centre provides a secure, high availability site housing large scale computer equipment. It offers business continuity, disaster recovery, and managed storage solutions for organizations and individuals looking to store their data offsite securely and cost effectively.

"It's a data centre primarily used for various regional businesses to back up and recover data," explains Manager, Peter Kellett.

"Increasingly, businesses have to comply with regulations that require them to have adequate business continuity plans basically, a way of ensuring that their most valuable asset information can be retrieved, should anything happen to it through incidents such as fire or major power loss."

"A requirement of most business continuity plans is that a business' information is stored in another site which is what we are providing. We also supply them with an alternative processing facility in time of need, and provide 'home from home' office facilities for key employees. This is the best data centre in regional Victoria," adds Peter.

While the Bendigo Business Continuity Centre is intended for small to medium businesses, it's Bendigo's largest organizations that have been the first to utilize the facility. "Our customers include a regional bank, a hospital group, a council, and education authorities basically, the six or seven largest organizations in the regions," says Peter.

The 1,000 square metre centre covers a single story, consisting of two parts office accommodation, and a concrete bunker which is used to house the data essentially, a secure room, protected by major structural, and fire protection systems. "It's a matter of pride that the architect, the builder, the electrical contractor, the security provider the people who built this Centre are all Bendigo locals," says Peter.

The complex combines simple, clean lines, with strong materials and a modern feel. Architect Robert Toon from Toon Architects Group explains: "Simplicity, along with high quality design was a key factor from the onset. A very tight budget and completion timeframe within a booming construction environment meant the approach needed to be relatively conventional and uncomplicated."

According to Robert, it was important that the new building integrated with its residential and retail surrounds, while providing aesthetic guidance for future buildings in the Innovation Park. "It's the first building in the Park, so it had to set the benchmark for future park development. It had to possess a high tech feel, yet also be discreet and blend into its surroundings. It was an interesting contrast to blend with the environment yet also reflect the tenants' central purpose."

Featuring glazed tiled walls, corrugated steel, and zinc cladding, the Centre sits comfortably in its surroundings. A major feature of the building is its curved roof and ribs, which were designed to coincide with module grid points on the building's floor plan. "The curved roofs accentuate and define the shape of the building. The curves also give the structure a soft look and fit in with the residential surrounds," says Robert.

600 square metres of LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® in ZINCALUME® steel was used for the Centre's roof. One of BlueScope Lysaght's premier products, LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® is the original corrugated roofing profile.

"We selected LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® for a domestic residential feel. The durability of steel, and the fewer joints needed provided water tightness, which is very important for a building such as this. Steel is also fire resistant, and allowed us to achieve the curved shapes," Robert explains.

Robert acknowledges that the technical support received from BlueScope Lysaght was instrumental in achieving the desired result.

"The curved roof design was done in consultation with BlueScope Lysaght, particularly with regard to the grid spacing, tie down, and purlin spacing," says Robert. "We had a great deal of technical support from BlueScope Lysaght, they were terrific in giving feedback and making sure we didn't do it without the appropriate background knowledge. The curve was established with their input."

The use of ZINCALUME® steel gives a clean, neutral appearance to the building's roof.

"The ZINCALUME® steel finish appears to shimmer and glisten when sun catches it," says Robert. "It's also quite neutral in appearance, contrasting with the different materials and textures used for the building's walls achieving simple, clean lines above the hi-tech detailing of the building's theme."

All roofing material for the project was supplied and installed by Ray Wild Plumbing, which was also responsible for all the general plumbing water service, sewer, stormwater, and fire. "The roof was done in two stages firstly the flat roof in LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK® and then the curved roofs in LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB®", says Peter Fitzpatrick of Ray Wild.

"We used 600 square metres of CUSTOM ORB® for the roof, because it allowed us to achieve the curved shape," he adds. "We also used 380 square metres of LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK 700 HI-STRENGTH®, it's a really user friendly product to use, easy to install and quick. I suggested the use of LYSAGHT KLIP-LOK® at tender time and the client was happy with that. We use LYSAGHT® products quite a lot, they are one of our major roofing suppliers. LYSAGHT® is a better product at the end of day, on this project they provided us with what we needed."