Local architects have been selected to draw up $27 million of TAFE upgrades in Kalgoorlie and Albany.
Local architects have been selected draw up $27 million of TAFE upgrades in Kalgoorlie and Albany.
Zuideveld Marchant Hur (ZMH) has been appointed to design the Kalgoorlie TAFE upgrades, while H+H Architects will blueprint the $17 million Albany TAFE upgrades.
The Kalgoorlie and Albany campus upgrades comprise a portion of the record $167.4 million allocated towards upgrading infrastructure across Western Australia’s TAFE colleges.
ZMH is a Perth-based architectural practice, while H+H Architects is based in Albany, with offices in Kalgoorlie and Bunbury.
ZMH’s work will consist of designing an $8 million trades workshop targeted towards expanding training for engineering and plant mechanics trades.
A further $2 million was allocated towards the installation of industry-standard equipment in existing buildings.
The 50-year-old trade facilities at South Regional TAFE’s Albany campus will be replaced by new workshops designed by H+H Architects, which the government said would deliver training for jobs in metals and engineering, automotive, building and construction, and carpentry and joinery trades.
The projects are aimed at addressing workforce demands of the resources industry across the Goldfields, and those of specialist trades in the Great Southern.
Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery said the investment in Albany would generate local jobs in construction, increase student capacity on campus, and ensure local youth and jobseekers would provide training opportunities.
“This is an exciting new chapter for trades training in the Great Southern and will encourage young people in the region to gain skills in job growth areas that will result in long-term jobs,” she said.
H+H Architects’ previous work includes the UWA Science Building in Albany, Great Southern Grammar, and Albany Residential College.
“This is terrific news for Albany and the wider Great Southern region and I am thrilled to see a local architect in H+H get the opportunity to design what will be state-of-the-art facilities,” Albany MLA Peter Watson said.
Construction for the Kalgoorlie and Albany TAFE campus upgrades is expected to start in August and November 2021, respectively.
