The Bushfire Centre of Excellence is a state-of-the-art facility located in Nambeelup, WA. Designed by Site Architecture and built for the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), the centre was built to provide a central hub for training, research and development, and emergency management in bushfire-prone areas. Castledex were involved in the supply of workstations and loose furniture that support the daily operations of this critical DFES operations hub.

The goal of the project was to create a world-class facility that would support an array of functions from administration and training, as well as a hub for emergency response during bushfire crisis. The centre was designed to promote innovation and collaboration, and to provide a safe and functional space for emergency management personnel.

We worked closely with the Site design team to understand the design intent and functional requirements. We also worked through sample review and prototyping with DFES stakeholders, to ensure the solution we provided was in line with their requirements and the requirements of their daily centre users.

We provided a range of furniture solutions for the centre, including workstations, taskchairs, storage, soft seating, and other seating designed to allow tired firefighters a place to rest after an enduring crisis situation. We neeed to ensure that the furniture and finishes were durable and easy to maintain.

One of our key solutions was the provision of ergonomic task seating and height adjustable workstation solutions for the centre's administration areas. As well as ergonomic seating for training and conference rooms. This solution ensured that the centre's personnel were able to sit comfortably during long learning sessions. We also provided mobile furniture solutions that could be easily moved to accommodate the centre’s changing needs and scenarios.

The solutions provided by Castledex complemented the architectural design and met the functional needs of the centre. With the use of our furniture, the centre was able to provide a comfortable and functional environment for the centre's personnel to work, train and collaborate.

The Bushfire Centre of Excellence is a project Castledex are incredibly proud to have been involved in, and is one that continues to provide the community with an integral value through the important work and resourcing they provide to regional areas of WA impacted by bushfires.

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2023 WA Architecture Awards

• Commendation for Educational Architecture