Is the Once Ubiquitous Donga Dead?

The donga, a term considered uniquely Australia has a few meanings but arguably most often is used to refer to mining industry worker accommodation. When used in this context ‘donga’ will usually refer to a structure built with a focus on portability with rudimentary levels of comfort. But is this enough for the worker, the employer, the mining industry and growing interest in other industry sectors in 2010?

Will emerging modular construction design and installation techniques provide solutions for broader housing affordability in Australia?

Speaking at the Modular Building Conference at the Novotel Langley in Perth this week, Brian Hood, Regional Manager Sydney for Hutchinson Builders, together with colleagues from a variety of industry sectors, will deliver what may prove to be the collective eulogy for the once ubiquitous donga.

Brian will showcase a recent modular project providing a 60-bed student accommodation facility at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Hutchinson Builders is a large privately-owned construction company with a proud heritage stretching back almost 100 years. In the last few years in an effort to solve their own worker accommodation dilemma on large projects in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia, Hutchinson Builders has developed an innovative modular construction division that complements the existing construction, civil and engineering divisions within the company.

To comfortably accommodate and, most importantly retain, team members on our own projects, we needed to look closely at what was available, what the modular accommodation industry had to offer, what it was doing well, and where improvements might be made, said Greg Quinn Managing Director of Hutchinson Builders.

Our subsequent research led us to the strategic decision to establish our own modular construction division providing innovative design, construction, manufacture, installation and commissioning as well as on-going maintenance and facilities management services for a diverse range of modular construction markets, he added.

The response from our clients thus far has vindicated our decision to provide a full service solution, Greg added. We have worked closely with BMA (Australia’s largest coal miner and exporter, and the world's largest supplier to the seaborne coking coal market) to explore their needs and to provide them with, solutions. Hutchinson Builders has produced a cost-effective, innovative mining camp solution that is designed to extend the life cycle of the product, provide cost effective outcomes and to dramatically increase worker retention.

When asked to comment on The Australian National University modular student accommodation project, Keith Walker, Manager Facilities Operations at the University said that Hutchinson Builders, from the outset, was fully committed to the project and this commitment never waivered, he said.

They established a talented design team who brought up-to-date skills to the project and who were exceptional at listening to and interpreting the needs and expectations of The Australian National University. Whilst completing the building two weeks ahead of time and on budget they also provided a facility which met the ANU’s stringent environmental performance requirements and in some cases comprehensively exceeded a number of the BCA requirements such as the noise transmission between individual rooms and the thermal performance of the rooms, Keith added.

Hutchinson Builders was attentive to the expectations of the ANU community and responsive when needs arose to minimise the impact of the construction project on the day-to-day life of the Campus, he said.

Mr Walker invited interested parties to view details of the ANU project at the ANU web site as follows:

Further details on Hutchinson Builders can be found at;

Contact and more information
Alan Tayt
Hutchinson Builders
0427 026 001
(07) 3335 5077
atayt@hutchinsonbuilders.com.au