Case Studies

Situated on the northern side of Hamilton Island sits Element Hill. This stunning 8-bedroom home offers accommodation for up to 17 guests along with a private pool, gym and outdoor fire pit which overlooks the breathtaking views of the Whitsundays. The Kehoe Myers team were engaged for the Civil, Structural and Hydraulic Engineering services on this property. Our team faced complexities throughout the project which included the high retaining wall structures for the infinity style swimming pool to overlook the view. After the geotechnical test results were completed, it was revealed that the ground of the property was very rocky which meant our team had to alter the design to account for this. We had envisaged the use of a piling system in some areas which changed to a reinforced slab to accommodate the rocky soil. As Element Hill is in Australia’s cyclone prone area (areas within 50km of the Queensland coastline north of Bundaberg) the team also had to account for the cyclone events. This required the house to adhere to the Australian Standard AS/NZS 1170.2., as its location is in Wind Region C. Home in this area are to be designed to resist a cyclone with winds of 250 kilometres per hour. As Element Hill is built on a hillside, it is exposed to stronger winds of C4 category which requires a design site wind speed of 310km/h. Along with this, as the property is located on an island, the corrosive salty air and storm surges were other factors which had to be considered. Storm surges are when the tide reach unexpected highs during a storm event. This was taken into consideration when discussing the location of the home on the block. The corrosive salty air at Hamilton Island impacted the construction materials which were to be used, this therefore affected what materials were to be included in our structural design. This magnificent home nestled neatly on Hamilton Island provides the guests with luxurious accommodation in the heart of the Whitsundays, including many A-List Celebrities. We are excited to be able to add this to our ever-growing Luxury Residential Portfolio.