Engineering Vivacity Stage 2: Our Largest Mixed-Use Precinct

At its completion, Vivacity Stage 2 (5 Uhrig Road, Lidcombe) stood as the largest structural engineering project in JSBC Consulting’s history. Designed by BVN Architects, this monumental mixed-use precinct features 584 apartments across six towers—reaching up to 30 storeys—alongside a dedicated 7-storey commercial building.

1. The Structural Challenge: Scale & Integration

Delivering seven distinct buildings on a single site requires masterful structural coordination and highly efficient load management.

The Shared Podium:

The towers are anchored by a sprawling, landscaped ground-floor podium featuring a swimming pool. JSBC engineered a high-strength post-tensioned slab to safely support the immense dead loads of the water and deep-soil landscaping.

Load Transfers:

We designed a robust transfer system within the podium to capture the vertical gravity loads of the 30-storey towers above, funneling them safely around the commercial and retail space below to ensure highly leasable ground floors.

2. Mastering Structural Movement: Permanent Movement Joints (PMJs)

Connecting seven distinct buildings—ranging from a 7-storey commercial block to 30-storey residential towers—over a single massive subterranean footprint introduces extreme risks of building movement.

To prevent severe cracking, JSBC engineered strategic Permanent Movement Joints (PMJs) throughout the lower levels. These joints essentially decouple the heavy structures. By physically separating the slabs at critical junctions, we allowed each tower to move at its own rate, sway independently under high wind loads, and naturally expand or contract with temperature changes—all while functioning seamlessly as one unified precinct for the public.