Intertek Sydney Laboratory.
A fuels, bitumen and chemical testing laboratory, built inside an operating industrial estate in Sydney’s south. JCGAU ran the feasibility, wrote the design brief with the client, and holds the design and construct contract through to handover.
In construction · Completion 2027
Laboratory construction in Sydney, without stopping the client’s business.
Intertek needed to relocate an operating testing laboratory to a new property in Botany. The facility carries dangerous goods, fume extraction and reticulated laboratory gases, and it sits in a live, tenanted estate where the neighbours keep trading every day of the build.
Intertek engaged JCGAU first for the feasibility. The study tested the candidate property against the way the laboratory actually runs, before the lease was committed: classification, approvals path, structure, services capacity, dangerous goods separation and access. When the study answered those questions, the same client awarded JCGAU the design and construct contract.
Under that contract JCGAU holds the full design team and the price together. Architecture, structural, building services, risk engineering and certification are all engaged under JCGAU, so the client deals with one party and one programme, and the design and the cost never have to be reconciled after the fact.
Six things that decide whether a laboratory works.
The partitions are the easy part. These are the items a laboratory buyer should test any builder on, and how each one is being handled on this project.
Change of use
Class 7b warehouse to Class 8 laboratory with Class 5 office. The change of use triggers the fire upgrade, which was identified at feasibility and carried in the scope from day one, not discovered at certification.
Dangerous goods
A dedicated dangerous goods store with separation distances, ventilation and fire ratings set by a risk engineering study and a hazardous area classification, then carried into signage, services and the certification path.
Fume extraction and gases
Fume cupboards with dedicated roof exhaust, interlocked to the building management system. Reticulated laboratory gases with hydrogen and oxygen-depletion detection, alarms and emergency stops.
Post-tensioned slab
No saw-cutting of the existing post-tensioned slab. Every penetration is located by ground-penetrating radar scan before it is made, and drainage and services are routed around the tendons.
Structure and roof plant
Structural steel and roof strengthening for new mechanical plant and exhaust fans, with every roof penetration scheduled, coordinated across trades and sealed as it is made.
Live estate
Hoarded work zone, managed deliveries and a loading zone kept clear for neighbouring tenants. Shared services are isolated by permit, so the estate keeps operating throughout.
One contractor from the first question to the last certificate.
- FeasibilityCandidate property tested against the operation before lease: classification, approvals, structure, services and dangerous goods.
- Design briefWritten from the client’s own account of how the laboratory runs, room by room and item by item, so it can be built to and tested at handover.
- Design managementArchitecture, structure, services, risk engineering and certification engaged and coordinated under JCGAU’s design and construct contract.
- Procurement and value managementScope split into twenty packages, advertised to the open market through EstimateOne. Value management run with every option priced and its consequence stated before the client decides.
- ApprovalsComplying development pathway with an appointed certifier, including the change of use and fire upgrade.
- Construction to handoverSite possession August 2026, construction since October 2026. Commissioning, testing and an indexed handover file the client can run the facility from.
What this project evidences.
| What you are assessing | Evidence on this project |
|---|---|
| Technical capability | Change of use to Class 8, a dangerous goods store, fume extraction and laboratory gases, delivered under one design and construct contract. |
| Design accountability | Every consultant engaged under JCGAU. One point of responsibility for design, cost, programme and certification. |
| Probity in procurement | Twenty packages advertised to the open market, not a closed panel. Every award traceable to its quotation for the client’s cost manager to audit. |
| Cost control | Value management run through each tender round, with each option priced and put to the client before it is adopted. |
| Working in live environments | Hoarded zone, permit-controlled shutdowns and a loading zone kept clear inside an operating, tenanted estate. |
| Client trust | The client tested JCGAU on a feasibility before awarding the build. Intertek can be approached as a referee for a live opportunity. |
Run to a written system, visible from the street.
- Site-specific WHS management plan and safe work method statements before work starts
- Every worker and subcontractor inducted and competency-checked through BuildPass
- Weekly site minutes and one monthly report to the client
- Variations priced and issued to the client before they are built
- Permit control for hot works, penetrations, isolations and roof access
What is being built.
One contract. One team.
- Client
- Intertek Testing Services
- Head contractor
- JCGAU · design and construct
- Architecture
- Engaged under JCGAU
- Structural engineering
- Engaged under JCGAU
- Building services
- Engaged under JCGAU
- Risk engineering and certification
- Engaged under JCGAU
Intertek is named with the client’s consent. Interior images are indicative design renders from the issued-for-construction set; completed photography will follow practical completion.
What buyers ask about this project.
Can we speak to Intertek about JCGAU?
Yes. Intertek has agreed to be named and can be approached as a referee for a live opportunity. Ask us and we will make the introduction.
Who held the design?
JCGAU. Under design and construct, the architect, engineers, risk engineer and certifier are engaged under our contract and coordinated by us, which is what makes the single point of accountability real rather than nominal.
How were the trades procured?
Twenty packages were advertised to the open market through EstimateOne rather than issued to a closed panel, so every rate in the price was competed for. Site access, induction and licence currency are then managed through BuildPass.
Do you only build laboratories?
No. This facility is a laboratory, a warehouse, an office and a reception under one contract, which is a fair description of most of the commercial and industrial work we take on across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
Can you work while our operation keeps running?
Yes. This project sits in a live, tenanted estate. Staging, permit-controlled shutdowns, deliveries and noisy works are planned at tender and priced, not discovered on site.
Planning a laboratory or technical fitout?
Send the site address and whatever drawings exist. A construction director will come back to you within two business days.
Where to go next.
- Laboratories and research facilitiesContainment, ventilation and equipment loads, where the services are the project.
- Design and constructOne contract carrying both the design and the price.
- Industrial fitoutOffice, amenities and plant inside an operating facility.
- Sydney and NSWLaboratory, commercial and industrial work across New South Wales.
Client website: Intertek.