RAAF Base Darwin

This 80-lot residential subdivision was delivered under a design and construct (D&C) model for Defence Housing Australia, with BMD Urban as the head contractor. Empower was engaged to provide full civil design services, subconsultant coordination, construction supervision, and certification for the RAAF Base development.

Empower developed and refined layout options to meet an evolving client brief, incorporating value engineering initiatives that optimised land use, reduced infrastructure costs, and enhanced constructability.

Empower’s engagement commenced with early contractor involvement (ECI) services and extended through detailed design, documentation, and delivery. Responsibilities included:

• Civil and infrastructure design coordination
• Management of subconsultants and regulatory approvals
• Construction phase support and certification for handover.

The scope covered the design and construction of 80 housing lots within a sensitive stormwater environment, requiring careful management of existing contamination and rapid design iterations to accommodate changing site conditions.

Empower’s design solutions focused on earthworks efficiency and cost-effective retaining systems, achieving significant infrastructure savings while meeting Defence Housing Australia’s design intent.

Through close collaboration with the BMD Group and client teams across Canberra and Darwin, Empower delivered coordinated and responsive design outcomes despite challenging site conditions.

Innovative earthworks design enabled retention of mature trees and minimised vegetation loss, supporting the client’s environmental objectives. Empower also met compressed design timeframes to ensure construction commencement ahead of the wet season, maintaining program certainty for the project.