DCWC is thrilled to have contributed Quantity Surveying services to this state-of-the-art facility, the only one in the southern hemisphere.
The Australian Catholic University has recently launched its human metabolic chamber at the Melbourne campus. DCWC provided full quantity surveying services across: Concept Design; Schematic Design; Design Development Cost Plans; and Contract Administration Services.
Crafted by leading experts from Maastricht Instruments in the Netherlands, the metabolic chamber, also known as a whole-room calorimeter, was completed in late 2023, with the human trial having commenced in early 2024.
The unit was installed in an existing teaching space that required modification to receive the metabolic chambers. Our specialist MEP team played a key role in the project providing first principal services estimates for adaptations of underfloor services and installation of new equipment in remote plantrooms. This early advice identified budget pressures that were relieved via early value management. We also identified exchange rate risk with a contingency allowance that mirrored Euro/AUD exchange rate trends.
This new addition strengthens ACU's health research capabilities, particularly in obesity, Type 2 diabetes, sleep, circadian biology, and sports nutrition. Whole-room calorimeters are sealed rooms that track energy expenditure during sleep, rest, and physical activity, as well as the thermic effect of food. Participants may reside in the chamber overnight or, for prolonged studies, several days.
As fresh air circulates through the chamber, analysers measure the outgoing carbon dioxide and oxygen ratios in real time. This process enables researchers to ascertain the role of consumed fats, carbohydrates, and proteins in energy expenditure throughout the chamber stay. Post-intervention shifts in the "fuel mix," such as those caused by overfeeding or exercise-induced energy deficits, can be detected.
The ACU chamber is a culmination of 35 years of premier metabolic research by the Metabolic Research Unit Maastricht (MRUM) in the Netherlands, and further cements ACU's global leadership in metabolic disease, exercise and diet research. The facility includes:
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Two fully-equipped rooms for brief (overnight) or longer (multi-day) stays
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A comprehensive physiological and environmental data acquisition system that provides both raw and processed data
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Advanced environment control system for temperature and humidity
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Sampling interfaces for blood, urine, faeces
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Environmental control (hypoxia, lighting), different room configurations, or additional physiological measurements (physical activity, ECG, heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, skin temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose)
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