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Experience and lessons learned 165

during which parts of T Plant also served as a sodium research laboratory and a spent
fuel store.
In 1992, the T Plant was selected over other Hanford facilities as the centralized
decontamination facility for the Hanford Site. A canyon facility like T Plant is par-
ticularly fit for solid waste treatment for the following reasons: heavy shielding
(concrete walls from 1 to 1.5 m thick), a large open work bay (250m 12m), a
75-t overhead crane with a shielded craneway, and rail access. In addition, the
T Plant canyon had been decontaminated in 1956 and had low levels of residual
contamination.

6.2.1.15 Electrical substations
Substations are places where electrical lines are linked and switched and where the
voltage is changed from high to low, or vice versa. Outdoor structures consist of
wooden poles, truss towers, tubular frameworks etc. If there is plenty of space and
visual appearance is not an issue, truss towers are normally installed to support elec-
trical lines. Instead. low-profile substations may be required where appearance is more
critical. For example, the surfaces of urban substations can be polished to give an
attractive appearance and better fit with city buildings nearby. A few redevelopment
cases follow.
Built in 1924, Electricity Substation No. 109 is an example of the original network
of over 360 substations built by Sydney Municipal Council from 1904 to 1936, which
first supplied electricity to Sydney. The period and location of the substation reflect
the growth of Sydney’s electricity network. Visually, the building exhibits the char-
acteristic modest form, quality of design, and construction for Sydney’s substations,
which were designed to a higher standard than strictly required for their functions in
order to alleviate community resistance to the intrusion of new technologies and har-
monize with urban streetscapes.
Electricity Substation No. 109 is a specimen of typical architecture of the 1920s
applied to a utilitarian building including the heavy masonry construction, vertical
emphasis, asymmetry, roof form concealed by parapet wall, contrasting face brick-
¸
work and render, piers dividing the facade into bays, stepped skyline, piers projecting
above the parapet, multipaned timber windows, original signage, and elegant curved
architrave over the entrance. The dual street frontage is uncommon for substations in
the local area, which typically have an open transmission yard to the side. The sub-
station remained in service for almost 70 years. The property was eventually sold in
December 1994.
The building was briefly used as a timber store and carpentry workshop before
2012. The adaptive reuse of this building for commercial uses has conserved its archi-
tectural integrity as a recognizable former substation (City of Sydney, 2015).
An outdoor project is described in Architecture and Design (2017). The project
transformed the main campus of a Californian utility company, Burbank Water and
Power, from an industrial legacy into a sustainable use. The masterplan key feature
was a regenerative green space, including a number of sustainable landscape
technologies.