Creating distinctive architectural finishes has traditionally required a trade-off between design ambition, construction cost and labour availability.

Architects increasingly want façades that reflect local identity, culture and place. However, achieving highly customised finishes can introduce significant complexity, particularly when projects rely on specialist trades, intricate installation processes or labour-intensive construction methods.

As labour shortages and programme pressures continue to affect the construction industry, designers and project teams are increasingly seeking ways to deliver unique architectural outcomes without adding unnecessary complexity to project delivery.

Formliner technology is helping address this challenge.

By integrating texture, pattern and artwork directly into precast concrete during manufacture, formliners enable highly customised finishes to be achieved within controlled production environments, reducing the need for additional façade treatments and specialist site labour.

National Precast Supplier member Ausliners recently demonstrated this approach through its involvement in a large-scale Indigenous artwork installation delivered for Mercy Hospital.

Developed over an eight-month period in collaboration with the precaster and design consultants, the project required the accurate reproduction of detailed Indigenous artwork across multiple precast concrete panels measuring 5.7 metres by 2.85 metres while maintaining manufacturing practicality and surface consistency.

Balancing design intent with practical delivery

For the project team, the challenge extended beyond creating a decorative concrete finish.

The scale and detail of the artwork created significant coordination requirements throughout the design and manufacturing process. Surface consistency needed to be maintained across multiple panels while preserving the integrity and visual intent of the artwork itself.

Traditional façade finishing methods would likely have introduced additional complexity, particularly given the scale of the artwork and the level of detail required.

Instead, the project team sought a solution capable of embedding the artwork directly into the precast manufacturing process.

Ausliners was engaged to develop a custom polyurethane formliner capable of accurately reproducing the artwork while remaining durable enough for practical use within a precast production environment.

According to Ausliners Director Mario Tsirbas, achieving the required level of detail while maintaining manufacturing practicality became a key focus throughout the development process.

“The challenge was not simply creating texture within the panel,” says Tsirbas.

“It was ensuring the artwork could be reproduced accurately and consistently while still working practically within the precast manufacturing process.”

Developing the solution

Ausliners designs and manufactures its formliners in-house at its Bayswater North facility using Australian-sourced polyurethane and proprietary formulations developed to improve durability while reducing stretching and tearing during repeated use.

The company was established following extensive research and development aimed at creating a more robust and practical formliner solution for the Australian precast industry.

For the Mercy Hospital project, extensive coordination was undertaken throughout the development process to refine the final mould design and ensure the completed surface achieved the desired visual outcome.

The resulting custom formliner enabled the artwork to be integrated directly into the precast elements, eliminating the need for additional applied façade treatments following installation.

This approach simplified delivery while ensuring the artwork remained an integral part of the architectural precast elements.

Expanding possibilities for architectural precast

The Mercy Hospital project reflects broader growth in the use of textured and patterned precast systems across commercial and civic construction projects throughout Australia.

Formliners are increasingly being used to replicate materials such as brick, stone and timber, while also enabling custom patterns, artwork and textured finishes that would traditionally require specialist trades or additional site works.

As the construction sector continues to navigate labour shortages, rising costs and increasing pressure to improve delivery efficiency, designers are increasingly looking for solutions that combine architectural freedom with practical constructability.

The Mercy Hospital artwork project demonstrates how custom formliner systems can help bridge the gap between architectural ambition and practical project delivery.

By integrating complex textures and artwork directly into the manufacturing process, project teams can achieve highly customised finishes while maintaining production consistency, durability and construction efficiency.

As architectural concrete continues to evolve, textured precast systems are likely to play an increasingly important role in helping designers deliver distinctive, place-based outcomes without compromising project efficiency or buildability.

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