Flood Protection for Government Building, Canberra

FloodFree was engaged to supply and install a series of engineered flood barriers for a new government building in Canberra, providing reliable flood protection while maintaining the building’s architectural design and public accessibility.

The project included the installation of five passive, self-deploying flood barriers across key building openings, including pedestrian entrances, café access points, entry walkways and the internal courtyard. Designed to protect the site from flood levels of up to 750mm, the barriers provide robust protection without disrupting daily operations.

The system comprises three Concealed Flood Barriers (CFB) and two Tilting Flood Barriers (TFB), custom-designed to suit each opening:

  • Concealed Flood Barrier:  12,150 mm (W) × 500 mm (H)

  • Concealed Flood Barrier:  2,400 mm (W) × 500 mm (H)

  • Concealed Flood Barrier: 3,600 mm (W) × 750 mm (H)

  • Passive Tilting Flood Barrier: 5,800 mm (W) × 500 mm (H)

  • Passive Tilting Flood Barrier: 1,500 mm (W) × 500 mm (H)

These flood barriers are all passive systems that operate on the principles of buoyancy, so they self-deploy when floodwater rises, requiring no power or manual intervention. Integrated alarm panels alert people in the vicinity when the barriers begin deploying, ensuring safety for building occupants and pedestrians.

With protection provided across openings of up to 12 metres wide, the system forms a continuous flood defence around vulnerable entry points while allowing unrestricted access during normal conditions.

To ensure the flood protection measures complemented the building’s architecture, side panels and barrier surfaces were powder-coated to match the surrounding wall finishes, preserving the visual aesthetics of the façade.

The FloodFree team worked closely with project partners to custom-design flood protection barriers that met site constraints, architectural preferences and operational requirements, delivering resilient flood mitigation while maintaining the building’s functionality and design intent.