The Ken Rosewall Arena Description

The Ken Rosewall Arena project is a redevelopment project for the original stadium which was constructed in 2000 for the Sydney Olympic Games. The project included the installation of an innovative cable-tension and PTFE fabric design roof. The striking new roof is the first of its kind for stadia in Australia. The redevelopment has transformed the venue into a multi-purpose outdoor covered arena with new and upgraded facilities. The arena now operates as a multi-purpose venue, including tennis and netball, and is home to the Sydney Giants.

DESIGN / FABRICATION / INSTALLATION BRIEF

The Ken Rosewall Arena redevelopment project aimed to transform the existing tennis arena from an open-air venue into a multi-purpose indoor arena. The idea behind the roof was to allow the venue to operate unaffected by environmental impacts such as extreme heat, wind, and rain. The client requested a solution that could transform the venue into a multi-purpose outdoor covered arena with upsized in-stadia videoboards, new seating, and shade for 10,000 spectators.

Entrant: Light Weight Structures

• Location: Mooloolaba
• Client: Mooloolaba Bowls Club
• Completion Date: November 2011

Judges Comments:

"An elegant project - the best of the bowling club offerings. As well as taking care of core business, the structure lends some design distinction to a town not oversupplied with architectural gems."

Award of Excellence LSAA 2018 Design Awards Large Structures (Cat 4, 4101)

Application: Bowling green tensile membrane roof

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The overall project was specifically conceived and designed to provide a community meeting point to focus and reinvigorate the residents of a depressed suburb which had been in steady decline for more than 30 years. Many residents of this suburb are elderly and due to transportation access and costs seldom left their homes, hence social integration and community interaction was poor. The additional aim of the project was to have the elderly and young be involved in community based sports and activities to invigorate, inspire and bond fellow citizens.

Mehler Coated Technical Textiles supplied large quantities of coated fabric for the 2015 Milan Expo.

The major application was for sun shading the two main axes of the Expo. The 85,000 sqm of fabric was essentially planar rectangular panels attached to opposing valley and ridge cables.

One important concept behind the simple forms was the re-use of the fabric following the Expo.

Other projects included:

• Iranian Pavillion (2,500 sqm)
• Ferreo Pavillion (1,600 sqm)
• Institution Bologna Pavillion (4,500 sqm)
• Tent at the entrance (6,000 sqm)

For further details see HERE

LSAA 2011 Design Award Entry (4322): Cablenet Zoo Aviaries 

APPLICATION OF PROJECT 

As part of a major upgrade to Auckland Zoo, Fabric Structure Systems built four new aviaries to accommodate different New Zealand bird & animal species.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Thirteen years in the planning and almost four years in the design and building, Te Wao Nui is Auckland Zoo’s most significant project in its eighty-eight-year history. Covering more than 20 percent of the zoo’s seventeen hectares, the exhibit showcases New Zealand species in their natural environment.

The Glen ETFE Entry Canopy Description

The Glen ETFE entry canopy was designed to cover the outdoor food court area as part of the shopping centre’s AUD$490 million redevelopment in East Melbourne.

Fabritecture completed the design & construction of a steel and single-skin ETFE clad canopy to provide protection for patrons from the wind & rain in the outdoor dining precinct. The client also desired an aesthetic feature roof with custom artwork printed into the ETFE that would be synonymous with the culture of the surrounding area and that would enhance the overall look and feel of the Centre.

Entered into the 2009 LSAA Design Awards, Category 4 (4022)

Entrant: Structurflex Ltd - Engineering Fabrication Installation
Location: Kaipara Harbour
Client: Keystone Trust
Architect: Noel Lane Architects
Struct. Eng.: Structure Design & Compusoft Engineering
Builder: Grayson Engineering
Fabricator: Structurflex

No further details have been entered for this project at this stage.

Entrant: Light Weight Structures

• Location: Neath Street Cessnock NSW

• Client: East Cessnock Bowls Club

• Completion Date: September 2012

APPLICATION OF PROJECT:

The project covered one Bowling Green measuring 1820 sqmts. The project was designed to offer weather protection to bowlers, including night time use of the Bowling Green (in a residential setting) and minimal cleaning maintenance over the life of the structure.

LSAA 2011 Design Award Entry: Cat 4, (7008) Panoli Gate - India

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

As a flagship development in the area Panoli needed a striking and unique entrance. MakMax’s Indian office was able to provide a prominent entrance structure to suit. The project, Panoli Gate House presented a new challenge for MakMax engineers. The large 1,300 sqm area required shade, weather protection, as well as a plan for collecting run off. Inspired by the design and functionality of the St Tropez products MakMax already produces as standard products, engineers decided to replicate this shape and function on a grand scale.

Entrant: Architectural Sails (Qld) Pty Ltd - Contractor
Location: Lot 108 Nicholson St - Greenslopes Qld 4120
Client: Ramsey Health Care
Architect: Phillips Smith Conwell Architects Pty Ltd
Struct. Eng.: Bligh Tanner & Wade Design Engineers
Others: Ozrig Pty Ltd (Installation)
Builder: John Holland Pty Ltd
Fabricator: Ruffles Engineering & Atkins Fabrication

This project was entered in the LSAA 2009 Design Awards, Category 3. (#3120)

No further details have been entered for this project

LSAA 2007 Design Award Entry (Cat 3, 3002)

Entrant: Taiyo Membrane Corp (Later as MakMax in Australia)

Client: Major Projects Australia      Architect: Peddle Thorpe Architects
Structural Engineer: Xiang Du (TMC) & Connell Mott McDonald
Specialist Consultant(s): Connell Wagner (steel design)
Builder: John Holland Pty Ltd

Application and Function:

Designed to be suitable both during and after major events, the roof has been designed in two sections.
Section one is a permanent roof made from PTFE fabric.  This roof covers the pool as well as stadium seating for 3,000 spectators.  Section two extends the roof for “Commonwealth Games” mode.
Two temporary PVC roofs are erected either side of the permanent roof to cover a further 8,000 seats. The temporary structures create a festive effect with their high pitches and large sloping support columns.

Entered into the LSAA 2011 Awards (Cat 4, 4610)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Sheltered below an innovative woven timber canopy, new amenities for visitors to the Waitomo Caves includes tourist gathering areas, 250-seat dining, retail, seminar and exhibition areas as well as a café and theatre for Tourism Holdings Ltd (Fig.1). (Note: These Figures / drawings are not available)

The cave entrance is accessed from the car park on the upper path while a lower path returns the visitors back alongside the stream exit (Fig. 2). Between these paths the amenities were accommodated within a simple base structure that extended the contours of the land (Fig. 3). The form of the base is distinguished and separate from the curved geometry of the overhead canopy.