CluBarham Bowling Green Canopy
Project Details
Location: Barham, NSW
Completion Date: September 2022
Size: 1906 sqm
Fabric: PTFE - Chukoh FGT800
Client: Barham Services Club
Photography: © Nicholas Brennan * CluBarham
The CluBarham Bowling Green Canopy, affectionally dubbed The River Dome, was completed in mid-2022 is another fantastic example of a large-span tensile membrane roof used for a sporting application.
The Concept
The 1906 sqm PTFE lawn bowls roof is an example of MakMax TensoSport-MAX Hawksbill leaning-arch style canopy. This striking visual design employs leaning arches and valley cables to create the exciting sawtooth profile.
The Materials
The lawn bowls roof is clad in PTFE, a highly-translucent and long-lasting tensile membrane. PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) coated high translucency glass fibre fabric is a dynamic tensile material unmatched for its aesthetics and durability, making it ideal for tensile membrane structures and shade structures.
PTFE has approximately twice the translucency of PVC – this means that the lighting level on the CluBarham green will be up to twice the lighting level of a PVC alternative. This will improve visibility for club bowlers and is less likely to require artificial lighting during daylight hours – resulting in energy savings for the club.
With the project straddling the difficult COVID-19 period of 2020-2021, border closures and lockdowns made the installation phase especially challenging. When state borders finally reopened in 2022, MakMax’s expert membrane installation partners, Sky Skills Industries and SkyMaze Industries joined forces to complete the job. Check out more installation photos here.
The Result
The CluBarham Bowling Green Canopy played a large role in the overall club redevelopment works. Speaking to Llyod Polkinghorne from The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, Barham Bowling Club president, Reg Scott, said he found himself in a privileged position to see the club advancing.
“From old to new, and this new is just fantastic. It’s going to be so good that it is going to blow people away. We’ve had people coming off the street the last couple of days we’ve been open, or they want to join membership socially, we want to be able to play bowls here.”
Read more about the opening night celebrations.
But WAIT – the story doesn’t end there, with The River Dome being extended to cover the second green – coming in late 2024 – the all bigger lawn bowls roof at Club Barham is set to open.
