East Maitland Bowling Club Canopy
Project Details
Location: East Maitland, NSW
Completion Date: August 2013
Size: 1760 sqm
Fabric: PTFE - Sheerfill V
Client: East Maitland Bowling Club Ltd
MakMax Australia was engaged in late 2012 to design and construct the East Maitland Bowling Club Canopy, with the project completed in August 2013.
Initially brought on through a pre-construction design agreement, we worked closely with EJE Architecture to incorporate the East Maitland Bowling Club Canopy into the club’s existing Development Approval (DA) documentation. The final design features a lightweight PTFE fabric membrane, tensioned over a structurally engineered steel frame with customised footings.
The 38m x 41m bowling green canopy is an example of our early Bow String Design (later renamed to the Hawksbill, as part of our TensoSport-MAX range of bowling green canopy designs).
The Concept
The Materials
The canopy is fabricated using Sheerfill V, a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) coated high-translucency glass fibre fabric known for its strength, durability, and aesthetic qualities. This material is ideally suited for large-span tensile membrane structures and provides excellent natural light transmission, while remaining highly resistant to extreme weather.
Initially, 1000W floodlights were installed in lightboxes suspended from the roof, designed to reflect light off the canopy. These were later replaced with smaller, down-facing floodlights. Advances in LED technology now offer a more efficient, low-profile lighting solution for modern bowling green canopies.
