The Concept

The addition of the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre Canopy allows international tournaments to be played during the day or at night and is designed to be a showpiece that ensures Adelaide a place on the international tennis stage for the long term. The highly visible nature of the roof required attention to detail in finish quality with premium fixing details integrated into the design to enhance the overall result. In addition to this, all works had to be in keeping with the architectural style of the sports and entertainment precinct and heritage buildings.

One of the standout aspects of the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre Canopy is its incredible long span, supported only by four perimeter columns. This presented a manufacturing and installation challenge with fabric panels in excess of 60m long. Special methods were developed to incrementally package and wrap panels as they were being fabricated as panels were larger than available factory floor space. The weight of the manufactured panels and the deployment position from the apex of the arch required a novel temporary works solution that could unwind the fabric panels downhill at a controlled speed to prevent damage or panel loss.

One of the main challenges to overcome on the project was the roofing structure had to have sufficient fall to avoid water ponding on the wide fabric sections and allowed for adequate drainage. The final design was a collaboration between the roof designer and the architect to develop the most efficient design geometry, while ensuring that the visible rainwater sumps were not detrimental to the overall design.