project

Convertible Roof for the Centercourt Hamburg-Rothenbaum

Prev project Next project
  • Court

General information

  • Location address
    Hamburg
  • Location country
    Germany
  • Year of construction
    1998
  • Function of building
    Stadia
  • Climatic zone
    Temperate - cold winters and mild summers

Description

On account of the generally unstable weather conditions in early May, always the period for the annual German Open tennis tournament, it was decided to construct a canopy that will provide shelter from the rain while maintaining the character of an open-air event.

This unique structure – developed in co-operation with the Stuttgart engineering firm Sobek + Partner – is basically two-fold: a permanently covered edge structure ca. 17m wide, and a circular opening, 63m in diameter, to be covered by a retractable awning. This membrane is made of a PVC-coated, diaphanous white polyester fabric. The material was manufactured specially for this purpose and is extremely strong and weather-proof despite the fact that it is only 1.2 mm thick.

The designers developed a column-free steel cable structure spanning more than 100m, similar to the spokes of a wheel, to carry the largely retractable translucent awning. Electrical mechanisms are able to fold approx. 3,000m² of roofing fabric within four minutes to one central point without casting disturbing shadows on the court

Description of the environmental conditions

General comments, links


Material of the cover

  • Cable-net/Fabric/Hybrid/Foil
    Cable
  • Material Fabric/Foil
    Polyester
  • Material coating
    PVC

Main dimensions and form

  • Covered surface (m2)
    3000
  • Total length (m)
    102

Duration of use

  • Temporary or permanent structure
    Temporary
  • Convertible or mobile
    Convertible
  • Design lifespan in years
    00-05

Involved companies

Editor