A sporting stand in Brisbane has used a fabric roofing product in a unique application.
Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane is an icon in the city. The main stand — the John Power Stand — was built in the 1950s and had visible signs of aging with an unsightly concrete ceiling viewable from the main observation area.
MakMax was engaged to supply a permeable ceiling structure to cover the concrete from view while allowing access for inspection purposes. It also needed to eliminate nesting areas for birds under the old roof. One key feature was it had to not only be functional, but also look aesthetically pleasing.
“Concrete had begun spalling from the soffit this was repaired and certified by independent structural engineers,” Matthew Vincent says, business development manager at MakMax.
“The ceiling structure needed to add an aesthetic appeal and rejuvenated appearance to the aging spectator stand. MakMax engineers also noted that there was a lack or natural light entering the far end of the structure.”
MakMax engineers, along with Fabspan, used the perimeter of the building as well as the support columns to sustain the fabric, a PVC-coated mesh fabric which is most commonly used in semi-outdoor ceiling applications. Man holes were also designed to allow for periodic inspections of the soffit as well as cleaning any fallen debris.
“The openings also required steel rings for support — all these fixings are held in place by the fabric alone,” Vincent says.
“Using a permeable fabric means the supporting structure will not be as stressed by wind loads as it would be if an impermeable fabric were used. As with any tensile membrane project, the fabric is tensioned or stretched and patterned to ensure a custom fit.”
The Ferrari Precontraint 392 fabric is a high tensile PVC lacquered product manufactured by Ferrari Textiles.
“Due to the short lead time on this project, Innova International supplied the fabric from their Melbourne depot,” Vincent says.
“The fabric is formed from an open weave base cloth which is then lacquered on both sides with PVC. The mesh allows for air and liquid to flow through the membrane while also supplying great tensile strength.”
A total of 1,000 sqm of fabric was used on the project and was patterned to form five cone-like shapes running the length of the stand. Each conical shape coincided with a support column, which meant very little additional steel was required to support the structure.
The fabric can also be completely recycled through the Texyloop system, an initiative of Ferrari Textiles.
The advantage of using a mesh fabric means air circulates through the membrane and ensures the concrete soffit receives ventilation. It also means designers have more potential for creative design as they can manipulate the roofing material.
To install the product, the fabric was tensioned out to ensure adequate prestress to minimise deflection.
Vincent says “Access to the underside of the stand roof was challenging and required the use of up to four boom lifts working at any one time.”
