Match, set and game!

A winning design by British architect scores points with players and engineers

FabricArchitectureMag.com | March 29, 2011

A new demountable sports canopy at the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton, England is the first of its type in the UK and a world first in the sports sector. Designed by George Stowell Chartered Practice, in collaboration with Airlight SA, Arup, form-TL and Canobbio SPA, this sports canopy utilizes composite pneumatic fabric beams in conjunction with efficient internal steel stiffening and an exoskeleton of tensile fabric and compressive Y-struts.

The canopy spans 42m and provides an economical and acoustically practical high-performance training environment. The design garnered a Special Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), UK in early March, 2011. Significantly, the design creates a huge saving in running costs compared to existing pneumatic structures, using up to 90% less energy, and compared to large-span metal structures, uses up to 75% fewer materials.

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