SSDA 2019 A W A R D
22 NSC
October 19
Wimbledon No.1 Court
This year the home of lawn tennis unveiled a new
retractable roof, allowing uninterrupted play,
irrespective of the weather, on its second mostimportant
The centrepiece of the Wimbledon
No.1 Court redevelopment, which
has increased the capacity of the
arena with two additional tiers
with 900 seats, added hospitality facilities
and improved public catering areas, is a new
retractable roof similar in design to the one
spanning Centre Court (an SSDA winner in
2009).
The project is said to have thrown up
some unique logistical challenges due to the
fact that nothing could get in the way of the
all-important tennis taking place during its
annual allotted two-week period.
Consequently, the project was completed
over three phases, with two breaks in the
schedule to allow The Championships in
2017 and 2018 to take place. The final steel
roof elements were installed this Spring,
allowing the construction programme to
be completed a month before the 2019
Championship began.
The sequencing involved a large logistical
exercise, whereby all construction equipment
and materials were decamped for the
duration and then brought back a fortnight
later. All areas where construction work had
taken place had to be made safe, to allow
spectators full use of the prestigious tennis
venue.
The new roof is based on a concertina
design with two main sections that meet
in the middle. The structure covers an area
of about 5,500m2 and can be deployed or
retracted in around eight minutes. It consists
of 11 steel trusses, each spanning 75m across
the top of the court, and each having an
overall height of 6.5m.
Ten of the trusses are identical prismatic
sections, but one, the most southerly, is
rectangular in shape and slightly heavier at
65t instead of 60t.
“Ordinarily five trusses are parked at the
north end and six at the south, and when
deployed they all move inwards to cover
the court,” explains Thornton Thomasetti
Associate Director Michael Roberts.
“However, to maximise the amount of
sunlight on the grass, all of the trusses can
be moved to the north end with the eleventh
rectangular truss being the last in line.
“Having no fixed restraining arms
attached to the surrounding fixed roof, this
truss needed to be a different shape.”
court.
© AELTC/Joe Toth
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