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Wimbledon No.1 Court

2 mins
The retractable roof was the key feature of this project to make Wimbledon’s No.1 Court an all-weather tennis arena. Prater installed a 6,500 sqm aluminium standing seam metal roofing system plus 3,000 sqm of cladding to the outer wall. A phased approach ensured No.1 Court could still host matches.
Wimbledon no 1 court
Prater’s scope of works was to deliver an extensive roofing package for the iconic No.1 Court at Wimbledon, making it an all-weather tennis arena. The project, which was divided into three phases to enable the venue to carry on functioning, also sought to increase overall seating capacity to 12,400 by adding two new seating tiers. This required significant supporting structural steel frames.

Complexity

To meet the architect’s vision for a curved bowl, the complex roof design required detailed analysis of the structural and surface models generated by KSS Architects and Thornton Tomasetti. The steel structure provided a facetted surface, while the design intent required a smooth external roof surface. In order to overcome the varying distances between the structure and external surface, the roof was constructed using the BEMOFlex system, designed and built specifically for this project by BEMO.

The team also delivered a 3,000 sqm cladding package to the outer wall Kingspan façade with Bailey rainscreen cladding, soffits and bullnoses installed to both the inner and outer bowl.

Workmanship

Working alongside Bailey, BEMO, Sika Sarnafil, Radmat and other key supply chain partners, Prater installed a 6,500 sqm BEMO aluminium standing seam metal roofing system along with an extensive waterproof hot melt package.

Tapered insulation, rooflights, outlets and drainage calculations were manufactured based on the assumptions from one block. A rolling programme was introduced with communication from Mears Plc and Opus paramount to the success of the project by allowing inspections on the original roof to be undertaken the day it was exposed, allowing any changes to design to be implemented immediately.

Build-up

BEMOFlex aluminium standing seam metal roofing system; Bailey rainscreen cladding, soffits and bullnoses.

At a glance

  • Project: No.1 Court
  • Roofing Awards 2019 Winner: Sheeting and Cladding/Rainscreen
  • Location: Wimbledon
  • Roof Covering: Aluminium standing seam and rainscreen cladding
  • Client: The All England Lawn Tennis Club
  • Roofing Contractor: Prater Ltd
  • Main Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine
  • Cladding Consultant: Thornton Tomasetti
  • Architect: Grimshaw, KSS Architects
  • Supplier: BEMO and Bailey
  • Award Sponsor: Kingspan Insulated Panels

About Prater

Prater is the UK’s leading specialist building envelope contractor, a single source supplier capable of providing complete solutions from design and planning to manufacture and installation.

www.prater.co.uk

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