APPLICATION OF PROJECT:
To Provide weather protection for patrons of the golf club with a lightweight, nautical architectural feel but engineered strong enough to handle the extreme coastal weather conditions.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
RGC - The site is a Golf club that has been looking for ways to increase revenue for more financial security. The club was looking for help to modernise the look of the club to increase patron numbers and hire capabilities. They were looking for a creative and unique design to draw patrons to the outside dining area of the venue that had amazing views. They also wanted a structure that would not get damaged by flying golf balls and draw the eye out to the view. A tension membrane structure was the perfect solution for this application.
DESIGN / FABRICATION / INSTALLATION BRIEF
The first objective for this project was to create a structure that protected the patrons from sun and wind to obtain more outdoor seating area to provide more income for the club.
The second objective was to design a structure that blended in architecturally with the oceanside surrounds from a visual perspective.
The third objective was to create to achieve this above with a lightweight looking structure, yet engineered to withstand extreme coastal winds.
The forth objective was to span the whole perimeter frame with the PVC Fabric to make the structure look Nautical like a boat sail.
We spent a lot of time at the front end on creating a design that was very nautically themed. Our clients were looking for a structure looked light weight in steel framework yet was strong enough to withstand the extreme weather conditions that the area receives. This is quite challenging as it was an old building and the structural integrity of the building was not sufficient for us to anchor our structure to.
Therefore we designed a freestanding structure which was complex as this usually requires thick and heavy steel. We had to be creative in our engineering in the way to utilise bracing in the right geometric areas that would strengthen the steel in the right areas to keep steel deflections to the amount that is acceptable for the building code. We determined that to keep the steel member sizes small, that some bracing across the span was required. As the client wanted a clear span, we put this bracing across the top of the membrane skin so as to conceal them visually from underneath and from outside the leading edge of the structure.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS
The site has a beautiful view of the ocean, so we designed the geometry to open out to the leading edge of the view. The direction of this view was in the corner of the Balcony area, so we designed the high points of the structure to this corner, we were a bit concerned this would change the aspect direction of the rest of the building, so we placed the lower edges strategically, so the view really opened up.
The result of this extensive design work was a structure that met all the requirements that they client was after:
- A unique shaped structure that was architecturally themed to the location
- A structure that is strong enough to withstand the sever coastal weather
- A structure that the client could use to project lights to theme events under.
- A structure with a real outdoor feel, yet provide excellent coverage
- A final product that created an outdoor area to draw patrons outside and provide more income for the club.
Since this structure has been installed, the club has been doing out Jazz sessions on Sundays and has increased the function hire space available to patrons which in turn has turned around the clubs financial position.
After a few months, the club gained enough new revenue to then paint and style the exterior of the club to match. The outdoor area has now become a real focal point for this venue.
Our structure is placed on an old concrete slab. There were no structural drawings to work with. Therefore, when we designed and engineered this structure, we need to place all our structures columns in the areas where the slab had columns underneath in the pro shop.
Unfortunately, these were not in symmetrical areas of the slab. So, what we did was use fork style columns and spread them out to lessen the visual impact of the asymmetrical locations. These fork columns also helped keep the member sizes down so as not to block too much of the view and to open the eye to the corner of the structure of the view.
These fork columns also helped us to create a nice cantilever of the leading edge.
MATERIALS
Fabric selection is always really important in these designs and we paid special attention to this. The client wanted the area to feel outdoors and not like a closed in membrane structure. Therefore, we used a high translucent pvc that helped the colours from the sky and clouds to radiate through the skin to almost feel like it is not there at times. We also chose a fabric that can project well on to so lights and images can be projected on to during the night.
Entrant: Pattons
Role of Entrant: Design, Fabricate, Project Manage, Install
Client: Randwick GVold Club
