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Project Details

Fabric 1

Mehatop FR900N
Producer/Manufacturer: Mehler Texnologies GmbH
Primary Use: Main Fabric

Fabric 2

Commercial Heavy 430
Producer/Manufacturer: Gale Pacific USA Inc.
Primary Use: Additional Fabric

Engineer Company 1
MakMax Australia

Design Company
MakMax Australia

Fabrication Company
MakMax Australia

Subcontractor Company
Abstract Solutions

Project Manager Company
MakMax Australia

Installation Company
MakMax Australia

Please describe the project specifications

Growing in membership over the past decade, Waikerie Bowling Club chose to invest in a tensile membrane bowling green canopy covering two bowling greens. The club firmly believed the addition of “The Dome” would increase membership, improve playing conditions under the hot sun, and allow for bigger state-level bowling competition to be held in Waikerie. Waikerie Bowling Club received support from club members, local council and the Government’s Building Better Regions Fund to build the UV-protective shade structure.

The club wanted their “Waikerie Dome” to stand out, and so we proposed a high arch design supported by diagonal side structs. The design is different to most of the full cover bowling green domes already built in Australia. The parallel central arches that support the fabric help to create the long undulating canopy profile, while providing high-open area under the canopy to allow air-flow.

The 3450 m2 membrane canopy that covers Waikerie’s double bowling greens allows year-round utilisation of the bowling greens, irrespective of the weather conditions. Bowlers can also enjoy night bowling under “The Dome” which is lit with state-of-the-art LED sports lighting.
The playing area canopy is created with Valmex Mehatop FR900N by Mehler Texnologies, an architectural-grade PVC fabric with PVDF coating. The white PVC membrane was chosen for its lightweight and flexible properties, the ability to provide a uniform 8% translucency (approx.) to optimise natural lighting and provide very good resistance to harmful UV rays. The fabric’s highly concentrated nanoparticle PVDF surface treatment is naturally dirt-resistant, and the self-cleaning properties protect the canopy membrane against the dust of the regional area of South Australia.

Our engineers and designers worked closely with the Bowling Club owners to come up with a canopy design that would suit their budget, while still looking unique compared to other Bowls Club roofing. The club chose our Single Long Arch Design with an additional HDPE Mesh screen on the Western side of the structure, providing further player protection from late afternoon sun, and wind when blowing from that direction.

During installation, protection of the recently installed synthetic bowling green surface was a high priority. Working directly with the synthetic surface installer, we were able to implement a solution that would protect the carpet surface by utilising discarded bowls lawn matting and plywood. This allowed our boom lifts to traverse the surface and work without causing a disturbance to the greens.

The canopy design included an LED lighting solution. We used upward-facing LED light panels to bounce light off the PVC canopy and back down to the playing surface. This solution provides a softer, diffuse lighting average of 300LUX on the playing surface, without shining directly into the eyes of the bowlers. The reflected light from the wide-open canopy also helps to distribute light evening across the bowling greens, reducing sharp shadowing cause by directional flood lights. In order to reduce power consumption for the club, the lighting grid was split into separate channels so that each green to be lit independently.

The remote location, 2.5 hours from Adelaide was in equal degree an advantage and disadvantage during installation. The additional distances required for freight, parts and install crews to travel added additional complexity to the install planning phase. However, the remote location also meant that there was very little obstructions around the site – so access for cranes was far easier than similar urban-area projects we have completed.

What is unique or complex about the project?

Getting to work with a clients keen to have a structure that stands out gave us freedom to propose a number of unique touches and details. While the structure itself was relatively simple in architectural terms, the attention to detail in order to make the canopy both functional and beautiful is what excited us on the job.

Waikerie Bowling Club are extremely satisfied with their new Dome cover and are seeing great responses from members and the community. The new Bowling Green Canopy is attracting more people to the club and invites bigger competitions to the region. It has provided a boost to the club with bowling all year long and night bowling under “The Dome”.

We were proud to have been able to deliver a highly visible and attractive sports canopy that has become a local attraction in the small regional town.

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