Across the line – Forsyth Barr Stadium - roof structure design by Sinclair Knight Merz from Commercial Design Trends volume 2712

The roof was a radical point of difference for the new stadium. One company was responsible for both the design of the roof and the supporting stand structures.
Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) designed a structure that was economically viable and also meets all safety codes for earthquake, snow, wind and crowd loading, says senior principal Trevor Robertson.
"The roof structure needed to be as slender as possible to minimise shadowing on the pitch – both for turf health and to avoid high contrasts for the television cameras. Careful analysis, detailed design and advanced techniques achieved this.
"For example, wind-tunnel testing was employed to refine the wind loading, while energy-dissipating devices between the support structure and roof ensure that earthquake loading was not an issue," says Robertson. "The steel tubing chosen for the roof structure has high structural efficiency, making it possible to specify a slender diameter."
The support stands were designed in concrete to avoid placing too high a demand on the steel fabricators, who were already dealing with the roof structure. Concrete provides better dynamic performance when subject to crowd loading and is an economical material. The stand supports utilise both in situ concrete and precast elements as appropriate to meet programme demands.
For details, contact Sinclair Knight Merz, phone (09) 928 5500. Website: www.globalskm.com
Slender supports were required to avoid throwing confusing shadows on the pitch.
Find out more:
www.skmconsulting.com
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