Indian Wells Tennis Garden near Palm Springs, California, is home to the third-largest tennis stadium in the world. In preparation for hosting the annual BNP Paribas Open, the owners wished to install a shade canopy that would protect viewers from the desert heat and perpetual sun while also being lightweight, low-impact on the site, and quickly ready for installation in time for the annual tennis tournament.
A coated PES tensile membrane structure was selected to provide an elegant yet affordable solution. Structurflex was engaged to translate design concepts into design documents, prepare final engineering documents, coordinate with the general contractor and sub-trades, supply all structural steel, and fabricate and install the membrane.
The tensile membrane was designed to be installed in a specific pattern to create an aesthetically pleasing exterior view. To avoid complex trusses that would detract from the clean simplicity of the long spans, single tube sections of steel were used for support. We incorporated ETFE caps that were slightly raised above the rings, to allow heat to rise and escape.
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“Napkin Sketches Turn into Stunning Structure”
We are pleased to have collaborated with KieranTimberlake and the outfit of a parking structure on the Rice University Campus. In their blog post, they describe the concepts they employed to create an iconic sculptural element. For more details see the KieranTimberlake blog post.
The Increasing Importance of DurabilityWhile tensile fabric has several distinct advantages over more traditional materials like glass, one of the most important may be its ability to withstand severe weather events. Our tensile structures and tensile facades in Miami, Jacksonville, Houston, Fort Worth, Waco, and Atlanta did not sustain any damage or require any repair despite enduring events ranging […]