«
»

RENO FREIGHT HOUSE


THE CHALLENGE – MAKE A MEMBRANE THAT DOES THE JOB OF GLASS FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST

The Freight House District is a year-round entertainment complex attached to the Aces Ballpark in east downtown Reno, Las Vegas. It hosts concerts, festivals and other attractions throughout the year. The project’s architect had envisaged a glass canopy for the all-weather entertainment area; however, the project managers quickly identified that glass would be too costly. Aside from the high material costs, glass is heavy and requires more structural steel for support.

Structurflex embraced the task of adapting the canopy concept to ETFE film, which is significantly less expensive and provides the required shelter without limiting natural light. Our experience with KC Live, a project that had involved the same architect, gave everyone confidence that our team would deliver an excellent outcome.

THE SOLUTION – A GROUND-BREAKING MEMBRANE STRUCTURE TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL VISION

We were determined to insure the decision to use ETFE wouldn’t be seen as a cost-cutting compromise, so project-specific detailing was developed to enable a virtually-flat membrane that would resemble glass. Our team used cables that clip onto purlins in the transverse direction – an innovation new to the tensile membrane world.

Structurflex maintained control of the complete process: design and engineering, coordination with other trades, and supervision of the steel erection process, as well as supply and installation of the membrane system.

The resulting roof provides sun and rain protection, while also defining the outdoor entertainment space. It has been highly praised by performers, patrons and tenants.



Download Project Profile

LOCATION
Reno, Nevada, USA

SOLUTION

MATERIAL TYPE

SURFACE AREA
789M2 / 8,500FT2

APPLICATION

ARCHITECT
Beyer Blinder Belle

CONTRACTOR
Devcon Construction, Inc.

DEVELOPER
Nevada Land, LLC

ETFE cover for Reno's new entertainment district

Contact Us For More Details

BLOG

West Hills Medical Office Building

The five-story, 60’s era West Hills Medical Office Building in Los Angeles was due for an exterior facelift. A complete exterior renovation by Michael W. Folonis Architects revealed that water infiltration had caused structural damage to the existing horizontal plaster awnings; removing them was a costly process that consumed much of the project budget. This […]

KieranTimberlake: Printed Tensile Cladding at Rice University

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.

Our Turnkey Process:

facebook googleplus instagram linkedin twitter

© 2024 Structurflex

Baytex / Covertex / Structurflex (NZ)