1. MARGARET COURT ARENA PROJECT:
PLEATED ROOF THE CROWNING FEATURE
TheMargaretCourtArenaprojectseesthetransformationofanexisting,
under-utilised outdoor tennis court into a year round entertainment
venue according to Aurecon Project Director Mark Sheldon. The arena
is the final element in the first stage of the $366 million Melbourne
Park upgrade.
On completion the 7,500 seat arena will be suitable for tennis, basketball, netball,
concert events and will be fully air-conditioned. The crowning feature and most visual
component of the venue is a sleek, copper penny coloured roof structure which is
acoustically lined, and can be opened or closed in under five minutes.
To produce the “pleated” roof structure, the shape of the major trusses represent a
series of interlocking props and ties, and give the appearance that the top chord of
the truss has been omitted. The trusses are fabricated from 610mm dia and 508mm
dia CHS members, typically ranging in thicknesses from 12.7mm up to 50.1mm.
Utilising the pleated shape of the roof, the operable roof panels consist of a series of
folded plates which work as trusses that “lean” on each other, with external members
added to accommodate the out-of-balance loads at the perimeter.
Pictured: The major fixed roof truss (below)
featuring the “Pleated” top chord, and the
Operable Panel leading edge truss during roof
construction.

2. © Copyright 2014
IMPORTANT INFORMATION This publication has been prepared by OneSteel (OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Limited ABN 42
004 651 325, trading as OneSteel Market Mills). The information contained in this publication is subject to change without
notice and to ensure accuracy, OneSteel recommends you seek your own professional advice in relation to the matters
covered by this publication to satisfy yourself and not to rely on the information without first doing so. Unless required by law
thecompanycannotacceptanyresponsibilityforanyloss,damageorconsequenceresultingfromtheuseofthispublication.
Photographs shown are representative only of typical applications, current at March 2014.
Collaboration between Aurecon, Lend Lease and GVP
Fabricatorswasthekeyindevelopingtheerectionmethodology
for the main roof elements. Each step was sequentially planned
and agreed, so that pre-cambers and pre-sets for the various
elements could be built in, allowing the structure to take its
correct geometry after all loads were added.
In a first for Australia, the operable panels are driven by bogies
featuring a single rail rack & pinion system for accurate control
of the roof positioning. The bogies were supported on 53kg and
86kg rail supplied by OneSteel’s EMRAIL business unit.
Steelwork has been used as the main structural solution for
many elements of this difficult project, including a steel framed
composite slab for the northern concourse extension, and
additional seating tiers built up off the existing concourse (with
the addition of steel strengthening beams under the existing
slab), and the unique ‘folded plate’ roof.
The concept for Margaret Court Arena by the Joint Venture
Architects, NH Architecture + Populous, was that the new
buildingshouldsitcomfortablyalongsidetheexistingRodLaver
Arena, which it abuts. It needed to demonstrate that it was a
separate building and that it had a more intimate capacity. The
desire was to develop a building which sits below the Rod Laver
Arena roof and which also has a tennis “high ball” line; a sleek
roof profile was required.
The solution was to allow the trailing edge of the roof panels
to be supported by the fixed roof via a series of seven mini
bogies for each of the two operable panels, which measure
approximately 57m x 32m. The concept then allowed a straight-
line dimension of only 1.25m between the top of the operable
roof panel and the fixed roof. To achieve such a tight dimension,
a single downturned major truss across the leading edge of
each operable roof panel supported by the drive bogies, which
park at the edge of the fixed roof when in the open position,
completes the structure. These leading edge trusses span 48.6
metres, are approximately 4.6 metres deep, and are typically
fabricated from 406dia x 9.5 CHS members, with a 500WC228
(300PLUS) top chord member. Supporting the leading edge of
the fixed roof, which in turn supports the trailing edge of the
operable roof panels, are the two interlocking prop/tie trusses
which span approximately 65 metres.
Preparatory work commenced on site in March 2012, including
extensions to the concourse and back-of-house areas, with
major construction works undertaken immediately after the
2013 Australian Open, including the addition of a fixed roof and
enclosure wall, prior to “handover” back to the Melbourne and
OlympicParksTrustforthehostingofthe2014AustralianOpen.
The fully completed arena will be handed over in November
2014, ready for the 2015 Australian Open.
Above:Thephotosdepicttheroofpanels
pre-assembly jigsdesignedandassembled
by GVPfollowedby theerection ofthe
individualroofpanelsafely positionedand
fixedonthemovingroofs.
Left:OperableRoofTrailingEdge“MiniBogie”