Tennis Center Bids Weather Delays Adieu

CHALLENGE:Due to the size of Arthur Ashe Stadium—it seats 23,771 fans—combined with the site’s swamp-like soil—the area was previously a coal ash dump for Manhattan—it was essential to identify an exceptionally lightweight roofing solution. Starting in 2004, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) conducted four studies in order to find a solution—with little success—eventually consulting with every architect involved in the design of a stadium roof in North America. SOLUTION:The winning plan came from ROSSETTI in 2010, featuring a lightweight PTFE structure from Birdair as an integral component. Eight columns sit on concrete bases, each of which is supported by 20 piles driven 150-ft. to 200-ft. deep. The lightweight PTFE roof closes from two sides on glides. Birdair’s enhancements include Arthur Ashe Stadium’s new retractable roofing system with 210,000 sq. ft. of PTFE membrane, as well as the completion of the new Grandstand Stadium, which features a façade flanked with 27,000 sq. ft. of PTFE-coated mesh façade and a 23,000-sq.-ft. solid PTFE-coated fiberglass membrane cantilevered roof system. The recent renovations also include a new 3900-sq.-ft. PTFE fabric canopy for its Mojito Bar & Restaurant, fabricated and built by Birdair. Thanks to contributions to the design, fabrication and installation of the new tensile fabric structures, the 2016 US Open events benefitted from enhanced shading and a reinvented iconic aesthetic, without sacrificing daylight or circulation. “The whole concept was to really speak to the spectacle of the US Open experience,” says Sande Frisen, AIA, Technical Design Lead and Associate at ROSSETTI Architects. null