We were asked to design and install a bus station canopy which would provide shelter for the public and to make visiting the station a pleasant experience. The tensile structure combines functionality with aesthetics providing a practical and welcoming atmosphere.
Our scope of works was the design, manufacture and installation of the 70m long fabric canopy including the supporting steel work and rigging cables.
This was a great project to work on combining all the elements which are core to what we do. Alun Griffiths were very pleased with the canopy and the bus station have also reported positive feedback from visitors.
We designed, manufactured and installed a series of high level tensile fabric barrel vault canopies over the existing walkways surrounding the building.
With the addition of two dynamic, four cornered hypar sails over the entrance, an otherwise unremarkable new building becomes an elegantly land marked feature on the cityscape.
The Royal International Pavilion at Llangollen was originally built in 1992 as a combined sports facility and auditorium to host the famous International Eisteddfod. The fabric had become tired and worn over time, and a gradual change in the type of end use left Denbighshire Council looking to both renew the fabric and improve the weathering properties of the auditorium. A temporary summertime extension, which is used for the Eisteddfod and other events also required renewal.
Removing the existing fabric was a carefully staged operation, planned to maintain the structural stability of the building during the process. As the original design information was somewhat sketchy and in some cases lost in the mists of time, Base Structures were required to carry out a full 3D survey of the fabric contact points and use this information to re-model the form, both on the main auditorium and the extension canopies. The new membranes were then assembled in our Bristol factory, and transported to site and installed with great care in a complex lifting operation.
The completed work has given this landmark building a new lease of life, leaving it looking better than ever.
The new Digital Technium building at Swansea University required a terrace canopy to the 5th floor Science and Technology department which needed to be both functional and aesthetic.
We designed, manufactured and installed the inverted barrel vault structure, including the fabric, branch-frame steelwork and associated fittings. This project was great to work on as it is a perfect example of a classic tensile structure. It went in well and on time for the buildings opening.
The fabric structure provides a sheltered terrace area and is a dynamic addition to the futuristic impact of the building.
Our brief was to build a sun shade shelter and feature for the recreational terrace at the Cardiff children’s hospital. The tensile fabric structure needed to provide a sheltered area for outdoor eating and patient relaxation.
We designed, manufactured and installed the series of PVC sails including the supporting steel structures and rigging cables. A large part of the installation of this project was by rope access at high level. Thorough planning and pre site preparation ensured a smooth and successful installation
Following the closure of the famous Barry Island holiday camp in the 1990’s, much of the site was developed into housing. With a desire to regenerate the area and grow the number of visitors once again, a £3.3m project began in 2012 to give the seaside promenade a much needed face lift. The 4.7 acre site was turned into a mix of restaurants and cafes with a cinema, bowling alley, 124 flats and rows of beach huts. And what better way to compliment this new development, than an architectural embellishment including multiple tensile fabric canopies.
A bespoke, asymmetrical inclined single conic structure stands proud on the seafront, providing essential protection from the heat of the Barry Island sun (and perhaps the occasional rain). A row of six 1P600 Chiltern standard fabric canopies also adorn the seafront, elegant single post umbrella structures that will be permanently ‘up’, rain or shine, no matter what the weather throws at the Welsh coastline.
The site was officially handed over to the Council in December 2014 with Councillor Lis Burnett commenting, “Hopefully now Barry Island can become the jewel in the crown of the Vale that we always knew it could be.”