Our company carried out the construction of the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava. The ceremonial opening took place on 19 September 2003 during the Davis Cup match between Slovakia and the USA. This sports complex, particularly its central court, also serves as a multifunctional hall for hosting various cultural and social events.
The National Tennis Centre consists of several building structures. The five-court tennis hall is one of the components of the NTC complex. The entire facility is located on the former grounds of TK Slovan Bratislava. The steel structure consists of arched truss girders with a span of 37.0 m in modular axes of 3.050 m. The total length of the structure is 95.3 m, including a 3.0 m expansion joint section. The gable walls are monolithic reinforced concrete with a thickness of 200 mm.
The theoretical height of the truss girder is 800 mm, the radius of the upper chord curvature is 28.0 m, and the arch rise is 7.1 m. The girders are pinned to the reinforced concrete walls. Every sixth arch is stabilized with a tie rod. The upper and lower chords of the girder are made of tubes with a diameter of 168.3 × 8.8 mm, and the diagonals are 76.0 × 4.0 mm. The tie rod is designed from a tube with a diameter of 101.6 × 12.5 mm.
Longitudinal stability of the structure is ensured by truss bracing elements anchored at both ends of the hall into the gable monolithic walls. Roof bracing around the perimeter is designed from tubes with a diameter of 114.3 × 6.3 mm.
The roof envelope is designed as a layered system combined with skylights. A curved U-profile made of 3 mm sheet metal is welded onto the upper chord of the truss arch, to which an 80 mm perforated trapezoidal sheet is attached. Above it, geotextile and 50 mm acoustic insulation are installed. This is followed by a vapour barrier membrane, 200 mm high Z-shaped spacer profiles, and 180 mm thermal insulation. A vapour-permeable membrane is placed above the insulation. The outer cladding consists of a 35 mm trapezoidal sheet.
Above each court, large-area skylights made of Lexan are installed within the plane of the roof cladding.
This project received The Grand Prize and the title “Building of the Year 2004.”