Our company was responsible for the fabrication and installation of the steel structure and roof cladding of the retractable roof over the central court of the tennis hall at the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava.
The steel structure consists of arched truss girders with a span of 37.0 m, arranged in a modular grid at 3.050 m spacing. The total structural length is 95.3 m, including a 3.0 m expansion joint field. The gable walls are designed as 200 mm thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures. The theoretical depth of the truss girder is 800 mm, with a top chord radius of 28.0 m and an arch rise of 7.1 m.
The trusses are pin-supported on reinforced concrete walls, with every sixth arch additionally stabilized by a tension tie. The top and bottom chords as well as the diagonals are designed from tubular profiles. Longitudinal stability is ensured by trussed bracing elements anchored into the end reinforced concrete gable walls, while perimeter roof bracing is also designed using tubular members.
The roof steel structure was divided into two parts: a fixed roof structure supported by reinforced concrete columns with installed steel heads (each weighing 12 t), and the main load-bearing truss system resting on these steel heads via sliding bearings. In the central part of the fixed roof, an opening of 18 × 41 m is provided, above which a retractable roof is installed.
The project was awarded the main prize and the title “Building of the Year 2004”.
