The Royal Melbourne Showground’s Grand Pavilion is one of the largest tensile fabric membrane structures in the Southern Hemisphere.
Completed in 2006, this iconic lightweight fabric structure can be seen across Melbourne and has now become a landmark feature of Melbourne’s skyline. Specialist tensile engineering consultant, Tensys Engineers, worked closely with Oasis Tension Structures and a select group of specialist partners and contractors to realize the concept of architect, Daryl Jackson.
The roof structure itself consists of a 13,250sqm of high tensile PVC fabric, tensioned over six central masts to enclose 8,000sqm of indoor exhibition space. Ronstan Architectural was engaged to manufacture and supply all cables for the project, which play a critical role gathering and distributing the forces from the membrane.
Cables were manufactured at the Pfeifer Cable Structures facility in Memmingen, Germany to a design load specified by Tensys Engineers, a process that involved the removal of constructional stretch through pre-stretching. This ensured that cables met the tight performance specifications necessary to maintain the structural form of the membrane.
ACS2 galfan cables were used for their superior corrosion resistance and performance over standard galvanised alternatives. This included the main tie back or guy cables, the edge or catenary cables, as well as the ridge and valley cables.
Ronstan Architectural coordinated the cable fabrication, shipping and delivery to site along with a number of ARS4 M460 rods used to brace the top of each of the support masts.
