The retractable roof of the Philippe-Chatrier Court, built for the 2020 Roland-Garros Tournament, will consist of 11 steel wings, clad with Serge Ferrari’s Flexlight TX30 composite membrane. As a result, tournaments will no longer be interrupted by bad weather or nightfall.
The prestigious Roland-Garros complex, located in Western Paris, bordering the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, receives thousands of visitors every year. Built in 1928, the Philippe-Chatrier Court is the venue’s main stadium. The court has seen significant restructuring and improvement works since 2018 and it could sit 15,000 spectators during last year’s tournament. Though the site has already been transformed dramatically, it is currently undergoing more major changes: a retractable roof, made from steel and clad with a translucent and waterproof fabric, is being added to the structure.
“Inspired by the biplane of French aviator Roland Garros, the various elements used for the roof were designed to resemble the wing of a plane, in terms of shape, materials and structure,” as explained by the people at DVVD, the architects and engineers in charge of designing this movable roof, who lent their contribution to the contracted firm ACD Girardet & Associés.
The collapsible roof consists of 11 steel beams, designed and manufactured by Italian company Cimolai. The beams, weighing 320 metric tonnes each, were delivered on the site in 7 sections and were assembled on the central aisle of Roland-Garros. They were then lifted onto the sliding rails above the Philippe-Chatrier Court. Once in place, the 11 ‘wings’ were clad with Flexlight TX30 covering, manufactured by the company Tensaform.
The roof will cover a total surface area equivalent to 1 hectare (over 100,000 sq ft) and will require approximately 15 minutes to be deployed into place. The structure’s steel blades will be covered with 15,000 sqm (over 161,000 sq ft) of Serge Ferrari’s Flexlight TX30, which ensures matches may go on undisturbed in spite of bad weather or nightfall. The challenge was quite daunting: the project owner, the French Tennis Federation, wanted a solution that could be fully deployed within mere minutes, that would allow the passage of natural light and would also deliver excellent acoustic performance with the roof closed. With the use of Alphalia
Silent AW fabric inside the ‘wings’, the roof provides improved acoustic performance during matches and in the event of rainfall.
“We were very proud to be able to meet every technical requirement and to be part of one of the most anticipated sports projects of 2020. Thanks to Flexlight TX30, we were able to deliver an effective barrier against bad weather and offer a solution that is durable, waterproof and allows the passage of natural light. The addition of an Alphalia Silent AW membrane inside the wings also allowed us to deliver on requirements regarding acoustic performance,” said Thomas Bonneville, Sales Engineer for the Serge Ferrari Group.
This much-awaited roof structure is complex by design, but was installed in a very short time. Construction teams, under supervision of VINCI Construction, only arrived on site a few days after the end of the 2019 Roland Garros Tournament. The goal was to have the work on the roof finished in time for the 2020 Tournament. Made possible by the commitment of an ambitious team, this project was also mindful of its environmental impact and aimed to receive BREEAM ‘Tailored Criteria Development’ certification with a ‘Very Good’ rating.
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