Specialist building envelope contractor Prater has won the sheeting, cladding and rainscreen award at the 2019 UK Roofing Awards for its innovative work with partner BEMO on Wimbledon’s No.1 Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).
Appointed by Sir Robert McAlpine, and working to the design of architect Grimshaw, Prater’s scope of works was to deliver an extensive roofing package for the No.1 Court.
The roof of No.1 Court required a bespoke design, allowing it to move and ensure that play can continue regardless of the weather during games. Initially, the steel structure provided a facetted surface, while the design intent required a smooth external roof surface. In order to overcome the varying distances between the structure and external surface, the roof was constructed using the BEMOFlex system – specifically designed and created for this project by BEMO.
Prater and BEMO worked together to construct two offsite mock-ups prior to work starting onsite. This allowed them to better understand the complexities of the system, its strengths and weaknesses, as well as learn the process and length of time of the installation. Having seen the proposal in a physical form, AELTC was able to approve the product design.
Due to the need for the All England Lawn Tennis Club to be accessible every year for the tennis championships, the project was divided into three separate phases. This added greater complexity to the project and meant that each element had to be delivered to schedule.
“We are delighted that our work on this challenging but truly remarkable project has been recognised in this way,” said Kate Prater, Marketing Director at Prater. “The success of this project demonstrates the value of collaboration and strong supply chain relationships. What we achieved would not have been possible without the hard work of everyone involved.”
Working with other supply chain partners including Bailey, Sika Sarnafil and Radmat, Prater also delivered an extensive hot melt waterproof package to the project – as well as a 3000m2 cladding package to the outer wall with Bailey rainscreen cladding, soffits and bullnoses installed to both the inner and outer bowl.
The Roofing Awards ceremony, which took place on May 10, 2019 at the Intercontinental London, was hosted by the NFRC, the UK’s largest roofing trade association. The award categories recognise innovation and excellence in roofing as well as celebrating the people of the industry with the Local Hero and Young Roofer awards.
