Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Features Tensile Membrane Fabric Roof From Birdair, Inc.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, India, now features Asia’s largest tensile roof from Birdair, Inc., the leading specialty contractor of lightweight long-span roofing systems and tensile structures throughout the world.

As subcontractor to Taiyo Membrane Corporation (TMC), Birdair designed, manufactured and supplied the 88 membrane panels that form the facility’s 54,000 square meter tensile roof that spans over 240 meters. TMC provided the installation and construction supervision of the tensile membrane roof.

The 60,000-seat stadium features an open-air roofing system formed from PTFE SHEERFILL® Architectural Membrane. PTFE SHEERFILL Architectural Membrane, manufactured by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, is the first ENERGY STAR® qualified and Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) certified architectural fabric membrane. As an ENERGY STAR product, SHEERFILL can help lower air conditioning requirements in buildings, reducing peak cooling demand by 10-15 percent.

A steel compression ring that weighs more than 8,500 tonnes and extends 71 meters into the stands supports the tensile roof’s cable net system and PTFE SHEERFILL panels without any perpendicular support from inside the stadium. The cable net system features 443 tonnes of pre-stretched cables with a length of 2,220 km in varying diameters from 40 mm to 95 mm.

“PTFE SHEERFILL is an ideal choice for sporting venues due to its sustainable qualities, design flexibility, long life cycle and low maintenance requirements,” says Tom Wuerch, Senior Vice President for Birdair. “Aesthetically, the fabric membrane roof adds visual interest to the stadium while functionally providing shade and cover for the stadium’s spectators.”

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium originally opened in 1982 and was recently upgraded to meet international standards to host the XIX Commonwealth Games, held October 3 – 14, 2010. The facility will serve as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletic events. The refurbished stadium also features a high-definition television system, state-of-the-art lighting and an underground tunnel that runs the length of the stadium.

The roof was completed in summer 2010. In addition to TMC and Birdair, the project team also consists of the Government of India, engineer Schlaich Bergerman and Partners (Germany), architect GMP (Germany), and local General Contractor Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Ltd. Cables were supplied by Pfeifer Seil- und Hebetechnik GmbH and heavy lift equipment was provided by VSL International Ltd.