Sheffield engineering firm appointed to build retractable roof at Wimbledon

SCX, the Sheffield-based engineering company, has been awarded the contract to build a second retractable roof at The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), home of The Championships, Wimbledon.

The deal is part of a multi-million-pound project by the AELTC to redevelop No.1 Court, which will increase its seating capacity and transform it into a grass court arena capable of guaranteed play in all weather conditions.

Simon Eastwood, SCX group managing director, said: “We are very proud to have built the original retractable roof on Centre Court, so to be chosen by the AELTC to work on No.1 Court is a real honour.

“SCX is now one of the leading builders of kinetic architecture in the UK and this contract has taken our order book to record levels.”

When fully completed in 2019, the new retractable roof will allow guaranteed play irrespective of the weather.

The roof, which is based on a concertina design with two main sections that meet in the middle, will be made of transparent Gore Tenara (a type of Gore-Tex fabric), which is stretched between the steel trusses.

Covering an area of around 5,500m2, the roof is also made up of eleven trusses and weighs around 1,100 tonnes. It can be deployed or retracted in around 8 minutes.

Around 220 electro-mechanical devices (including motors) along with a control system capable of working to accuracies of a fraction of a millimetre are needed to ensure the roof operates correctly.

The roof is divided into two sections with a total of 10 bays. Each of the bays is clamped on either side by prismatic steel trusses. The ends of each truss are supported on a wheeled bogie that moves along rails that are fixed to the new superstructure of No.1 Court.

SCX is designing and supplying all the mechanical and electrical equipment, and also for the construction of all the components that make up the moving sections of the roof. Much of the construction, assembly and testing work will be carried out at SCX’s new Tyler Street facility in Sheffield.

Andy Whitworth, SCX special projects director, commented: “SCX prides itself on its expertise in the field of precision engineering. We have an amazing team of designers, engineers and suppliers and everyone is excited about working on such a prestigious project.”

One of the challenges solved by SCX when building the Centre Court roof was to ensure the fabric roof remained in tension when it was closed. The company created a design that ensured the Gore Tenara material is tensioned by a mechanical system.

Like SCX’s original design for Centre Court, the new retractable No.1 Court roof will continue to let high levels of natural light into the venue even when the roof is closed.

Founded in 1972 by Keith Eastwood, SCX is headquartered on Roman Ridge Road, Sheffield, and is headed by managing director and Keith’s son, Simon Eastwood.

SCX employs 150 people across three businesses: SCX Special Projects; Street CraneXpress; and Burnand XH.