Royal Wolf partners Tennis Australia to bring more entertainment to fans The Australian Open 2017 saw the partnership of Royal Wolf and Tennis Australia rise to an exciting new level with the introduction of two state of the art innovations: the huge curved Sound Wall and the highly popular Fan Shack. For several years, Royal Wolf has been proud to be Tennis Australia’s number one choice for container solutions, supplying over 100 various containers each year for office and catering supplies. This year, the brief expanded in line with Tennis Australia’s goal of enhancing the spectator experience, bringing tennis action and entertainment to a larger audience based outside the Tennis Arena. Tennis Australia are now in discussions with Royal Wolf for the 2018 Australian Open.
The Brief Tennis Australia’s brief was to deliver two ambitious projects to the one site at Mirrarung Marr Park in Melbourne within just 2 days in time for the first tennis grand slam of the year.
Project 1 – the Sound Wall
Royal Wolf was required to provide a 9 metre high x 80 metre long Sound Wall on a sloping surface with a curved shape to match the landscape. This required a level roof to enable signage to be attached. This facility was critical to Tennis Australia’s objective of delivering an outstanding spectator experience as it was to house a 12 metre LED screen providing life size player vision for the audience.
Project 2 – the Fan Shack
Royal Wolf was required to custom-modify a container to fit on a small footprint to provide a social space for 24 hour news, social media updates, videos, player visits and more.
Other Container Solutions
Royal Wolf was to supply over 100 additional containers including:
- 20’ and 40’ containers
- Concrete filled 20’ platforms (a new product introduced into the building and construction field)
- 20’ and 40’ flat racks (road and rail products)
- 20’ outdoor rooms
- 20’ offices
- 20’ refrigeration units to be used onsite.
The Challenges Working to a very tight timeframe of just two days was just one of the many challenges faced in delivering on Tennis Australia’s brief. The Royal Wolf construction team were required to provide a unique engineering solution to develop a strong facility that was wind and weather-resistant at a height of 13 metres. The construction needed to be stable without compromising floor space outside the parameters of the container and had to provide a high level of safety for fans and the general public. Local Council approval was required for the development and customer variations to the designed layout needed to be accommodated on-site after approval. Sufficient stock being immediately available was vital to the project’s success and over 60 semi-trailer loads of stock needed to be delivered to the site. Once the stock arrived at the site, delivery to the installation point was a key challenge due to the tens of thousands of people visiting Mirrarung Marr Park. Access to the Middle and Lower Terraces was restricted due to pedestrians, other trades people on site, narrow walkways and low load limit restrictions. Uneven surfaces, environmental protection of the park and the need to minimise the footprint also required consideration.
The Solution The experienced and qualified Royal Wolf team provided a ballast solution to stabilise the 20’ and 40’ containers reaching up to 13 metres in height and 80 metres in length. Ballast of all sizes and mass were incorporated at the ground level, allowing a level surface to land the containers and providing the stability required to withstand significant weather forces. The Sound Wall was expertly engineered to the contours of the land and provided a perfect sound barrier solution as well as a facility to broadcast video and sound to a wide spectator audience. In addition, an effective methodology was developed for both transport logistics and installation to overcome the specific challenges of the site. Importantly, Royal Wolf’s solution was portable, sustainable, durable and met the small footprint requirements of the brief. No outsourced alternative products were required and no foreign contaminants were introduced into the compound areas. The design and product solution optimised public safety and a safety plan was developed for the installation process.
The Results Ultimately, the solution provided by Royal Wolf was both functional and aesthetically pleasing for Tennis Australia. It was delivered within the two day timeframe, within budget and without any incidents or damage to property.
