The Absolute Structure

Roder HTS Hocker GmbH

Our company was approached by Australia’s leading event rental company to develop a unique clear-span structure system which could be offered as a premium product to their prestigious client base. The main brief was that the new structure system had to “look like no other” available in the general market place and the range of structures needed to incorporate many new design ideas, pushing the limits past traditional clear-span structure design.

The client requested a completely new multi-functional structure system. The client spent two years researching and planning their next strategic move within their market sector. The research took the client around the world searching for a clear-span product that would meet their exact needs; they could not find one so they decided to design a system in conjunction with a leading clear-span manufacturer. After visiting the leading clear-span manufacturers capable of designing and manufacturing a high-end solution, the client choose to proceed with our company. The client requested a temporary structure system which would answer the needs of their client base. The system needed to be able to be used as a single level and two-story building in the span widths of 10 meters, 15 meters and 20 meters. The design had to incorporate many special criteria, including: uprights that can be set up in the standard vertical position and with the option of installing the uprights on a 10-degree angle, the roof design incorporating the ability of setting the tent up in a standard “A” frame or curved roof design, the structure designed with a new glass and hard walling system with panels installed horizontally on the outside of the frame, the structure having the ability to create fully unsupported 5-meter canopies for hospitality viewing areas and, finally, the structure must be able to be set up with a self-weight floor system, therefore eliminating the need for earth anchors. The structure is fully engineered to exceed stringent Australian wind loading for the majority of terraine categories.

The project was a challenge due to time constraints. The client’s brief asked that our company design a completely new structure system from the ground up which incorporated a new and demanding features including: integrated self-weighting lower and upper level flooring system, a new glass walling (horizontal walling panels) and door system. The project demanded the design of 17 brand new aluminum extrusion profiles specifically for use on the project.

The project was a huge success. We fulfilled the clients wishes by designing and manufacturing a complex “hire company friendly” structure system (in terms of handling and installation and removal) which incorporated all the client’s design feature demands. This was all done in a period of 12 weeks.

Project details

Location: Melbourne, Australia
Size: 3,000 sq.m
Fabrics: Verseidag B4673 by Verseidag-Indutex GmbH from Seybold GmbH
Engineer: Neil McKenzie, Roder HTS Hocker GmbH
Design: Heiko Heilmann, Roder HTS Hocker GmbH
Fabrication: Heinz Roder, Roder HTS Hocker GmbH
Project Manager and Installation: Harry The Hirer