Super GP Shade Structures

HTS Hocker

The Super GP event is held each year in Brisbane, Australia. HTS Hocker was invited to design, manufacture and install a new innovative set of demountable structures located in the main pit lane area. The buildings formed the main focal point of the event on the pit straight, providing team garages on the ground floors with shade cover for the corporate hospitality suites located on the second and third floors.

After attending the Clipsal 500 race in Adelaide, Australia (where HTS Hocker supplied the award winning "Pit Pavilion" structure), the client approached HTS Hocker with the request of supplying a set of world class and aesthetically pleasing temporary shade structures and pit lane garages for its annual street racing event.

The buildings must be designed so they could be installed and removed in the shortest possible time frame so they would not impact the flow of local traffic during the build and taking down of the structures.

Australian standards give no dispensation for temporary buildings versus permanent buildings. The Gold Coast is right on the beach in what is considered a tropical cyclonic region. Therefore all structures had to be engineered to meet this stringent code.

In addition, the new Australian code also requires a 5kpa floor load with a 3kn point load on all multistory structures. The balustrade and stairs had to comply with the highest rating in Australia, the "crowd rush" rating. Plus all materials, flooring, walls and roofs had to comply with the most stringent fire code for public areas.

The structures were nominally 10m wide with an additional 1.5m walkway behind the structures for general entry/exit and service. The front half of the roof rafter was curved and extended out past the floor to provide additional shade as well as a feature.

The client was extremely happy with the end result. The client’s requirements combined with tight manufacturing and installation timelines pushed all involved in the project.

Although these structures were designed and manufactured specifically for this project, they were designed so when not in use in this configuration they could be erected as one-, two-, three- and even four-story structures.

The lower two levels can be expanded in width to 15m, 20m, 25m, 30m, 35m and 40m with an appropriate width standard structure put on top. The front curved rafters can be doubled up to form a fully curved roof just as the straight back rafters can be doubled up to form a conventional A-frame roof. All components throughout the structure have been made interchangeable including cassette floor system and balustrades.