22nd February 2021

Perega’s Perfect Service on No.1 Court

The All England Tennis Club (AELTC), the spiritual home of tennis, is one of the most famous sports venues in the world. Hosting the legendary Wimbledon Championships each summer, the destination has seen the attendance of many sporting legends and celebrities, from the best players to star-studded spectators.

No.1 Court, opened in 1997, is one of the two main facilities in the complex and has been undergoing significant renovation and refurbishment over the last few years.

Recently, our specialist glass engineering division, Perega Clear Structures, which has extensive experience working on stadia-type projects, was asked to lend its expert engineering skills to a delicate and complex challenge faced by the client, architect and contractor.

Led by Associate, Rob Parsell, the assigned team were required to provide the design for the new glazed balustrades for the exclusive Debentures Area. The project brief called for these balustrades to match the appearance of those found elsewhere across the site, however the design called for these to have an increased height of 1850mm as opposed to the standard 1100mm.

As such, a highly specific challenge was faced early on. FEA modelling of the balustrade assembly was produced to establish suitability of the adapted existing balustrade configuration based upon the increased height.

This necessitated a review of the design, to ensure the glass and supporting steel elements would remain suitable for use at the new height.

Combining a signature, grand slam-winning formula of ingenuity, guile and the latest digital modelling tools, our engineers delivered faultless results.

Specifically, they used cutting-edge finite element analysis (FEA) software, assessing the structural performance of the arrangement. This had the added benefit of allowing for steel posts and glass panels to be analysed in a single profile, determining the total deflections of the structure in one go.

In turn, this enabled the selection of the best-value, highest performance and most eco-efficient combination of glazing and steelwork to meet the project’s precise specifications.

Further, the highly collaborative nature of the project, and frequent communication with the client, meant our team were able to update and refine the project in real-time, alongside the surrounding construction journey.

Commenting on the work, Rob Parsell says, “We’re always excited and energised when we get to work on landmark locations, and being involved in this exacting, but rewarding, job for AELTC was a huge honour. The experience also perfectly encapsulates our approach, using a blend of human skill and digital technology to achieve precise and practical results. This was reflected in the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the client, who is looking forward to hopefully welcoming Debentures to the 2021 tournament. From our perspective, I guess you could say it’s another game, set and match for the Perega Clear Structures team.”

For more information and other examples of our work in the glass engineering sector, visit our “Glass & Facades Sector” page.