New fabric roof at Lord’s Cricket Ground
RSK company CAN’s expertise has contributed to the construction of a new stand at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Commonly known as just Lord’s, the ground is located in St John’s Wood, London. Owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), it was named after its founder, Thomas Lord, and it hosted its first matches in 1814. As the most famous cricket ground in the world, it is widely known as the home of cricket, and it hosts the world’s oldest sporting museum. Recently, the venue has been undergoing a £200 million redevelopment to increase capacity and amenity and this has included the new Warner Stand, for which RSK company CAN demonstrated its expertise in rigging and fabric-structure construction.
Architects Populous designed the new stand to significantly improve the view for spectators, while exceeding best-practice standards for accessibility. This included the innovative design of a semi-translucent fabric roof, supported by a steel and timber structure. The canopy is designed to provide protection from the elements, while ensuring that spectators benefit from both shade and natural light. Although translucent, the roof is insulating, and this project constitutes the first use of this kind of fabric in Europe.
The canopy covers an area of 850 square metres and is made up of 17 lightweight and durable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) panels and 8 Tensotherm panels. Tensotherm is a composite material made up of a PTFE fibreglass exterior skin, a translucent blanket embedded with a revolutionary aerogel thermal and acoustic insulation and a PTFE fibreglass liner for an acoustic and vapour barrier.
CAN was contracted to install the new fabric roof for this project; work that required using a combination of fall restraint, fall arrest and industrial rope access techniques and mobile elevating work platforms for access. This cost-effective approach enabled a small team to complete the installation within one month, which we would like to think played a small part in England winning the Cricket World Cup in 2019.