Custom Basketball Court Cover in Macquarie Fields, NSW.

TechSpan partnered with Timenho to design and manufacture a large COLA to cover a basketball court at James Meehan High School in Macquarie Fields, NSW.

The Brief

James Meehan High School, in Macquarie Fields, required a 35 x 35m COLA to cover a basketball court area. This structure had to be designed and built to the NSW Department of Education’s Educational Facilities Standards & Guidelines (EFSG). It was also a requirement that the structure could be erected in a short period of time to avoid disruption at the school.

Our Innovative Solution

The NSW Department of Education’s Educational Facilities Standards & Guidelines required that the COLA had no bird perch points, no wall cross bracing, and be built to last.

TechSpan designed a structural steel COLA to cover the basketball court that utilises steel sheet flashing and spikes to eliminate all possible perch points. This system is longer lasting than nylon netting and will help to minimise maintenance for the structures minimum 25-year lifespan.

The structure also included no wall cross-bracing to reduce the hazards for students and has a 35-metre clear span with no internal columns.

To protect from weather, the design included a 1.5m weather skirt on all four sides, further helping to minimise maintenance.

The design also incorporated 2.1m galvanised downpipe shrouds to eliminate vandalism and custom length columns to suit the gradient across the existing site.