BC Place Stadion

Vancouver, Canada

Hightex has been awarded a contract to supply the entire retractable roof and the fixed façade for the BC Place Stadium. When completed, this roof will be the largest cable-supported retractable roof in the world.

The retractable roof will consist of a double layer Tenara membrane with an inflated inter-space to form “cushion” elements over an area of 6700sq/m. The cushions will be pre-stressed using hydraulic tensioning units and inflation via fan units. The retractable roof will be connected to the 36 radial cables by specially designed sliding and driving carriages. The deflated cushion will be stored at the centre of the roof in a membrane garage. To close the roof, the driving carriages will pull the membrane outwards radially towards the perimeter.

The new facade comprises some 6,000m² of transparent ETFE panels with a light-controlling frit. The 144 facade panels are pre-stressed using metal arches and are attached directly to the primary steel structure.

Hightex's total scope on the project includes the fabrication of the outer roof, fabrication and installation of the retractable roof including drive technology and the fabrication and installation of the ETFE facade.