< Tennis >
'Melbourne Park - KIA Arena'
Melbourne, Victoria
Lead Architects: NH Architecture + RWA
Following our previous successful collaboration on the Melbourne Park Masterplan for Stage 3, RWA teamed up with NH Architecture + Snøhetta to design the much anticipated KIA Arena. This new venue has a total capacity for tennis of 5000 seats making it the largest open-air Show Court at Melbourne Park. Although it will be used during the Australian Open for tennis, the seating bowl can be used year round for live music concerts and festivals. The seating bowl has been configured with removable seats to allow a stage to be erected at the northern end with operational access for vehicles to court level during event bump in/bump out. RWA were instrumental in the design of the innovative seating bowl that will boast the best sightlines of any venue at Melbourne Park. Enhanced amenity seating and a generous number of wheelchair platforms also make this venue a market leader in universal accessibility. The field of play size is consistent with Show Court 2 and Show Court 3 with single tiers on all four sides of the court with radial corners to maximise seating capacity and intimacy.
‘MOPT Masterplan Stages 1, 2 & 3’
Melbourne Park, Victoria
Lead Architects Stage 1: Populous + Cox
Engaged to perform architectural services as an employee of Populous: Ralph Wheeler
Lead Architects Stage 2: Populous + NH Architecture
Engaged to perform architectural services as an employee of Populous: Ralph Wheeler
Lead Architects Stage 3: NH Architecture + RWA
Project Architect: Ralph Wheeler
Over the past decade three separate detailed Masterplan projects have been completed for Melbourne and Olympic Parks - Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3. These Masterplans were completed in 2008, 2012 and 2017 respectively. Each focussed on a common vision to retain Melbourne and Olympic Parks’ position as Australia’s premier integrated sports and entertainment precinct. The three distinct implementation stages identify over $1.1B of new building works, infrastructure and landscaping over a 15 year period. Ralph’s leadership spans all three of these Masterplan projects making him a highly unique and valuable asset to the client's redevelopment team.
‘New South Wales Tennis Centre Feasibility Study’
Sydney, New South Wales
Lead Architects: NH Architecture + RWA
This feasibility study was undertaken to investigate whether the existing Wentworth Park could be redeveloped into a world class tennis centre capable of hosting the Sydney International Tennis Tournament. A number of site layout options were proposed to illustrate how match courts, carparking and a new 10,000 seat centre court could be located within the existing parkland whilst retaining sufficient open space and amenity for local residents. The study assumed the existing greyhound racing facility would be demolished to make way for the new tennis centre. The feasibility study was presented to UrbanGrowth NSW to facilitate funding by State government.
‘Margaret Court Arena’
Melbourne Park, Victoria
Lead Architects: NH Architecture + Populous
Engaged to perform architectural services as an employee of Populous: Ralph Wheeler
The redeveloped Margaret Court Arena has once again put Melbourne Park at the forefront of world class arena design and innovation. Although the primary impetus for the redevelopment was driven by the desire to maintain the Australian Open’s place at the forefront of world tennis, the venue is a truly multi-purpose facility with the flexibility to successfully host other sports, including basketball and netball, as well as a range of premier concerts & public events. The $183M redevelopment includes seating for 7500 spectators, fully glazed internal concourses and the fastest retractable roof of its kind in the world with a closing time of less than 5 minutes. The venue incorporates numerous sustainability initiatives that have contributed to it becoming the first LEED Gold accredited arena in Australia.
‘Queensland Tennis Centre Masterplan’
Tennyson, Queensland
Lead Architect: Populous
Engaged to perform architectural services as an employee of Populous: Ralph Wheeler
This masterplan was prepared for Stadiums Queensland to investigate the potential future development opportunities for the Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson, Queensland. The primary objective of the masterplan is to understand how the existing facility could be expanded in size to meet future spectator capacity expectations, particularly in light of the success of its flagship event, the Brisbane International. The masterplan investigates the possibility of expanding the tennis facilities to cater for a site capacity of 15,000 patrons. Whilst this may not be achievable at the outset, it is envisaged that the masterplan could be implemented using a series of construction stages to achieve the redevelopment goals.
‘Pat Rafter Arena’
Tennyson, Queensland
Lead Architect: Populous
Engaged to perform architectural services as an employee of Populous: Ralph Wheeler
Pat Rafter Arena is Centre Court at the Queensland Tennis Centre. A significant feature of the purpose-built facility is that it provides a fixed roof solution to permanently shelter 5,500 spectators from the heat and rain, whilst still maintaining the atmosphere and tournament status of an outdoor event. The roof, designed to act as both parasol and umbrella to over both the court and the spectators, provides a cost effective and practical solution that enhances the characteristics that are special to tennis. The facility caters for both top-class and community tennis. Each year it hosts the Brisbane International tennis tournament (ATP World Tour 250 Series), a precursor to the Australian Open Grand Slam in Melbourne.
‘ASB Tennis Centre Redevelopment’
Auckland, New Zealand
Lead Architect: Jasmax
Sports Architect: Populous
Engaged to perform architectural services as an employee of Populous: Ralph Wheeler
The ASB Tennis Centre is the pre-eminent tennis venue in New Zealand hosting two major tournaments each year - the Heineken Open for men and the ASB Classic for women. The rest of the year centre court can be hired for social tennis. The proposed redevelopment will allow the venue to become a multi-purpose venue capable of hosting world class tennis as well as concerts and secondary sports such as netball, basketball and beach volleyball. The centre court will increase its seating capacity to 3500 seats to satisfy ITF requirements for ATP World Tour 250 Series tournaments. The Project Brief was a critical guiding document for the final design completed by Jasmax.