Case Studies – Residences

PROJECT BRIEF

The brief from our client was to build the best quality court within the restrictions imposed by the local council regarding protection of a heritage oak tree. The court was to be lit to professional standard with LED low impact lights. They wanted to see little or no fencing so as the surrounding landscaping would feature in the view from the house. The surface needed to be ‘natural’ in appearance.

The client was installing extensive landscaping to the entire property and as such it was decided to install an ‘Aqua Caught’ system, where all the surface water run off would be channelled to 110,000 litre water tank beneath the court. As the court was flush with the wet-edge of the swimming pool it was not possible to have any longitudinal fall. We thus designed a one way cross fall of 1.0% then collected all the water in a variable depth stainless steel trench grate. This water was then piped to the water tank for irrigation around the garden and the oak tree.

Our design team approached the need to protect the tree root zone first by designing a suspended slab over the protected tree zone. This entailed installing a series of concrete bored piers at 3.0m centres to a depth of 3 – 4 meters. Over these piers 75mm cardboard void formers were laid to ensure no weight from the court slab was exerted on the tree root zone. A concrete pavement was then designed and built with extra heavy duty SL92 both top and bottom in the 175mm thick 32MPA concrete pavement was installed

A 6 light system was designed using 528 watt LED Blade lights. These were installed on 8.0m 100 x 100mm lightpoles. Testing of the completed lighting showed an average of 687 lux with a uniformity (ave / max) of 0.82 this exceeded Tennis Australia requirements of min 250 lux at 0.6 our client was ecstatic. Data cabling was installed to allow for full security CCTV and motion detectors. These cables were conduited separately from any lighting cables to avoid electromagnetic interference.

A natural coloured polyethylene surface was installed and filled with green epoxy coated sand to present the natural coloured surface required by the client.

It was decided to install no ‘solid’ chain mesh fencing as this would have presented a primary school look. Instead, we designed and installed polyethylene draw curtain to 3.0m in height. This allowed for the curtains to remain open for the majority of the time and allow the landscape vision to flow through as requested.

To further enhance the overall enjoyment and use of the court a Goalrilla adjustable basketball tower was installed, as part of the suspended slab.

PROJECT BRIEF

The client required an A+ court including full high level LED lighting, aesthetically pleasing surface, invisible drainage, little surface gradient, multi-use and versatile playing surface. The client required a surface that was usable for tennis, basketball and soccer to satisfy their children’s sporting desires. This surface also was required to be ‘soft’ and natural looking. We therefore designed a polyethylene surface using a natural looking olive yarn completed with a matching olive coloured infill sand. This sand (TC 20) was a specifically sized (1.5mm) particle to aid free and rapid drainage. The court was to be placed on a heritage listed property with a large garden that required extensive watering system. For this reason, a 110,00-litre water tank (Aqua caught) was constructed below the court surface. This was connected to an automatic watering system that was controlled by a self-filling tap that will top up the tank from mains water if the tank empties below 5%. To fulfill the clients, request of limited fall and low impact drainage, we designed a one-way cross fall of .9% this then emptied into a stainless steel grated variable depth trench. This water then ran into the Aqua caught tank, via a stainless-steel mesh fitted pit.

The court was constructed immediately adjacent to Orrong Road, a major road in Melbourne. As the court level was approximately 1.3 meters below the footpath it was essential to retain this asset by installing concrete piers at 1.5m centres to a depth of 2.5m. these piers then became the foundation for a 200mm concrete block retaining wall. The client required a ‘non-school’ like fence. Therefore, a steel lattice fence was constructed in conjunction with 19mm compressed cement sheeting to give total privacy and aesthetic appearance. The fencing between the house and the court and between the court and seated garden area required a low impact fence. For this reason, a retractable curtain fence was installed that when not in use could slide behind a rendered wall.

All paths around the court and connecting to the house were constructed using sawcut bluestone. Discreet lighting was set into the walls and paths. The court lighting was essential for the high level of tennis the client required. We installed a high level 528-watt LED on curved light poles. This meant that although only using 4 poles we were able to achieve an average light level of 533 lux on the Principal Playing Area.

A drinking fountain was included in the design for refreshment. Further to this a professional Perspex backed basketball tower was installed.

PROJECT BRIEF

The tennis court was designed for a sloping block in suburban Melbourne. The client’s brief was for a top level, full size (Tennis Australia) synthetic grass court. The court had to be unobtrusive and not “look like a primary school yard” The court was to be built on unstable sub-grade of a previous water course. Appropriate engineering and the installation of stiffening beams of 500 x 400mm with 4-L12 steel was used to overcome this problem. As the court area was subject to flooding a substantial drainage system was required as well as a service trench. A 600-x variable depth (1,000 – 1,350mm) was built into the court with a stainless-steel grated lid.

Top level lighting of a minimum 650 lux was designed to complement the court, using 6 x LED Blade like lights.

Problems were discovered once the initial site cut was performed, and a new and partially suspended slab was designed to overcome the instability.

In keeping with the client’s request for a “non-school yard look” the fencing was designed and constructed using recycled 200 x200 timber posts and beams. Stainless steel mesh was suspended and tightened between the posts, making the fence near invisible. Furthermore, olive green sand was employed to gain a ‘natural’ looking court.

As the client had extensive gardens including a large ‘veggie-garden’ they required water harvesting to be incorporated into the court. We designed an ‘Aqua-Caught’ where all waters running off the court would be caught and directed to an underground tank (100,000 litres)

PROJECT BRIEF

Our client required a court on a sloping area on their property. They were in the process of constructing a new house complete with extensive gardens and ‘veggie patch’, for this reason we undertook to construct a ‘Aqua Caught’ water tank under the proposed tennis court with a capacity in excess of 100,000 litres. This required a suspended slab over the last 3 meters of the court and inspection lid for future maintenance. The court was to lit to allow high standard competition play whilst eliminating any spill to the neighbours.

Whilst our clients enjoyed their high level tennis there was also a need to make sure the court was able to be multipurpose for their growing family to enjoy. Our design team added a basket ball tower and soccer goal as well as a golf practice hole to ensure extended use of the court.

Concrete walls were constructed and then rendered to match the external appearance of the beautiful new home. Then immediately adjacent to the court an open gazebo and landing was constructed to ensure if you weren’t playing you could certainly enjoy the vista and be able to cheer on with vigour.

The final lighting presented an illumination of 450 lux with a uniformity of 0.68 which well exceeded the clients expectation and did allow for the standard they required.

A natural coloured polyethylene surface was installed and filled with green epoxy coated sand to present the natural coloured surface required by the client.

It was decided to install no ‘solid’ chain mesh fencing to the house side of the court and thus allowed the natural looking synthetic tennis court to appear as it was simply a continuance of the garden. This was further enhanced by colour of the grass and sand.