Birdair, Inc. Project Wins International Award

The newly constructed Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, featuring a tensioned membrane roofing system from Birdair, Inc., the leading specialty contractor of lightweight long-span roofing systems and tensile structures throughout the world, has received an award from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) in the International category of Steel Construction Design.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, is one of four primary stadiums slated to host the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup beginning in June 2010. As roofing sub-contractor for the 50,000-seat venue, Birdair’s project role included designing, engineering and constructing the structure’s tensile roofing system, as well as erecting 2,400 metric tonnes of roof girders.

Due to the complex nature of the steel and extensive amount of fabrication and production details, Birdair retained CADMAX Steel Detailers in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, which performed much of the steel shop detailing for the project.

The winners were announced at the Awards of Steel Construction and the Second Colloquium on Steel on November 18, 2009.

“The design, fabrication and erection of Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium’s steel trusses were among the most challenging aspects of the project,” explains Michele Roth, marketing manager for Birdair, Inc. “The end result was well worth the hard work. We’re honored that the CISC has recognized the athletic facility’s unique design.”

As a full-service specialty contractor, Birdair offers complete design and engineering assistance and solutions throughout the design-build process, and has completed more than 1,200 tensile architecture installations worldwide.