project

Landing Craft Tank LCT 7074, Southsea – Cantilevered Tensile Fabric Canopy

Membrane
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  • Fabric canopy
  • Fabric canopy with two layers
  • Fabric membrane with lighting
  • Grey and white fabric membrane canopy
  • Weather protection fabric membrane canopy

General information

  • Home page
    https://www.architen.com/projects/landing-craft-tank-tensile-fabric-canopy/
  • Location address
    The D-Day Story, Southsea, Portsmouth, UK
  • Location country
    United Kingdom
  • Year of construction
    2020
  • Function of building
    Historical buildings & monuments
  • Degree of enclosure
    Open structure
  • Climatic zone
    Temperate - cold winters and mild summers
  • Number of layers
    mono-layer
  • Type of application of the membrane
    covering
  • Primary function of the tensile structure
    • Rain protection

Description

LCT 7074 is the last surviving Landing Craft Tank from the D-Day landings. It was restored and moved to a permanent site beside The D-Day Story in Southsea, and it needed a canopy to protect it from the weather. The original design was a single-ply roof with a timber soffit, but this was over budget. Pritchard Architecture then worked with Architen Landrell on a tensile fabric alternative, supported on a large curved, cantilevered steel structure.

The architect wanted a slender, curved leading edge with a flush white soffit and a grey upper surface. To achieve this, the membrane was fixed to the underside of the steelwork, so that the whole frame is hidden from below. Hanging the fabric under its supports means rainwater cannot run off in the usual way, so Architen Landrell developed a hopper detail around each post to collect and drain water without leaks.

PVC-coated polyester suited the budget, the long design life and the low maintenance requirement. A blackout grade was chosen so that film or lighting could be projected onto the soffit in future. Planning conditions fixed both colours, so a dual-colour product was sourced with a white underside and a specific grey topside: Sattler Polyplan Tent Manege 671 Dual Colour Type II. Throughout the design, Architen Landrell worked with the National Museum of the Royal Navy and the local planning authority.

Architect: Pritchard Architecture. Membrane supplier: Sattler PRO-TEX GmbH. Membrane design, fabrication and installation: Architen Landrell. Photographs: Peter Langdown.

Description of the environmental conditions

Exposed coastal site on the Southsea seafront, Portsmouth, in a temperate maritime climate. The canopy protects a historic vessel from rain and weathering; drainage is collected through hopper details around the supporting posts.

Material of the cover

  • Cable-net/Fabric/Hybrid/Foil
    Fabric
  • Type (code)
    Polyplan Tent Manege 671 Dual Colour Type II
  • Material Fabric/Foil
    PVC - coated polyester fabric
  • Material coating
    PVC-coated polyester

Main dimensions and form

Duration of use

  • Temporary or permanent structure
    Permanent
  • Design lifespan in years
    21-30

Involved companies

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