Continuous sheet ensures weathertightness at Vector

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There’s no getting away from it, Auckland gets more than its fair share of rain. Surprising enough, how­ever, up until now Auckland City hasn’t had a covered arena to encourage fans off the sofa, and bands and sports teams into the heart of the city.

Positioned about as close to the Waitemata Harbour as you could possibly manage without taking a dip, the recently opened Vector Arena has changed all that.
Keeping the punters warm and dry is a priority, and to do so Peddle Thorpe Architects specified a Dimond roof, which was installed by Clark Roofing.
“Having been involved in almost all stadium or events centre projects in New Zealand, including the Telstra Clear Pacific Events Centre, Jade Stadium and Waikato Stadium, Dimond had the required depth of experience to successfully complete this project,” according to Dimond’s Scott Townsend. 

“In this case, the main roof consists of two elliptical, tilted planes. The challenges, which were all success­fully overcome, resulted from the arena’s height, the roof’s angle and the length of the sheets to be installed,” he says.

The roof features Dimondek 630 concealed fixed roofing in Colorcote ZRX — the only product in New Zealand that met the architect’s specific requirements.
With sheets up to 47.5m long, it was necessary to manu­facture the sheets using the Dimondek 630 onsite manufacturing unit. The absence of any steps or joins in the continuous sheet lengths greatly increases the roof’s weathertightness and protection against corrosion.

The concealed fixing system used with Dimondek 630 also ensures no fixings pierce the roof, eliminating a common source of leaks from incorrectly installed screws.
The Arena’s harbourside, inner-city location required durable roofing and cladding materials that would perform in the salt-laden environment. Dimond recommended a material and paint coating system called Colorcote ZRX which is specifically designed for severe marine environments where there is a high risk of corrosion.

Other Dimond profiles, such as Brownbuilt 900, Corrugate and V-Rib were used as wall cladding materials at the ends of the structure and under the eaves. They also used the Colorcote ZRX system, and the variety of profiles helped to provide contrasting design features, contributing to the stunning final appearance of the Vector Arena.

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