Gulf Shade, a leading Bahrain-based tensile membrane structure specialist, is giving the final touches on the roofing structure of the prestigious Lagoon Mall within the Amwaj Island development, situated along the northeast coast of Bahrain.

“The roofing work for the mall is nearly complete and the project should be ready for handover sometime soon,” says Osama Isa Al Thawadi, owner of Gulf Shade.
The Lagoon at Amwaj is surrounded by the mall’s boutiques and shops, making it a one-of-its-kind in Bahrain.
“The architect had selected 1002 PVC T2 Ferrari fabric for the terraces, since apart from being one of the most durable lines of products produced by Ferrari, the T2 also has excellent dust-resistant properties,” says Al Thawadi. “This is because the fabric is coated with 100 per cent PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) on the outside. Also, T2 retains its whiteness longer than standard untreated PVC (polyvinyl chloride) fabrics and comes with a 12-year product guarantee.
“The welding of T2 fabric is slightly different from the usual uncoated PVC fabric,” says Al Thawadi. “The fact that it has a 100 per cent PVDF-coated surface makes it impossible to weld joints without removing the coating. We had to use a special machine to abrade the surface at the joints, so that it was precise and just enough to ensure proper weld strength.
“For the roofing, the architect has designed a series of conical shapes that are fixed to the walls of the mall with a slight tilt towards the lagoon. The size of the canopies and the steel above it gives an added charm to the terraces,” he says. “From the terraces, the mall decorated with canopies lit-up at night, resembles sea gales bellowing around the turquoise waters of the lagoon.”
The fabric covers about 12 per cent of the roof of the mall and is made up of 107 canopies, each having an area of  50.4 sq m.
“The curved element is one of the obvious and strong features of these structures. All of the supporting steel is curved, with no sharp bends or corners. The structure is made of six-inch steel pipes bent to the profile of the fabric curves. The galvanised steel pipes have been given an additional two coats of marine-resistant coating to maintain its integrity in the corrosive environment of the region.
“The most articulate part of the steel manufacturing is the bending of the large size sections,” says Al Thawadi. “The cantilevered steel was required to be bent exactly to the curvature of the fabric edges. The radius of curvature of the steel is crucial in this case as the fabric needs to fit exactly to the shape of the bent pipe.”
The canopies cantilever up to 6 m, giving shoppers and diners ample space to enjoy the outdoors, he concludes.