BAHRAIN-based Gulf Shade has added another feather in its cap with the successful completion of an amphitheatre project at Qatar’s landmark The Pearl-Qatar residential and leisure development.

The amphitheatre project involved the installation of a PVC-coated fabric tensile structure covering an area of 500 sq m at the Porto Arabia precinct at Pearl-Qatar, the country’s first international urban development and the Middle East’s premier lifestyle community. The 300-seat amphitheatre has a dedicated catwalk for live fashion shows.

The structure was fashioned as a quadrant with inverted arches that gently slopes downwards from a height of 6 m, as required by the client. Soltis 86 ultraviolet (UV)-resistant fabric of the perforated type (to prevent water ponding) from Ferrari of France has been used to achieve the unusual composition of the structure, where the steel supports are positioned on the top of the structure.

“One of the major challenges in implementing the project was in designing it,” says Osama Al Thawadi, managing director of Gulf Shade. “Generally, lightweight steel is used in the installation of tensile fabric structures. However in this case, to meet the specifications of the tender, heavy steel has been used to achieve the desired shape of the structure.”
The supporting frame comprises eight 18-m beams, consisting of 10-inch-diameter pipes, and eight columns, also of 10-inch-diameter pipes, connected by radial struts of five-inch-diameter pipes.

A 250-tonne crane was used to install the frame, which was erected within seven days, according to Al Thawadi. The structure was completed at the end of August.

Gulf Shade, a manufacturer of tensile structures, retractable awnings, custom-made awnings and umbrella shades, was established in 1990 to provide a basic requirement for shade in the extreme heat experienced in the Gulf region, by constructing sun and car-parking shades.

With time, the demand for shades grew and domestic assignments soon included civil and industrial projects. The increase in demand combined with the vision of its management led to an increase in expertise, higher quality products and more complex services such as textile engineering.

Gulf Shade opened offices in Kuwait in 2004 and in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Doha (Qatar) in 2008. The firm has taken up key projects such as amusement parks, Olympic stadiums; malls and complexes; VIP residences as well as government buildings right from Cairo (Egypt) to Beirut (Lebanon), and from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The projects have involved engineering and technical expertise, design, sourcing and implementation, testing and finally installation.
Gulf Shade has a number of ongoing projects in the region, particularly in Qatar, including Newton International School and the Sidra Medical Research Centre. Besides The Pearl-Qatar project, Gulf Shade has played a key role in several striking landmarks such as the plaza and parks in Al Wakrah and a gas facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City.

In Bahrain, it is close to completing work on the Prince Khalifa Park in Hidd, which involves the provision of canopies for a number of restaurants, shades for a viewing tower and conical shelters. It is currently involved in erecting a circular shade for a project at Zallaq.