Roofing concepts using polycarbonate sheets

Solid and multiwall polycarbonate sheets made from Bayer MaterialScience’s (BMS) Makrolon material are proving a popular choice in construction projects that require innovative roofing.

Offering good stability and elasticity, Makrolon sheets are designed to withstand high wind loads without the need for complex substructures. Weighing just a few kilograms per square metre, they are also lighter than comparable glass structures but can nonetheless cope with extreme weather conditions such as hail and heavy rainstorms. And they’re described by BMS as being easy to machine and handle, even on site.

For sports stadiums, UV filters are particularly valuable. “The addition of a special UV absorber layer filters out harmful UV radiation from the Sun while also allowing the grass on sports fields to grow naturally,” BMS said. “The safety of the fans is also ensured by compliance with numerous international fire protection regulations.”

Even a short list of sports venues and other buildings that have incorporated the Makrolon sheet is impressive: a new 3,000-square-metre grandstand roof recently installed in the Westerdam stadium in Bremen, Germany; a discus-shaped roof with a diameter of 217 metres in the BayArena soccer stadium in Leverkusen, Germany; large-scale grandstand roofs constructed for the Olympic venues in the Chinese cities of Tianjin, Shenyang and Quingdao; airports in Jeddah and Hanoi; and multiwall sheets 16 and 25 mm thick used in the current construction of a futuristic new railway station in Wuhan, China (pictured).

Bayer Inc. -Division of Bayer AG (Toronto); www.bayer.ca;1-800-622-2937