Sprung Structures Don’t Work: QUOTABLE

“The type of structure proposed is not appropriate for housing people in Barrhaven or anywhere, even on a temporary basis.”

Barrhaven East Councillor William Lo on sprung structures

Isn’t it interesting what people call things when the real name conjures up bad images.

You know, like tent.

And that’s what a spring structure is … a glorified tent.

For years, your agent played tennis in a sports bubble. It was a serviceable way to play tennis (though hitting lobs was a bit of a challenge) but you wouldn’t want to live there. And that the dressing rooms were in the main building meant a cold dash to and from the bubble before and after play. Nothing like shorts in January.

With the sprung-structure tents, one wonders if all the facilities necessary for life can be put there or is there a cold dash to … who-knows-what.

Another thing that happens in sports bubbles is that snow and bubble heating cause snow to fall from the roof to the bottom of the ‘walls.’ Freezing and thawing results in the ice and snow to turn it into a frozen wall as the winter unfolds. God help the person who runs into it fetching a shot. Reinforced concrete has more give. And in the sprung structure, how does that work for draughts?

As well, don’t forget that during big snow storms, periodically the air-supported bubble would collapse. A quick fix gets the bubble back up but it takes a long time to re-heat it. And sometimes, the forced-air to support the bubble creates a gap at the bottom so the elements can enter … like rain. If you’ve ever played tennis in a bubble with a red-clay surface, it performs like mud, Fortunately this crack is sealed by the ice wall over time.

Bubbles are not ideal places for tennis, less so for people attempting to live there. For tennis, bubbles are better than nothing and there’s no wind or rain (except when a hole develops in the roof … get out the Gorilla Glue).

Imagine coming from another land where, sometimes, people live in odd structures but nothing like a tent in winter. In fact, people coming to Canada often are very apprehensive about winter … like Canadians, come to think of it.

So a welcome in a tent might not be the right option. Furthermore, we’ve seen the stellar work of staff in other city projects such as … wait for it, light rail … and you wonder: “What could go wrong with a city-staff-approved tent in winter?” City staff would probably have trouble raising a little tent beside Lac Black Fly in summer let alone a mighty sprung structure. Staff has as much experience in tents as it has in LRT.

Surely there are other options with, say, plumbing that might be a better option. But some bushy-tailed staffer decided sprung structures would be best. Unique, innovative, promotion-creating like light rail.

One wonders that if staff were really proud of ‘sprung structures’, why they didn’t call them what they really are … tents.

Ken Gray

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