COLA shade structures · NSW schoolsA COLA the whole school fits under.
Covered Outdoor Learning Areas for schools and childcare centres across NSW. Designed and made in our Rydalmere factory, engineered to the NSW wind codes.
COLA shade structures
Two ways to roof a school yard.
COLA stands for Covered Outdoor Learning Area, which is a roofed, open-sided structure over a court, an assembly slab or a play yard. A hip-roof COLA is a steel frame under a pitched roof: rectangular, dry underneath, close to an exact fit over a netball court. A multi-sail COLA is tensioned fabric flown from masts, overlapping until the shade reads as one canopy, which gives you fewer posts and wider spans.
We have been building shade in Sydney for more than 40 years. At Bexley we put up 165 square metres of multi-sail, and at Glenmore Park the sails are terracotta.
The fabric is cut and sewn in our own factory at Rydalmere, so what comes off the truck is the canopy drawn for your yard. Repairs, re-tensioning and re-skinning are part of what we do as well, on our own sails and on ones we didn't build.
- Shade cloth that blocks up to 99% of UV, with the cover set for the middle of the day.
- Hip roofs and multi-sail canopies, chosen to fit the space.
- Post pads and fall-zone clearance where a mast has to land inside a play space.
- Waterproof PVC where the space has to keep working in the rain.
- NSW licence 294924C, family owned, fully insured, 3,000+ jobs.
Selected work
Schools, childcare centres and play yards.
COLAs, multi-sail canopies and playground covers we have made and installed across Sydney and NSW.
How a COLA gets built
What we settle before anything is made.
Hip roof or multi-sail
A hip roof wants a fairly regular footprint and gives you a floor that stays dry, so it goes over courts, assembly slabs and canteen forecourts. A multi-sail canopy suits a yard that already has equipment in it, because the masts can land in the gaps and the fabric reaches over the top. Height comes into it as well, since a court needs clearance a sandpit doesn't.
Shade where the children stand
We take the orientation, the fall of the land and the hours the space is used (recess, lunch, sport and pick-up), then set the cover for the middle of a summer day. Where the sun comes in low from the west, the cover has to run further that way than a plan view suggests. Shade cloth blocks up to 99% of UV, so a class can sit under it at lunchtime.
Working on a live school site
School holidays are the obvious window for a build like this. If yours has to go up during term, raise it at the measure, because it changes which end of the yard stays open while the frame is standing. Concrete under the posts also needs time to cure before any fabric goes on it.
Engineered, and documented
Every structure is engineered to the NSW wind codes, with certification available on request. The wind region sets the post size, the footing depth and how far the fabric can reach. It's why two COLAs of the same size can end up on different footings: one is inland, the other gets the weather off the coast.
Shade cloth or waterproof PVC
Breathable shade cloth lets the hot air out from under it, which stops a big covered area turning into an oven. Waterproof PVC keeps the rain out entirely, so the space still works on a wet day. Either way, we size the structure around the membrane you choose, because the two have to be settled together.
Good to know
School shade, answered.
What happens between the first call and the finished structure?+
The measure, the blueprint and the written quote come out of the one visit. From there it goes through shop drawings, engineering and fabrication before the install, so tell us the term you want it finished by when you first call.
Can you install during term time?+
Yes. Send the term dates with the site plan so the work can be planned around them.
How long will a school shade structure last?+
The steel, footings and hardware outlast the fabric. The membrane is the part the sun works on, and ours carries a 10 to 15 year warranty. When it does reach the end of its life it's the easiest part of the structure to renew, since a new skin goes on the same frame and footings.
Can you help with a grant or funding application?+
We carry the technical half of it: the measure, the design drawings, the fabric and structural specifications and the engineering documentation. We don't write the application and can't promise an outcome.
Do you build for childcare centres as well as schools?+
Yes. Childcare sites are smaller and tighter, so the constraints move around a bit: fall zones under equipment, sandpit and deck covers, a cantilever umbrella over a courtyard. The engineering and the certification are the same as on a school job. What changes is the scale.
NSW builder licence 294924C · ABN 54 631 910 168 · family-owned, 40+ years · our own factory at 40 Bridge Street, Rydalmere NSW 2116.
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Want us to come and look at the site?
Free measure, blueprint and quote: 7 days a week, across Sydney and all of NSW. Send a site plan through with your call if you have one.