TensoSky® ETFE roof provides weather protection for students, staff and visitors
Birdair, Inc., the world’s leading specialty contractor for custom tensile membrane structures for over 60 years, left a lasting impression at the University of Florida with a one-of-a-kind roofing system atop the atrium of the university’s Architecture Building. The retrofitted roof features Birdair’s innovative TensoSky® ETFE film.
The new roof covers the atrium’s open space and allows students, staff and visitors to use the atrium regardless of weather conditions. The lightweight, flexible nature of ETFE membrane – paired with its signature aesthetic and design benefits – made it the ideal film to use for the project.
TensoSky ETFE film is considered the material of choice for traditional skylight systems and can be applied in single-, double- or triple-layered applications. The film offers a variety of benefits, including exceptional light transmission, solar control, elasticity, longevity, acoustics and energy efficiency. ETFE is also easily recyclable and can be remolded into new ETFE products such as tubing components, wires or castings.
The 5,700-sq.ft. roof features 38 two-layer cushions utilizing clear transparent ETFE film, allowing students and visitors to see the sky from under the roof. The ETFE canopy system is an open-air structure, enabling air flow and ventilation around the perimeter of the structure. Birdair’s scope of work included design-build services of the supporting structural steel framing system, transparent ETFE film cushions, air inflation materials and clamping.
The Birdair construction crew worked under a compressed schedule for installation of the structural steel’s helical, spiral non-tangent curve design. The crew, comprised of five union iron workers from Iron Workers Local 397 in Tampa, Fla., worked 10-hour days, seven days a week to install the structural steel frame over the university’s winter holiday break, to avoid lifting over the building while students and staff were present. The roof also needed to meet Florida Building Code (FBC) requirements.
“It was challenging to install the structural steel with a spiraling ridge and multi-angular purlins while receiving deliveries of structural steel during the winter holiday break,” said James Thomas, Director of Construction, Birdair. “We’re proud of the fact that the installation challenge was met, with our crew installing all the structural steel before students and staff returned from the break.”
After installing the structural steel, the team’s next challenge was to install the complete ETFE skylight on the newly erected structural steel frame. The ETFE system is comprised of a self- contained drainage system for condensation and weather protection, all custom fabricated to match the spiral steel frame.
“A lot of coordination had to occur between the design of the ETFE roof system with the existing building,” Thomas said. “The ETFE cushions, as well as the supporting steel standoffs that hold the ETFE clamping extrusions, were all different. Our pin-based sliding connections minimized bending moments being transposed into the building.”
“We’re excited about the result – a brand-new skylight system ready to welcome all who visit the beautiful atrium at the University of Florida School of Architecture.”
Award-winning architectural firms KMF Architects and Brooks + Scarpa teamed up to work on the retrofit project. The project team also included TLC Engineering Solutions, a multifaceted high-performance engineering firm with global experience, and Stellar Construction, a fully integrated design-build company specializing in architecture, construction, engineering and more.
Originally constructed in 1980, the School of Architecture Building serves as the administrative home for the University of Florida. Facilities in the Architecture Building include dedicated studios, classrooms, computer laboratories, fabrication spaces, administrative offices and a gallery space for the presentation of work and exhibits. The open-air atrium and adjacent lawn are considered the social and cultural heart of the school.
For more information on Birdair’s innovative roofing systems, canopies and skylights, visit Birdair.com and follow Birdair on Facebook and LinkedIn.
About Birdair
Birdair, Inc., is the leading specialty design-build contractor of custom tensile structures around the world. In addition to pre-construction services such as design assistance, budgeting, construction methodologies and project scheduling, Birdair provides design-build solutions in all aspects of project design, fabrication, installation and maintenance. The company offers a selection of architectural fabric membranes, including PTFE fiberglass, ETFE film, PVC and Tensotherm™, an insulated tensioned membrane system. Birdair, based in Buffalo, NY, is a member of the Taiyo Kogyo Group, with operations serving North and South America and other international locations.
For more information about Birdair, call 1-800-622-2246 or visit Birdair.com.
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Birdair’s retrofitted TensoSky® ETFE roof at the University of Florida School of Architecture Building Atrium covers the atrium’s open space and provides weather protection for students and visitors.
Birdair’s scope of work for the University of Florida School of Architecture Building Atrium included design-build services of the supporting structural steel framing system, transparent ETFE film cushions, air inflation materials and clamping.