Birdair, Inc. Enlisted for Denver International Airport Roof Support Project
Two Temporary Shoring Towers to Carry “Mountain Range” PTFE Fabric Roof Load During Airport Construction
Published: September 18, 2012
Construction is underway at Denver International Airport, one of the busiest airports in the United States, and the 11th most frequented in the world. The South Terminal Redevelopment Project (STRP) aims to reinvent the way DIA connects to the city by providing travelers easier access to downtown Denver. The STRP, a program targeted at developing major hospitality and transportation amenities, will require two temporary shoring towers to support Birdair’s iconic fabric membrane tent roof. The current roof anchorage points obstruct the construction of a new hotel and conference center, an open-air public plaza and a transit station.
Birdair’s project role involves designing and building the steel shoring towers, which will carry the vertical and horizontal roof loads. The towers extend 30 feet below grade and rise 70 feet above ground. Once the shoring towers are erected, Birdair will transfer the 215,000-pound roof load and remove eight roof anchors that comprise the south end roof “eyebrow,” which is currently blocking excavation.
Upon completion of the four-year project, Birdair will install new roof anchors, transfer the loads back to the foundations and remove the temporary shoring towers.
“Due to the roof’s large surface area, the process of switching the cable loads over to the towers is a carefully engineered procedure,” says Dave Capezzuto, Director of Business Development for Birdair. “Every step is closely monitored and verified by the engineering and construction teams to ensure the project is successful.”
Completed in 2004, the Elrey Jeppesen Terminal at Denver’s International Airport pays homage to the region’s iconic Rocky Mountains while effectively serving nearly 53 million travelers who pass through it annually. The massive 1,200- by 240-foot facility features a striking “mountain range” canopy that utilizes Birdair’s innovative steel cable systems and PTFE, a Teflon®-coated woven fiberglass membrane. This graceful, lightweight roof incorporates two layers of fabric membrane to ensure proper sound control and sufficient insulation against Denver’s demanding climate conditions.
In addition to Birdair, the project team includes program manager Parsons Transportation Group, Denver, Colo., general contractor Mortenson-Hunt-Saunders Tri-Venture, Denver, Colo. and structural engineer Severud Engineers, New York City, NY.
As a full-service specialty contractor, Birdair offers complete design-build solutions, and has completed more than 1,300 tensile architecture installations worldwide. Learn more at www.birdair.com.
Teflon® is a registered trademark of E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, Delaware.
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About Birdair: Birdair, Inc. is the leading specialty contractor of custom tensile structures throughout 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, engineering, installation and maintenance. The company offers a selection of architectural fabric membranes, including PTFE fiberglass, ETFE film, PVC and Tensotherm™. 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, like us on Facebook, call 1-800-622-2246 or visit www.birdair.com.
