The Arrabelle at Vail Square

Architect

4240 Architecture
Denver, Colorado

The Town of Vail, Colorado, is in the middle of its "Billion Dollar Renewal." At the centerpiece of this revitalization was The Arrabelle at Vail Square. After winning the bid, The Roofing Company was knee deep in copper. The Roofing Company was challenged with the fabrication and installation of 1366 lineal feet of copper cornice at the eaves of 15 different copper roofing locations. These 20-ounce copper cornices were made in-house and required many hours of layout and fabrication. Some of these had stretch-outs that required the cornice to be constructed out of two pieces of copper in order to meet the designed profile. Prior to copper roofing installation, the 15 different cornice profiles were made. The Architect's cornice designs were not stock profiles, necessitating in-house fabrication of every piece. Each of the fifteen profiles incorporated convex and concave radiuses, as well as standard bends. After profiles were optimized and drawn in CAD, the contractor's shop staff spent many hours developing their bending plan for each profile. Fabrication took approximately one hour per ten-foot piece, with anywhere from thirty-eight to one hundred seventy-four bends per piece. Cornice sections were fabricated just prior to installation to minimize storage time and potential for damage. Tradesmen installed copper cornice, shingles and standing seam roofing while on site.

A Copper Development Association (CDA) professional was engaged to deliver a three-day course to reinforce field staff skills. All fitting, cutting, and soldering was performed on site. Due to the inconsistent nature of wood and steel framing, considerable time was spent adjusting cornice substrates to ensure lines were straight and miters met perfectly. Each joint, horizontal or vertical, was fully soldered per CDA recommendations.

The Architect required that no exposed fasteners be used, which required field staff to solder many joints (including vertical and overhead) that would typically be riveted, then soldered. When winter conditions set in, copper cornice areas were tented to allow soldering to take place. Copper flat-seam shingle installation was performed in accordance with CDA practices, including the continuous soldering of panel seams at slopes less than 3:12. Each façade's copper shingles were unique in size and layout, incorporating eight distinctly different patterns into the project.

Standing seam roofing included straight and concave applications, also installed in accordance with CDA practices. At straight roof areas, double-lock seams were used, with field staff hand-seaming each seam. Batten standing seam panels were used at convex roof areas to maintain an ultra-clean look, with CDA details utilized whenever possible. The successful project ended with a stunning product and great relationships between all parties involved.

Architectural Categories: Standing Seam Roofs and Walls, Exotic or Unusual Applications, Flat Seam Roofs and Walls