Iconic Performance

by Jonathan McGaha | March 2, 2014 12:00 am

The 7,000-seat Filene Center[1] at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts[2] in Vienna, Va., is the centerpiece of activity at the only national park dedicated to presenting the performing arts. Performances such as musicals, dance, opera, jazz, popular and country music are offered from mid-May through mid-September.

After 30 years, weather had taken a toll on the original copper roof at the outdoor concert pavilion causing it to leak. The original roof had 5- to 8-foot-long pans that could not provide sufficient expansion capabilities and an added liquid membrane coating ultimately failed, creating a potential for injury and damage to both performers and equipment. Copper was selected to re-clad the pavilion roof for its durability, longevity and unparalleled beauty.

While architect Gauthier Alvarado & Associates[3], Fairfax, Va., has done numerous roof replacement projects, Ryan Seymore, lead designer, notes that none have been more challenging than the Filene Center because the iconic roof structure presents more like a façade than a typical roof.

The initial stages of design included an evaluation of the existing copper roof system drainage and detailing, which led to the observation that several areas of the roof were ponding or had negative slopes. As Seymore explains, the design needed to provide a watertight roof system while retaining its original batten aesthetic. “Several changes to the roof slopes were made to meet the current building code standards,” he says. “The most challenging aspects were the detailing of expansion battens which joined together in several axes to create compound angles and the positioning of the sloped, vertical battens to maintain a consistent appearance to patrons from a lawn-level perspective.”

The James Myers Co. Inc.[4], Beltsville, Md., custom fabricated and installed all new flat seam, batten seam and standing seam copper roof systems. The new roof includes 60,000 pounds of copper, made up of 95 percent recycled material. SMACNA guidelines were used to design the smaller, 20- by 22-inch flat seam pans and also install new, batten-style expansion joints to ensure the seams on the new copper pans would not fail.

The batten seam mansards’ design and layout proved to be tricky due to the structure’s unique design, which presented several challenges and required skilled craftsmen to accomplish the work and ensure water would properly drain, creating a watertight metal roof. The roof decks were sloped and tilted, creating an optical illusion when looking at the battens from the ground. The uppermost battens appear vertical, but were actually on a 45-degree tilt from the roof deck.

New crickets were designed and constructed along the beams running the length of the roof to fix the problem with the roof deck that allowed water to flow up against the beams. James Myers shop-formed and pre-tinned all of the copper pans, including the vent covers, which were handcrafted and shipped for installation.

The theater’s roof slope had to be changed as some of the areas sloped backwards and were not shedding water properly. All new joists and substrate were installed with the rear elevation changing by several feet. To make sure all of the seams were fully soldered, periodic tests of cutting and inspecting representative seams were field conducted.

“James Myers provided a skilled workforce with a keen attention to the [Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts’] goals to ensure a successful installation,” notes Seymore.

Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Vienna, Va.

Award: 2013 North American Copper in Architecture (NACIA) Awards for Roof Restoration, and 2013 NRCA Gold Circle Award for outstanding workmanship (low-slope)

Architect: Gauthier Alvarado & Associates, Fairfax, Va.

General contractor: MarChuk Construction Co. Inc.[5], Fairfax

Sheet metal contractor: The James Myers Co. Inc., Beltsville, Md.

Copper: Revere Copper Products Inc., Rome, N.Y., www.reverecopper.com[6]

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/iconic-performance/

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