The cinder track and dirt floor at the Coxe Cage field house at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., were replaced with modern surfaces in 1982. But the roof and a large, single-glazed skylight, both of which had deteriorated, remained largely untouched for 80 years until late 2013.
New York City-based Kiss + Cathcart Architects evaluated the technical feasibility, energy performance, aesthetics, and the cost of various envelope and mechanical replacements. It was determined that the first phase of renovation would concentrate on the roof and skylight.
Enclosing more than 3.3 million cubic feet of air space, the field house is more than 350 feet long and 156 feet across with an approximately 83-foottall ceiling. Manchester, Conn.-based Silktown Roofing Inc. installed approximately 26,000 square feet of 16-inch, 0.04-aluminum Tite-Loc Plus panels finished in PAC-CLAD Cool Color Zinc from Petersen Aluminum Corp., Elk Grove Village, Ill. Giordano Construction Co., Branford, Conn., was the general contractor; ABC Supply Co. Inc., Hartford, Conn., was the distributor; and E-Skylight Inc., Branford, Conn., supplied the skylight.
Colin Cathcart, architect at Kiss + Cathcart Architects, says Coxe Cage’s roof was complex. “It included a ridge ventilator unit, giant vent fans and, of course, the massive skylight,” he says. “The roof has enormous scale compared to most roof installations.”
Cathcart says the metal matched up functionally and aesthetically with the performance of the skylight, flashings, gutters and parapets. “The view of the building and roof from the adjoining Yale Bowl was an important consideration,” he says. “We felt the standing seam panels interfaced nicely with the new skylight to retain the historical appearance.”
The majority of the Tite-Loc Plus panels were 72 feet long and the old roof was removed down to the existing tongue-and-groove decking. Steve Pumphrey, project manager at Silktown Roofing, says his company stitched all of the decking boards with fasteners, installed an ice-and-water shield, nail-board and another ice-and-water shield. “Getting those long panels up on the roof by crane and landing them on a 7:12 slope was a real challenge,” he says. “Once that occurred, the job was relatively straightforward.”
When Coxe Cage was built in 1928, it was considered one of the largest structures of its kind. Charles Edmund Coxe, a hammer thrower on Yale’s squad, was charged with raising funds for the new facility and offered the necessary $300,000 with the stipulation that it be named for him.
E-Skylight Inc., www.e-skylight.com
Petersen Aluminum Corp., www.pac-clad.com
