Birdair Awarded Staten Island Children's Museum Contract
Birdair, Inc., a specialty contractor of tensile structures of all sizes, has been awarded the design-build contract for the cable and fabric roofing system of a 2,200-square-foot freestanding tensile structure at the Staten Island Children’s Museum in Staten Island, N.Y.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Birdair, Inc., a specialty contractor of tensile structures of all sizes, has been awarded the design-build contract for the cable and fabric roofing system of a 2,200-square-foot freestanding tensile structure at the Staten Island Children’s Museum in Staten Island, N.Y.
The new addition, called the Meadow Structure, features a translucent, photovoltaic fabric roof that collects solar energy to power low voltage lighting. Birdair has been hired to design and fabricate a 3,000 square-foot tensile roof featuring Birdair’s steel cable systems and PTFE, a Teflon®-coated woven fiberglass membrane. In addition, Birdair will be providing technical supervision during installation.
“This is the first project of its kind that combines thin-film photovoltaic panels and Teflon-coated fabric membrane,” said Brian Dentinger of Birdair, Inc. “We designed a system that supports the photovoltaic panels and allows the individual panels to be removed without disturbing the roof fabric.”
Upon completion later this year, the Meadow Structure will be used year-round as a flexible, weather-protected outdoor gathering and program space. Located on the grounds of Staten Island’s famous Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Museum is New York’s only indoor-outdoor interactive museum. Since 1976, the Staten Island Children’s Museum has provided interactive exhibits and creative workshops for children of all ages to explore the arts, sciences and humanities.
In addition to Birdair, the project team includes Marpillero Pollak Architects of New York City, Weidlinger Engineers of New York City, and Power Film Solar of Ames, Iowa, providing the PV panels.
To date, Birdair has completed work on more than 1,200 tensile architecture installations worldwide. For more information, visit www.birdair.com.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Birdair, Inc., a specialty contractor of tensile structures of all sizes, has been awarded the design-build contract for the cable and fabric roofing system of a 2,200-square-foot freestanding tensile structure at the Staten Island Children’s Museum in Staten Island, N.Y.
The new addition, called the Meadow Structure, features a translucent, photovoltaic fabric roof that collects solar energy to power low voltage lighting. Birdair has been hired to design and fabricate a 3,000 square-foot tensile roof featuring Birdair’s steel cable systems and PTFE, a Teflon®-coated woven fiberglass membrane. In addition, Birdair will be providing technical supervision during installation.
“This is the first project of its kind that combines thin-film photovoltaic panels and Teflon-coated fabric membrane,” said Brian Dentinger of Birdair, Inc. “We designed a system that supports the photovoltaic panels and allows the individual panels to be removed without disturbing the roof fabric.”
Upon completion later this year, the Meadow Structure will be used year-round as a flexible, weather-protected outdoor gathering and program space. Located on the grounds of Staten Island’s famous Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Museum is New York’s only indoor-outdoor interactive museum. Since 1976, the Staten Island Children’s Museum has provided interactive exhibits and creative workshops for children of all ages to explore the arts, sciences and humanities.
In addition to Birdair, the project team includes Marpillero Pollak Architects of New York City, Weidlinger Engineers of New York City, and Power Film Solar of Ames, Iowa, providing the PV panels.
To date, Birdair has completed work on more than 1,200 tensile architecture installations worldwide. For more information, visit www.birdair.com.
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