Buffalo, N.Y.-based Birdair Inc. – a specialty contractor for lightweight, long-span roofing
systems and custom tensile architecture applications – has been chosen as the roofing subcontractor
for the Talisman Centre for Sport and Wellness in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company will
install a Tensotherm™ with Nanogel® roofing system as a replacement for the athletic facility’s
original 162,000-square-foot fabric roof.
Birdair developed Tensotherm in partnership with Boston-based Cabot Corp. and Suffern,
N.Y.-based Geiger Engineers. The translucent composite – having a thickness of less than 2 inches
and a R-12 insulation value – comprises a Nanogel aerogel layer sandwiched between two layers of
structural polytetrafluoroethylene fabric. Tensotherm allows high natural light transmission that
results in energy-efficient, glare-free daylighting. The system also controls moisture and reduces
sound.
The new roof will match the aesthetics of the Talisman Centre’s current roof, but will offer
five times as much insulation value and also will solve condensation problems, according to
Birdair. This is the second Tensotherm with Nanogel roofing system to be installed worldwide.
August 25, 2009
