CASE STUDY: SINGLE PLY ROOFING

Project: Westin Denver International Airport

Photo courtesy of FiberTite Roofing Systems; Photo Credit: Channel 7 News, The Denver Channel

Owner: Denver International Airport
Architect: Gensler
Specifier: Nick Lovato, Cybercon Engineering, Inc.
Roofing Contractor: Douglass Colony Group

The Project: The Westin Denver International Airport is the first hotel built to service travelers at Denver International Airport (DIA), the 15th busiest airport in the world and the fifth busiest in the United States. A convenient destination for business and leisure travelers, the hotel is part of the city’s new Hotel and Transit Center that includes a public transit station with rail service to downtown.

The Challenge: The hotel is uniquely situated on airport property. The acclaimed architect, Gensler, with offices worldwide, took on the challenge of designing a building that would not obstruct the line of site for air traffic controllers. Decision makers wanted a durable and hassle-free roofing system that could withstand Colorado’s extreme Rocky Mountain climate, delivering snow, ice, hail, high wind, and a guaranteed 300 days of sunshine each year. The membrane also needed to be resistant to jet fuel fallout from the planes passing overhead. Roof installation was another challenge. Airport security practices extend to all parties on airport grounds. Crews installing the roof had to pass background checks and get security clearance daily. Furthermore, to keep airways and landing strips free from flying debris, all products and equipment had to be hauled onto and off of the roof each day.

The Solution: Nick Lovato, owner of Cybercon Engineering, Inc., a Colorado-based roofing and waterproofing consulting firm, presented a KEE single-ply membrane system as the roofing solution. Lovato has been specifying this type of system for more than 20 years.

“DIA’s management team came to me for quality assurance,” says Lovato. “The geometry of this roof is like a saddle. It will experience occasional ice slides. This job needed a membrane that is durable, tough, reflective, and meets UL fire rating at steeper slopes. It also needed to have excellent wind uplift resistance ratings.” The system includes a gypsum based prime cover board and two layers of 2-inch polyisocyanurate insulation with a torch grade venting vapor barrier over the primed lightweight structural concrete deck.

The Result: The building is a one-of-a-kind, sleek and modern design that is built upon the imagery of flight and aviation. Resembling a bird in flight, the building is wing-shaped at each end, and the center dips 50 feet to allow controllers full view of the airways from the tower. The roof of the hotel showcases the design to the estimated 53 million travelers passing through DIA each year.