A new canopy dressed up the River East Arts Center in downtown Chicago. VM Zinc supplied the material and Tuschall Engineering Co. Inc., Burr Ridge, Ill., performed the engineering and installation.
Members of the Glenview, Ill.-based Metal Construction Association have formed a Retrofit Task Force aimed at promoting the value of retrofitting roofs and walls to building owners and managers, architects and contractors. The group is chaired by Jim Bush, vice president of sales for ATAS International, Allentown, Pa., and head of MCA’s Roofing Council. Mark James, vice president of sales and marketing for Roof Hugger Inc., Odessa, Fla., is vice-chair. Formation of the task force is based on several factors, primarily the growing emphasis on energy efficiency and the increase in renovation compared to new construction. “Right now is an especially opportune time to expand the market for retrofit,” says Bush. “It has been estimated that 25 percent of the [construction] market share is new construction and the rest is renovation. In addition to roof retrofit, our program emphasizes the growing use of retrofit for walls and how the newer retrofit technologies are beneficial for wall panel assembly.” In addition to its marketing and education activities, the task force will: explore new retrofit technologies; foster the growth of rainwater harvesting and solar technology in conjunction with retrofit metal roof systems; establish relationships with industry associations aimed at sustainability and energy-efficiency goals; and establish industry guidelines for the proper analysis of existing-building roof and wall systems from a structural integrity perspective. The task force recently held an informational webinar and has put together a white paper as its first educational tool. It is available for download at www.metalconstruction.org.