| ST. LOUIS, MO – John Kahmann, a superintendent with general contractor McGrath & Associates, was “the last man out” when the huge St. Louis Science Center’s air-filled Exploradome took its final bow last week. McGrath was contracted to demolish the 16-year-old temporary building to make way for a new St. Louis Science Center exhibit building.
Built in 1997, the Exploradome’s polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) shell was inflated by air blower units and sat on a 120-by-240 foot concrete pad. Stretching approximately 38,000 square feet, the Exploradome was the largest inflatable structure in the City of St. Louis and housed numerous St. Louis Science Center exhibits. Although the static air pressure inside the Exploradome was just 1.25 inches, similar to that of a home ductwork system, the air released when McGrath opens a double airlock door created a brisk gust of wind, blowing streamers and pinwheels for a group of St. Louis Science Center summer campers attending the official deflation event (see video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdSPOGQbE74&feature=youtu.be). A time-lapse camera inside the dome recorded the deflation process, which took less than 10 minutes (see video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAefx9NXEhY#action=share). Prior to demolition, McGrath tore down the Exploradome’s interior walls but left materials and structures in place for more efficient removal after the dome fabric was deflated, cut up and removed. Much of the building materials will be reused, repurposed or recycled. Doors, door hardware, steel frames, carpet tile, valves, faucets, light fixtures and other interior materials will be salvaged for reuse. The concrete foundation will be broken up and used as clean fill at a new construction site. Even the dome fabric, originally expected to last only seven or eight years, will be repurposed, possibly by farmers to protect hay bales from the weather. The basement of the Exploradome also will be reused in the new building. To preserve the basement while designs for the new exhibit building are completed, McGrath will cover the slab with with a waterproof membrane and install a rock ballast over the membrane. The foundation and slab extends about a foot above the finish grade and the rock will spill over the edge, resembling a Meramec River gravel pile. McGrath & Associates, celebrating its 30th year, is a 100 percent employee-owned general contractor and construction management firm specializing in commercial, health care, industrial, institutional and pharmaceutical construction projects. McGrath is a member of the Associated General Contractors, the St. Louis Construction OSHA Partnership and has been named “General Contractor of the Year” by the American Subcontractors Association Midwest Council four times out of 15 nominations. For more information, call Ken Knobbe at (314) 772-7600 or visit www.mcgrathconstruction.com. # # #
|
Source: McGrath – News