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Copper Covers U.S. Olympic Training Center

Edition #81: Spring 1996


Several of the ten buildings at the new U.S. Olympic Training Center near San Diego roofed with worry-free copper.
Copper is helping the United States go for Olympic gold! Ten major buildings at the 150-acre training center for Olympic athletes near San Diego are graced with copper roofs.

Here's how the center's designer, Ken Wiseman, describes the copper roofing: "Wonderful! It's exceeding our expectations." A partner in the Washington, D.C., architectural firm of Lehman/Smith/Wiseman, he's been an admirer of copper since his student days when he worked summers as a roofer.

Wiseman chose copper roofing for two reasons:

"Because no maintenance is required and because we wanted a different look from the residences in the suburbs that will in time surround the site."
Most of the nearby residences have or will have shingle or shake roofs. The general contractor, Koll Construction, San Diego, opted for a pre-engineered copper roofing system.

According to Ron Brockhoff, who managed the project for Koll, there were no roofing contractors available within a reasonable distance with the machinery essential for site fabrication and, it didn't make economic sense to buy an expensive machine for a one-time job.Ó In addition, Brockhoff believes that the pre-engineered approach made for higher quality.

The center is on a hilly site next to the three-mile-long Otay Reservoir; Olympic rowers and kayakers train on the reservoir. Wiseman wanted to achieve an impressive appearance for those approaching the center from the other side of the reservoir, which serves San Diego. As he puts it, "Copper is great because it's worry free." In addition to the roofs, all the flashing, gutters and downspouts were fabricated from copper sheeting.

The Copper Development Association arranged for the copper rolls and sheeting to be donated by fabricator member companies, Hussey Metals, Outokumpu American Brass and Revere Copper Products, and by producers, Phelps Dodge, Cyprus, Kennecott, ASARCO and Noranda. The 16-oz. copper was fabricated into pre-engineered roof sections by AEP-Span, Dallas, which has provided copper roofing for 25 years, according to Thomas Seitz, national sales manager. Construction was supervised by the architectural firm, Tucker, Sadler & Associates, San Diego.

The center is actually in Chula Vista, a fast-growing suburb of San Diego. It has been in use since June 1994. The $150-million center is open to visitors every day; there is no charge.

AEP-SPAN: 214/827-1740
Lehman/Smith/Wiseman: 202/466-5660
Tucker, Sadler & Associates: 619/236-1662

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