Inspired in 2002 by a mother’s dream of her departed 13-month old daughter, the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples (nicknamed “C’Mon”) has been 10 years in the making. Ground for the museum was broken in 2009, and in February 2012 dreams became real as the doors of this unique facility opened to the public.
The mission of the museum is “to provide an exciting, inspiring environment where children and their families play, learn and dream together.” This two-story 30,000 square foot cultural jewel includes 12 exhibit galleries, a Family Resource Library, classrooms, meeting rooms, restaurant and gift shop, as well as space for staff, volunteers and ongoing operations.
“Everything is based on learning through play,” says museum spokeswoman Heather Patton. “Everything is about learning and discovery: Pull something apart, figure out how it works, and then put it back together.”
Patton explains how even the design of the building exterior was kid-inspired, “We had an architect do several different renderings of the museum. No one could ever pick one, so we sat down with a group of kids and asked them. Finally a little boy said, ‘Why do we have to pick just one?’ He actually sort of picked the pieces and parts of all the renderings. And that’s how we came up with what we’ve got today.”
Bold colors, sweeping canopies, and a playful ship-inspired design summon “All Aboard” to families and children of all ages. The Series 300 metal roofing system from IMETCO, with its unique "S" curved panels, creates a fun, rolling aesthetic across the various roofing sections that accent the entire building. Panels as long as 84-feet were field curved onsite, with a continuous and smooth concave-to-convex “S” curve, by IMETCO’s own fabrication experts. FW Series soffit panels were used on matching canopy soffits for a sleek, finished look.
Once inside, 12 exhibits invite visitors to learn about regional history, geography, agriculture, weather, and even Green Construction in this dynamic learn-through-play environment. The $25 million Golisano Children’s Museum is all green, right down to the organic food served in the Garden Café. The museum was designed and constructed using sustainable practices with particular attention to site development, water conservation, energy management, and the use of recycled materials. One of the 12 exhibits highlights the sustainability of the building, as visitors are able to construct a model of C’mon, or explore a see-through section of the wall -- an amazing experience for budding architects and builders!
Environmentally friendly features in C’mon include large roof overhangs and covered verandas to minimize solar heat gain and aid in rainwater harvesting, use of recycled materials, natural sunlight, a wind turbine and photovoltaic solar panels for power generation. The highly efficient Series 300 roof was the ideal choice for C’Mon with its high recyclability, recycled content, solar reflectivity, and ability to support the rooftop photovoltaic solar panels.
C’Mon will be a LEED® certified green building, rated by the U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC). IMETCO metal roof and wall products contributed to the building's LEED certification with recycled content and regional materials.
While the design flexibility of the Series 300 system brings the C’Mon vision to life, its performance-inspired engineering provides a safe haven for visitors and exhibits from the harsh weather conditions that are prone to the Southwest Florida region.
IMETCO Engineering Services performed a complete analysis on the building to determine project-specific design loads, then engineered the roof system to address the Museum’s unique requirements. The project required a roofing system that could achieve the unique aesthetic demands while resisting extreme winds and debris impact. The Series 300 standing seam metal roof system, along with a Perform-A-Deck metal deck assembly from Martin Fireproofing, was selected to provide "near-absolute protection" under a single-source warranty. The Series 300/Perform-A-Deck system is engineered and tested to withstand extreme wind uplift and debris impact, not only as required for Florida’s Enhanced Hurricane Protection Areas (EHPA), but also as recommended by the FEMA 361 Design and Construction Guidance for Community Safe Rooms.
IMETCO also provided a comprehensive shop drawings package with custom details and installation instructions to assist the installers.
“The concave and convex curves of the roof (design) made this a particularly challenging project,” recalls Scott Otey, Vice President of West Coast Fl Enterprises, Inc. commercial roofing, “Every flashing detail had to be carefully fabricated.”
Otey continues, “We worked diligently with the architect and IMETCO to solidify some of the tougher details. We were extremely pleased with the detailed drawings that IMETCO provides. They made our job much easier!”