2016 Archive : MiamiDade Animal Services

Project Details

Fabric 1

Comtex
Producer: Trivantage LLC
Supplier: Trivantage LLC

Engineer Name 1
Gary D Foreman PE SE AIA PA

Design Name
Wilailuck Rodriguez, Michael Alexande

Design Company
ShadeFLA

Fabrication Name
California Shade Sails Inc.

Fabrication Company
NO Equal Design Company

Project Manager Name
Carlos Herrera

Project Manager Company
ShadeFLA

Installation Name
Carlos Herrera

Installation Company
ShadeFLA

Please describe the project specifications

A custom built steel frame to provide shade and water protection for 5,600 square feet of outdoor space for dogs to play in. The structure is part of the scope of new construction for a state-of-the-art animal services building for Miami-Dade County. Fabric is HDPE UV Stabilized Woven Shadecloth Comtex®.

What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

The client, Miami-Dade County, wanted a tensile fabric structure to protect the outdoor play area for the dogs at the Miami-Dade Animal Services Building. Given the location of the play area on the south side of the building, shade was of the utmost concern of the client to avoid any heat related dangers with the animals.

What is unique or complex about the project?

While working with the architect of the building, a concern about the size of the columns. To solve the issue of size, we re-engineered the project to have cross beams between the columns. Not only did this reduce the size of the columns, we were also able to change the grade of steel in the columns to make the product more cost effective. Given that the product is in Miami, there were concerns about weather and winds. Through our practice we have found that using turnbuckles are not the best fit for tension sails because under the high loads of a sail the threading fuses together. Since sails must be removed from the structure during a hurricane, we needed to change the system to avoid purchasing turnbuckles for the client after every storm. We came up with the solution of holding the sails in place with chain, and D-Shackles linked to the columns. The frame itself also had issues concerning its connection to the building. The cross beams had to connect to the existing pilasters in the building so the loads could be properly transferred into the foundations of the building, and the frame. The design of the cross beams had to change due to incorrect measurements concerning those pilasters. The sails have to be connected to a plate that is attached to a cross beam on the side attached to the building in order for the sails to withstand 90 mph winds.

What were the results of the project?

The sails provide the perfect amount of shade for the outdoor area of the building. The animals, and the volunteers of the building are able to spend extended amounts of time outside without fear of heat exhaustion, or rain interrupting their valuable time.

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