A Great Hall:
Zinc shingles add longevity and style to a historic building
Posted
02/17/2011
Photos courtesy of Tuschall Engineering Co. Inc.
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin's Horticultural Hall was built in 1911
for the purpose of encouraging and promoting the art and practice
of horticulture. It was used for meetings, social events, and
flower and vegetable shows by the professional gardeners and
foremen from the grand estates on Lake Geneva. It was built on
donated land and financed by money raised by the sale of stocks to
lakeshore residents. In 1954, it was reorganized as a non-profit
organization with a 501 (c) (3) status.
Horticultural Hall is on the National Register of Historic
Places and the Wisconsin State Register, and remains very much
intact to the original construction. The architect was Robert
Spencer, a well known Chicago architect also know for his work on
the Lake Geneva Country Club and the Chicago Public Library on
Michigan Avenue.
Horticultural Hall is a magnificent Arts and Crafts structure
built around a large grassy courtyard and flower garden, open to
the sky and enclosed for privacy by arcades. The great hall has a
high-beamed ceiling and a parquet floor. An office/meeting room and
horticultural library remains, as well as a commercial kitchen.
Today the hall is still privately held in trust, managed by a
dedicated volunteer board of directors, and is supported by
donations from the community and surrounding lake residents, and
the revenue received from renting the facility for weddings, social
events and other community proceedings.
The original roofs on the main gable of the great hall and the
entry were cedar shake, which was overlaid in the early 1940's with
a diamond-shaped asbestos cement transite shingle. By 2009, this
60-plus year old roof was badly soiled, mildewed, and had broken
and missing shingles. It was unsightly, and definitely at the
extreme of its life expectancy. The board explored replacing the
roof with slate, faux slate, asphalt shingles, cedar shakes, and
metal pan and shingle roofing systems.
Zinc was chosen for longevity, low maintenance and style, using
Umicore Building Products USA's VM ZINC Adeka diamond pattern roof
shingles, which are very similar to the existing diamond cement
asphalt asbestos shingles in texture and scale. The new
light-weight zinc roofing system allowed a layer of rigid
insulation over the vaulted great hall space, improving thermal
performance and cutting energy usage. The aesthetic result is
stunning. The matte grey finish is rich and subdued and mimics the
former pattern that so many are familiar with.
Fund raising for this project accrued slowly over an 8-year
period, and seemed to have no hope of becoming reality for some
time to come. Finally, in early 2009 Jim Tuschall of Tuschall
Engineering Co. Inc., Burr Ridge, Ill., was contacted about the
project. Tuschall offered a 50 percent discount in the material
cost and fabrication for the benefit of the hall. This generous
donation was the impetus the hall needed to sell the project to its
constituency. Shortly after Tuschall's offer, several other large
cash donations were received that allowed the project to
proceed.
Jim Tuschall of Tuschall Engineering was supported in this
endeavor by Norbert Schneider, president of Umicore Building
Products, Raleigh, N.C. The original budget required re-use of the
old painted galvanized gutters and downspouts. On a visit to
Lake Geneva during the installation, Schneider and Tuschall decided
that this building demanded matching zinc gutters and downspouts,
and the two were successful in arranging for another amazing
discount for these materials, through Guenther Huber-Delle,
president of Ornamentals Manufacturing, of EuroGutter USA in
Decatur, Ala.
Installation of the new roof was done by Sock Woodruff of Custom
Gutter & Supply, Lake Forest, Ill.
Architectural plans and detailing, bidding, and site observation
was donated by McCormack + Etten Architects LLP of Lake Geneva. M+E
has become very partial to VM ZINC in recent years, using zinc
roofing on residences in Lake Geneva.
Horticultural Hall has received tremendous positive feedback
from the community with the new Adeka roofing. It is fresh,
elegant, rich in color and texture, and protects this historic
structure from the elements and fire hazard. The roof has an
anticipated life expectancy of 100 years.
Knowing the hall was able to invest in such a high quality roof
that will last for several generations to come says a great deal to
its constituency about the future viability and sustainability of
this landmark building. Fundraising will always be a difficult and
necessary task for this volunteer board, but the burden is
certainly lightened with a new zinc roof overhead.