“We have to replace circuit boards, but the structure
of the roof is built to last. This stadium was built with
a minimum of 30 years lifetime, but this roof will go
beyond that,” he claims.
Woodrow reveals the Cowboys organization spends
up to US$100,000 a year maintaining the roof, video
boards and doors, which are maintained by
Minneapolis-based, Uni-Systems Engineering.
ROOFING
Clean start
With giant roof structures comes the need to keep
them clean. Thankfully, keeping the roof clean is made
much easier these days with the development of the
latest roofing materials nearly eliminating the need for
any maintenance cleaning.
The two preferred materials used by most
constructural architects are PTFE
(Polytetrafluoroethylene – common brands include
Teflon) and ETFE, which is an incredibly light fluorinebased
plastic.
At the AT&T Stadium, the fixed section of the roof
is made of traditional PVC, but the retractable panels
are a PTFE fiberglass material, coated with a titanium
dioxide TiO2 fabric.
Supplied by New York-based company, Birdair, the
membrane is designed to be translucent enough to let
in ample natural light and was the first stadium roof
also to be coated with Saint-Gobain’s Sheerfill
architectural membrane.
When ultraviolet light strikes Saint-Gobain’s
innovative material, the ‘EverClean’ photocatalytic
TiO2-based surface on the membrane, hydroxy radicals
and superoxide radicals oxidize organic substances
such as dirt, dust and other matter stuck to the roof.
Rain or water then washes it all away, nearly
(Above) To help maintain the
roof structure at AT&T Stadium,
it is coated with a self-cleaning,
photocatalytic membrane
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