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Clark Construction Group, LLC earned the merit award in restoration/renovation from the Associated General Contractors of Metro Washington for the United States Botanical Garden Conservatory. The conservatory was modernized, expanded an additional 10,000 square feet, and includes a visitor’s center, offices, gift shop, exhibit areas, and 13 glass house display areas. Each house represents a region or theme, each with its own unique climate.
The renovation brings the conservatory into the modern world. No more hand-cranking the windows open for fresh air or draping perforated garden hoses over radiators to produce humidity.
The facility now features massive air conditioning, heating and ventilation systems, misters and fog machines. Shades open and close electrically, and the window panes of the conservatory have been replaced with tempered and laminated glass.
Underground PVC air ducts circulate air throughout the building and the exhibits, making the system unique because it is located below grade. Trenches run along the interior edge of the building and house the fogging system equipment, fin tube radiators, steam lines, electrical, and control systems. The fogging system uses water, produced by a reverse osmosis filtering system, to humidify the air. Sensors in each zone communicate with the main computer system. If the zone is too dry, the fogging system is automatically switched on.
Renovating the conservatory featured the removal of the existing glass while workers tackled the complex steel and aluminum superstructure of the glasshouses. Each glasshouse section was tented and the enclosed trusses blasted with steel grit to remove all traces of lead paint. Then the steel was inspected, repaired, and repainted. Samples of aluminum extrusions were gathered to use as dies for the new construction, and samples of the specially curved glass panes were saved to create molds.
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