Towering DaVinci Roofs at SUNY
Specially-designated floors at several residences at the State University of New York (SUNY) provide unique living environments for students. At the all-freshman Smith Residence, you can live on a floor dedicated to automotive technology or gamer interests. At the Mohawk Residence there’s an alcohol-free honors floor plus a special pet wing. And for both residences, there’s reliable DaVinci sustainable roofing materials overhead.
The eight buildings that make up the Smith and Mohawk Residences in Canton, N.Y. were re-roofed in 2009 with DaVinci Multi-Width Slate synthetic roofing in a European blend of five colors — light, medium and dark gray plus light and dark purple. This is a synthetic slate roof tile that the students see everyday — from eye level!
The unique mansard polymer roofs reach from the top of the buildings down more than four stories to the lawn below. Originally built in 1968, the dormitories house 850 students and an assortment of pets.
“This was an almost straight vertical application that required us to use special scaffolding for installation,” says Michael Lucey, president of Mid-State Industries, Ltd. “The dormitories are surrounded by steep landscaping with minimal access, which posed many challenges to our team. Fortunately the DaVinci product is lightweight and installs easily. This made the application go quickly and effortlessly.”
Who made the decision on what slate alternative roofing products should be used on the student residences? The architectural team at C&S Companies in Syracuse, N. Y.
“We liked everything we saw about the DaVinci product,” says Jenny Schumaker, senior designer at C&S Companies. “The reinforced ribbing on the back of the product, combined with the product’s resistance to curling and insects were all positive aspects.
“Yet, our decision was really made when we learned of the different width varieties and colors available for the tiles. These factors, all combined with the guaranteed 50-year warranty, sold us on using synthetic tiles for the mansard of these residence halls.
“With the extensive visibility this project has on campus, it was important for us to find a roofing color palette that closely matched the other buildings. In addition, many of the steep roof elevations come down near grade and are susceptible to damage from students and maintenance equipment. We felt that the DaVinci product was the very best choice to offer durability and style to the vertical applications on the dormitories.”
For more information on this project, please visit Featured Project – Imitation Slate Shingles for SUNY Canton.