The Challenge

Jay Peak Resort opened in the 1950’s, and in the years since has embarked on a number of expansions to skiing and riding trails. Jay Peak recently embarked on a major expansion that brought to the resort luxurious new lodging options and an array of four-season activities – and a new water park that has played a major role in that transformation.

The Solution

Black River Design of Montpelier, Vermont is the architect and DEW Construction Corp. of Williston, Vermont is the general contractor for the Jay Peak expansion. They discovered OpenAire at an IAAPA conference where the company’s work was being presented as an example of how to build a water park. Black River Design and DEW Construction Corp. soon after engaged OpenAire to design and build Jay Peak’s water park enclosure.

The Jay Peak water park enclosure is the tallest that OpenAire has built in North America. Measuring 140’ wide and 280’ long and 43’ high at the sidewalls, it adds up to over 40,000 square feet. The design also includes a curved cupola at the apex that allows for a 55’ high slide tower. Plus, the structure can handle 80 lbs. per square foot of snow load, which is a vital design feature for Jay Peak, located in a region of the US with a higher snowfall than some Rocky Mountain ski resorts.

OpenAire’s retractable roof has a number of eco-friendly benefits, all of which offer energy and dollar savings in comparison with traditionally built waterparks:

• When the weather is warm enough to retract the roof, fresh air naturally floods the building, with the interior humidity being exhausted through the open roof. This means mechanical systems that typically control the atmosphere aren’t required when the roof is open, resulting in tremendous energy savings.
• The enclosure, with its polycarbonate roof and insulated glass sides, lets in plenty of sunlight, which saves money on lighting.

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