Ace’s Place, a 11,000 square foot structural greenhouse, came to RMG to expand its facility and to make it structurally sufficient to withstand the often high winds and intense snow loads of eastern Colorado. The project started out as a three-bay greenhouse that needed a local architect and structural engineer to review and stamp the drawings. But very quickly it grew into a five-bay project when the owner purchased a different Chinese manufactured kit and asked RMG to modify the structure and provide MEP engineering services, including the addition of a steel plate reinforcing to the columns and a series of angle bracing at each truss frame, as well as additional horizontal steel girts and steel roof joists. The relationship and scope of the work expanded yet again when RMG was asked to provide building code review and life safety drawings for Ace’s three additional prefabricated structures that would house the processing, extracting, and shipping facilities. We worked with the local code officials and jurisdictions to create a construction package that everyone was satisfied with.
This project required a high level of flexibility. The RMG team had to constantly adapt and to overcome some often seemingly insurmountable obstacles. There were multiple challenges including working with a home builder (rather than a commercial representative) that had never constructed a greenhouse before and converting a Chinese kit to withstand the very specific Colorado elements. Despite the challenges, our team successful worked with the builder to design and build a fantastic structure that will carry them into the future.
