New Orleans Convention Center Replaces 41-Acre Roof with Henry SPF Roofing System

The Challenge

Spanning 11 city blocks and 1.9 million square feet of contiguous exhibit space, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans is the sixth largest convention facility in the US. As part of a five-year, $557 million capital improvement plan (CIP), the facility is undergoing a series of major upgrades.

 Inside the Convention Center, a new third-level multi-purpose space will draw visitors with dramatic views of the Mississippi River. New meeting spaces and LED exhibit hall lighting is already in place, as are energy-efficient chillers, cooling towers and boilers. Outside, a 7.5-acre pedestrian park stretching the length of the building is complete. Atop the building, crews will be making $37 million of repairs and replacements to facility’s massive, mile-and-a-half-long roof.

Specifications called for a TPO single-ply roof, but the prospect of lengthy delays caused by pandemic-driven TPO materials shortages forced designers at AECOM Hunt/Broadmoor to reconsider. They settled on spray foam technology instead – a Henry system that had proven successful on some of AECOM Hunt/Broadmoor’s biggest New Orleans projects, including the Caesars Superdome and the Smoothie Kings Center.  

The Solution

The Henry system features a spray-in-place insulation made of rigid, closed-cell polyurethane foam (SPF), covered with Henry Pro-Grade 988 silicone roof coating. Additionally, the spray foam’s R-value, along with the reflectivity of the Pro-Grade 988 Silicone White Roof Coating, makes it an extremely energy efficient roof system. Project architects and builders liked the system for several reasons, including its robust performance and protection against the elements.

The same spray foam technology had been used on the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina and remained leak-free through subsequent hurricanes and since its reapplication in 2022. In part, that’s because the wind uplift factor of spray foam is much higher than TPO single-ply. Additionally, the spray foam’s R-value, along with the reflectivity of the Pro-Grade 988 Silicone White Roof Coating, combine to make it an extremely energy efficient roof system. Equally important, spray foam offers a seamless, monolithic installation that is much faster and far less disruptive than most mechanically fastened systems.

Based on all these factors, AECOM Hunt/Broadmoor gave the solution a provisional OK and began working with Carlisle distributor Green Shield Products on specifications. At the same time, Green Shield started inspecting all 41 acres of roof to make sure it was a suitable spray foam candidate. Inspectors divided the roof into 14 different zones and conducted infrared surveys to spot moisture anomalies. They also surveyed roofing sections that would need to be replaced – some areas of the roof are 40 years old, some were added in 1999 and none have been replaced. Roofing system types range from gravel bur and modified bitumen to single-ply systems on sloped metal.

Once Green Shield’s inspectors OK-ed the Henry solution, crews from Brazos Industries began the roof prep work. It’s a massive undertaking that includes sucking up all the loose gravel with industrial wet vacs and removing the single-ply roofing. After spots are cleaned and prepped, Green Shield inspectors will take core samples to confirm that no moisture issues were missed during the infrared inspections.  

The Results

As the roof prep work proceeds, Brazos Industries will begin installing the spray foam system on a rolling basis. The roof replacement is the first major element of work in the five-year CIP, and installation of the Henry spray foam system is expected to unfold with minimal disruption to Convention Center activities and visitors.

Longer term, the monolithic Henry spray foam solution will eliminate the possibility of water or wind entering any seams and will deliver decades of robust protection from the elements. In terms of energy efficiency, the system is already helping the Convention Center achieve its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification status. Ultimately, the Henry system will help the Center’s roof protect literally millions of dollars’ worth of exhibits as well as the comfort of its nearly 750,000 annual visitors.