RK Steel: PSM Park Project Narrative for AGC ACE Awards 
          
         Overview Statement: Building Community in Castle Rock 
         Castle Rock recently enjoyed the opening of the Philip S. Miller Activity Complex and Park, named after 
         local banker and philanthropist Philip S. Miller. The Millers did not have children, but they valued youth and 
         youth activities, and Castle Rock decided to honor their legacy when it allocated the trust funds that were left to 
         the town. 
         Philip S. Miller Park is the largest park project in Castle Rock’s history. It boasts a wide variety of indoor and 
         outdoor activities for kids and adults year-round and offers amenities that the town never had before, boosting 
         tourism, enhancing the quality of life for residents, and adding value to the Castle Rock area.  
         The first phase of the Miller Activity Complex features full-sized and half-sized synthetic-turf fields, an aquatic 
         center with a leisure pool and four lap lanes, a children's birthday party area, a golf simulator, a trampoline area 
         and drop-down batting cages. The park also includes a lighted, outdoor synthetic turf field, more than six miles 
         of hiking and biking trails and a challenge staircase. Recent additions included a new zip-line feature; an indoor 
         skiing complex is planned for the future. 
         RK Steel performed basic structural and miscellaneous work on the fieldhouse, but what made this project truly 
         unique was the task of constructing a Sprung tension-fabric structure to cover the indoor aquatic facilities. The 
         curved, canopy-style structure has walls made of white, durable vinyl fabric, and measures 125 feet long by 111 
         feet wide by 42 feet tall. 
         We utilized innovative project planning, site preparation, scheduling and on-site install methods to overcome 
         these unusual challenges: 
                The curved shape of the structure, and the use of vinyl fabric material for walls, created a highly unusual 
                 project that required special planning and fine-tuning adjustments to ensure success.  
                The swimming pools were already poured and in place, and we had to figure out how to build over them 
                 without putting scissor lifts on the pool deck. 
                Due to the “one by one” construction plan to ensure the quality of each section, manpower scheduling 
                 was tougher to figure out than a typical job. 
                Weather obstacles needed to be worked around, and in some cases, remedied.  
          
         Our team weathered the demands of the unusual design—and the obstacles along the way—and successfully 
         completed a project that is now a landmark visual icon at the Miller Activity Complex in the park.  
          
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    RK Steel: The Strength Behind the Project 
     
    The Fieldhouse: Structural and High-End Miscellaneous Steel Work 
    RK Steel fabricated and installed structural steel in certain rooms, and two sets of stairs and stainless steel cable 
    railing, inside the fieldhouse. We also fabricated and installed bridge rails. The high-end stair rails look like 
    they belong in a SoHo loft. A close inspection of the stairs shows the extraordinary work by RK Steel 
    fabricators; all the joints are hidden, and the stairs were carefully prepped for the installation of an elegant wood 
    rail on top. 
     
    Uncharted Waters: Constructing a Unique Tension-Fabric Pool Facility – While Standing in the Pool! 
    RK Steel’s talents were put to the test when we were called to construct a Sprung tension-fabric structure over 
    the existing pool area. The curved, canopy-style structure was designed with walls made of white, durable vinyl 
    fabric. The facility measures 125 feet long by 111 feet wide by 42 feet tall. 
    Challenges? Well first, the structure’s curved shape and the fabric material created an unusual project that 
    required special planning and site preparation. Second, the swimming pools were already in place, and we had 
    to figure out how to build over them without putting scissor lifts on the pool deck. 
     
    Pooling Ideas for the Innovative Construction of Fabric-Walled Bays 
    The canopy over the pool is a curved, spherical shape comprised of six bays (sections). The walls of the bays 
    are made of two shell layers of a durable white vinyl fabric filled with batting (an insulator) in between.  
    First, we built the structure’s support out of large, aluminum “ribs” that arch over the pool area into a dome. 
    Once the ribs were in place, our team had to devise the best way to place the outer sheet of vinyl fabric and 
    stretch it over the ribs, one bay at a time. 
    We utilized a rope pulley system to pull the outer shell layer from the ground and upward to cover the 
    aluminum support beams. The outer layer had to be carefully stretched until each rib was placed over the anchor 
    bolts, and then set to establish the final level of tension. 
    Next, we filled the space inside the outer layer with batting that had to start at the bottom, but stop half-way to 
    the top. We figured out a way to fold the fabric wall material into the insulation to keep the batting from falling 
    out in the event of bad weather. 
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    Finally, we used the rope pulley system to pull the inner shell layer from the ground and upward and over the 
    batting layer to create the inside “wall.” The inner layer had to be carefully stretched into place to match the 
    outer wall, and then sealed so that the entire bay wall would be water tight before moving on to the next bay 
    installation. 
     
    Watershed Moments: Overcoming Special Challenges 
    The swimming pools were already poured and in place, and scissor lifts could not be placed on the decks 
    surrounding the pools. All construction was done in the air using JLGs (lift baskets). Our three teams used two 
    separate JLGs in tandem to pull the fabric sides of each bay up over the steel ribs.  
    To construct one of the end bays, the team had to go down into the actual pool and build up over 40 feet, or four 
    stories, of scaffolding. That’s because JLGs couldn't reach this area and again, scissor lifts couldn't be used on 
    the deck outside the pool. If you know how the ground level changes along the bottom of a pool, you can 
    imagine the challenge! 
    Another challenge was the fabrication of two custom 15’ x 15’ rolling “garage type” doors that had to be curved 
    to fit the shape of the facility. The facility structure is aluminum, which expands in heat. After the doors were 
    installed, they experienced some issues due to their unique shape and facility design constraints. Our team 
    invested extra time to rework them to get them to fit just right and to operate smoothly despite the expandable 
    nature of the facility. 
     
    Project Management Leadership: Quality Control 
     To ensure top quality, the RK Steel team fully completed one bay (section) of the Sprung building at a time 
    before starting the next bay. Completion of each bay included a stringent quality control process in which the 
    team had to inspect the entire bay and ensure it was weather tight, properly installed and free of any defects. 
    The RK Steel crew also received JLG training for certification to operate JLGs. Plus, they completed training 
    constructing tension-fabric facilities. Our commitment to a properly trained job site crew showed up in the 
    quality of the work. 
     
                  
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         Inventive Scheduling Improved Productivity 
         One challenge of scheduling manpower arose because of our commitment to complete, and QC, one bay before 
         starting the next. To utilize manpower efficiently, we devised three teams that worked simultaneously 
         throughout the project. Team One would complete a single bay by stretching fabric over ribs, using the process 
         described above. Team Two would erect and stand the next bay, getting it ready for install. Team three prepped 
         the parts. 
         We also had work around Colorado’s weather patterns. Since storms tend to arrive in the afternoon, we 
         scheduled most of the bay install work in the morning to get the fabric walls in place before the weather turned.  
          
         Safety Goal: Zero Incidents 
         RK Steel implemented a site-specific safety plan for this project that was specifically designed to address 
         unique hazards associated with our rope pulley system, scaffolding built inside a pool, and other design-specific 
         issues. Each morning, our three project teams completed safety inspections that resulted in zero safety incidents 
         out of the 7,317 total man hours on the project, and kudos from our project partners.  
          
         Community Contribution: Castle Rock: Now Home to World-Class Recreation Amenities  
         Philip S. Miller Park is the largest park project in Castle Rock’s history. And it was intentionally designed to 
         offer way more than a traditional recreation center. It boasts indoor and outdoor activities for kids and adults 
         during every season and offers amenities that the town never had before.   
         Richard Huddleston, RK Steel Project Manager, said, “RK Steel put its best foot forward in being resourceful in 
         figuring out how to complete a highly visible project with unique challenges. We devised, and revised, our 
         plans as needed to get the job done, without any sacrifices in quality. We’re proud to have contributed to the 
         largest activity center serving the Castle Rock community.” 
          
         PROJECT AT A GLANCE 
                Total man hours = 7,317 
                Total RKS fabricated steel weight = 75,326 
                Total fabric building weight = 91,200 
          
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