A new to-scale replica of Noah's Ark will not need to survive another Great Flood. It is big enough, though, to probably hold two of every animal.
Ark Encounter, a historical museum dedicated to the legendary Bible story, was built to the size specified in scripture: 510 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 94 feet high. It is be the largest timber-framed structure in the world, according to its designers and developers. The Ark, which opened last week in Williamstown, Ky., can hold up to 10,000 people (the plan is to limit the capacity to 3,000, though), and a 1,600-seat restaurant is being set up on the top deck.
The project cost $100 million and took a little more than one year to build. The timber frame construction designed and supplied by Colorado Timberframe. The Ark required 3.1 million board feet of timber, and more than 1.2 million board feet of square timbers were needed for the frame itself.
As much reclaimed timber was used as possible, including a few of the 50-foot Engelmann spruce logs at the Ark’s center.
“Wood is such a versatile product,” Keenan Tompkins, owner of Colorado Timberframe, said in a statement. “If you look back through history, there are plenty of examples of extremely large structures, some of which are even still standing today. So it’s kind of going back to incorporating and using that, but applying it in a modern context and having it meet the modern engineering standards that we have today.”
Construction crews included 10 workers on site in Williamstown, 25 builders in a workshop in Denver, and 75 Amish craftsmen employed by the project’s contractor.
The Troyer Group was the project’s architect, and Accoya wood was used for the exterior cladding.
The Ark is expecting more than one million visitors during its first year.
Ark Encounter during construction. Click to enlarge.
Related Stories
Religious Facilities | Oct 28, 2015
After 133 years of construction, Sagrada Familia enters final phase of construction
Six new towers to be added will make the cathedral Europe's tallest religious building.
Sponsored | Religious Facilities | Sep 25, 2015
Where Construction Meets Religion
The beliefs of the congregation required specific compass-orientations for certain rooms
Religious Facilities | Aug 25, 2015
A fully restored St. Patrick’s Cathedral awaits the pope’s arrival
The three-year reconstruction project included more than 30,000 preservations and repairs.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 22, 2015
Condo developers covet churches for conversions
Former churches, many of which are sitting on prime urban real estate, are being converted into libraries, restaurants, and with greater frequency condominiums.
Religious Facilities | Mar 23, 2015
Is nothing sacred? Seattle church to become a restaurant and ballroom
A Seattle-based real estate developer plans to convert a historic downtown building, which for more than a century has served as a church sanctuary, into a restaurant with ballroom space.
Retail Centers | Mar 10, 2015
Retrofit projects give dying malls new purpose
Approximately one-third of the country’s 1,200 enclosed malls are dead or dying. The good news is that a sizable portion of that building stock is being repurposed.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 5, 2015
Chicago's 7 most endangered properties
Preservation Chicago released its annual list of historic buildings that are at risk of being demolished or falling into decay.
Religious Facilities | Mar 3, 2015
Gaudi's Sagrada Familia to be completed in 2026
Architect Jordi Fauli has taken over responsibilities for finishing Antoni Gaudi's masterpiece. Fauli is confident his team will be able to finish the mega project within the next 12 years.
Sponsored | Metals | Feb 25, 2015
Why churches are being built of metal
Affordability and speed of building are important factors.
Architects | Feb 11, 2015
Shortlist for 2015 Mies van der Rohe Award announced
Copenhagen, Berlin, and Rotterdam are the cities where most of the shortlisted works have been built.
