3-D Copper Dome for Athens FUMC

Ornametal Manufacturer for the Cupola

Ornametals
Cullman, Alabama

Downtown Athens is known as the Historic Preservation District and deep in the heart of this district, you will find Athens First United Methodist Church (FUMC). Sitting on top of the church, in all its glory, is a copper dome. The church was built in 1925.

After almost a century, FUMC's dome reached the end of its service life. Production on the new dome design began in October 2020, with installation starting in November of the same year. The original dome, built nearly 100 years ago, was fabricated using diamond-shaped copper panels that were completely flat. For the renovation, copper was used as the historically accurate material. A new plan however was suggested which called for a change in shape and would reveal a new modernized facade, taking shape as three-dimensional panels. Two hundred eighty-eight rauten tiles were fabricated from 0.7mm thick copper to cover the dome. Its dimensions are a 213 square foot area, a 22.9-foot diameter, and a height of 10.49 feet. The tiles spatial effect was created by working standing edges into the adjacent sides of the diamonds. These ridges are several millimeters high at the bottom tip of each diamond and reduced to zero on the opposite side. This technique raises the central axis and creates a harmoniously constructed 3-D effect. Different edge lengths and shapes were used when characterizing the copper tiles: wide-produced square profiles, pointed diamonds, and other special formats. Half-squared panels were used for the first row at the sphere's base. The width and length of the copper panels change with each subsequent row.

Narrow, more acute-angled copper diamonds were fabricated for the last nine rows forming the connection to the circular platform that holds the cupola. These individual diamond shapes ensure an even and continuous line pattern between the profiles. The shape of the hemispherical cupola is based on a 1:1 drawing and the mother console portion of the original tower to replicate the toolings needed for reproduction. The crown stands approximately 9 feet high and has a diameter of 6.89 inches and a thickness of .078 inches. The punching tools and drop mechanism were manufactured in-house for the radius profiles. These cornice profiles were welded together for 16 circular copper rings made to accessorize eight semi-conical columns. The columns are soldered to the base and lacquered in white for historical accuracy.

Finally, the team completed the printed hemisphere with a broad copper base and eight decorative brackets with floral motifs. The sphere was created as a detailed replica of a dismantled ornament and was fabricated in two halves. Maneuvering both halves was quite challenging because the number of assembled components, sizes, and overall weight of the cupola kept changing. Therefore, the tower's lower half was manufactured horizontally and erected to meet its other half. Once upright, the decorative and half brackets were assembled onto the tower's lower portion, and the surrounding cornice was soldered to the connection profile.

Due to its mass, two substructures were fabricated to carry the weight load. The first armature has the lower half of the tower, the columns, and the cornice. The second structure stabilizes the upper half of the cupola with the hemisphere and the cross. The coppersmiths also constructed an eyelet at the top so a crane could lift the copper crown onto the church after it arrived on site. What makes this masterpiece even more remarkable is the time capsule pocket at the base. Inside this isolated area holds some of First United Methodist Churches little treasures and documents from the installation.