Cullman business recognized for copper craft

Cullman’s Ornamentals Manufacturing may only have a few employees, but the copper manufacturer has racked up its share of awards in recent years.

The company was recently honored with a North American Copper in Architecture award for its work on The Hadrian in New York, New York, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that Ornamentals has received a NACIA award.

Ornamentals — together with its sister company CopperWorks, which is located in Decatur — fabricates copper fixtures that are usually used in historical restoration. 

Ornamentals specializes in gutter systems, and its seamless weld downspout system is the only one manufactured in the United States.

With five employees working out of the 27,500 square foot Cullman shop, the company has racked up awards and accolades for its work in recent years, including work on the Kansas State Capitol Building in Topeka, Kansas, Parkland Hall in Dallas, Texas, the Church of Nativity in Huntsville and private homes in Chattanooga and Huntsville.

The company works on projects around the country and the world, but has also manufactured copper features around the area, including Cullman’s Sacred Heart Church.

The most recent award-winning project for Ornamentals was for Renovation/Restoration for the cornice replication for The Hadrian, a turn of the century mid-rise complex.

To preserve the appearance of the historic building, the galvanized cornice was replaced with over 220 linear feet of new decorative copper to match historical photographs.

The custom-made decorative ornaments include 33 lion heads, 34 swags with leaves, 34 fleur-de-lis, 17 shields and 16 anthemia. More than 6,500 pounds of copper were used to rejuvenate the cornice and restore it to its natural beauty.

The NACIA awards program, established in 2008 by the Copper Development Association and the Canadian Copper & Brass Development Association, recognizes and promotes copper buildings in the United States and Canada selected across three categories: New Construction, Renovation/Restoration and Ornamental Applications.

“Architects and contractors continue to develop innovative and impressive designs that speak to copper’s formability, durability and unique weathering characteristics,” said Stephen Knapp, the director of the Strip, Sheet, & Plate Council for CDA. “Copper may be referred to as man-kind’s oldest metal, but it certainly isn’t antiquated. In fact, as green building trends continue, we expect specification of copper to increase in order to meet various sustainable building standards.”