In Detail> City College’s masterpiece Shepard Hall gets a long-awaited restoration, gargoyles and all. Read Aaron Seward’s full article here.
Carl Stein, FAIA will speak as part of the “Modernism by Choice: The Economy, Politics, and Sustainability of Preservation” symposium this Saturday at AIANY Center for Architecture.
The symposium is in conjunction with the World Monuments Fund’s “Modernism at Risk” exhibition on view at the Center through May 1, 2010. See here for more information on the exhibit.
Case Study 1: Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, IL
Speaker: Graham Balkany, Director, Gropius in Chicago Coalition
Case Study 2: Miami Marine Stadium, Miami, FL
Speaker: Jorge Hernandez, Architect, Co-Founder, Friends of Miami Marine Stadium
Case Study 3: Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Speaker: Michael Calafati, AIA, Principal, Historic Building Architects, LLC, Trenton, and Chair, AIA-NJ Historic Resources Committee
Moderator: Theo Prudon, DOCOMOMO US
Respondent: Frank Sanchis, Senior Vice-President, Municipal Art Society
Case Study 1: Taliesin, Spring Green, WI
Speaker: Victor Sidy, AIA, Dean, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Case Study 2: Central Branch, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, Atlanta, GA
Speaker: John Szabo, Director, Central Branch, Atlanta Fulton Public Library
Moderator: Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, World Monuments Fund
Respondent: Carl Stein, FAIA, Elemental Architecture, LLC; formerly of Marcel Breuer and Associates
Organized by: the Center for Architecture in collaboration with the World Monuments Fund, DOCOMOMO US, and World Monuments Fund, DOCOMOMO New York/Tri-State.
Price:
Free for Members
$5 suggested donation for students
Central to the entry redesign is the reconstruction of the original ground floor entrance. In addition to the salvaged schist stone wall, concrete retaining walls form the stair opening leading down to the original lower level stone arch entry. Earth and gravel fill are compacted to serve as a supporting base for the new concrete stair slab.
Scaffolding has been erected and selective demolition & removals have begun on the main building. The first step of the facade reconstruction is the selective removal of existing terra cotta sculpture to serve as models for new Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) replicas.
A rigorously tested thin-shell GFRC, strong, light weight and durable, has been the material for all the terra cotta reconstruction. The entire reconstruction, totaling over 65,000 pieces, is currently the largest GFRC reconstruction project in the world.
Following careful removal of the representative sculptural pieces, demolition of the remaining terra cotta will begin.
Meanwhile, the demolition of the existing terra cotta window surrounds exposes the original steel lintels that support the window openings. Each steel lintel is inspected to determine its structural viability. Where possible, salvaging the original steel is preferred.
Local Manhattan Schist stone is the primary façade material of Shepard Hall as well as the other campus buildings originally designed by George Post. Through a process called “sounding,” each stone on the building is struck with a mallet and the sound produced is an indicator of the stone’s integrity. Stones that sound “hollow” or are visibly damaged or deteriorated are marked by the design team for replacement.
Stay tuned for continued updates from the field.
As construction continues, efforts to utilize the original schist stone entry ramp wall that was recently unearthed continue to make progress. Concrete underpinning (for an explanation of underpinning, click here) along with new steel reinforcement, will allow the original schist stone wall to be incorporated into the new entry design. Meanwhile, as the entry ramp work continues, Elemental Architecture and the team are preparing to commence full scale reconstruction efforts on portions of the main building itself. Stay tuned for continued updates from the field.
Last night, the AIA New York Chapter / Center for Architecture took over the West 4th Street subway station for the opening of their New York Now architecture showcase. Elemental Architecture’s historic reconstruction of New York City Landmark Gothic Revival building, Shepard Hall at the City College of New York, is among the work featured in the exhibit.
New York Now includes work of all type and scale – small, large, commercial, residential, public, private, interiors, historic preservation, engineering, landscape and urban design – presenting the scope and quality of projects by Chapter members in New York City today. This high-visibility exhibition offers a snapshot of where we are at this moment and celebrates the diversity of the Chapter’s membership.
The exhibit runs through the end of October. For additional information and online slideshow of work featured, click here.
Along with the recently unearthed entry stairs a major portion of the original entry wall has been unearthed. Following inspection, the team is now evaluating how this remnant of the original entry can be incorporated into the reconstruction. The wall, constructed of Manhattan schist likely from the building site, was buried under fill during a mid-twentieth century alteration. As part of the reconstruction efforts to the entire building, a new entry in keeping with George Post’s original entry is being created. Stay tuned for continued updates from the field.
Carl Stein is interviewed about the history and preservation efforts by elemental at Shepard Hall as part of the College’s Centennial celebration
As demolition and excavation progress continues for the newly designed building entry, a startling discovery: the original entry stairs built in 1907, long believed to have been demolished, are found buried under earthwork fill below the recently removed concrete ramp. Along with the stairs a significant portion of original schist stone wall is also uncovered. Elemental and the construction team are now evaluating if portions of the original elements can be incorporated into the new entry design.
