Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC

New York, NY

For Cycle 8 of FISP, Architectural Preservation Studio has performed the critical examination of the Feil Research Building and 1300 York Avenue for Weill Cornell Medicine. Dating to 1932, 1300 York Avenue is a large Art Deco structure that is 11 stories with limestone and brick façades punctuated by horizontal strips of windows. The Feil Research Building is a recent 7-story structure with brick façades. At the request of the client, APS performed cleaning tests on the limestone and brickwork of 1300 York, providing a report detailing the appropriate methodology to be followed. Inspections on both buildings were performed from a bucket truck. Construction documents were developed and are about to go out bid. Following completion, the FISP reports will be filed as Safe.

New Yor, NY

New York, NY

The Hamad Bin Khalifa Biomedical Research Building is a 11-story structure designed in 1958 by SOM and is articulated with a glass curtain wall on the south façade. For Cycle 8 of FISP, Architectural Preservation Studio performed the critical examination for Weill Cornell Medicine. The inspection of the façade was performed from an aerial platform. Façade repairs were completed to allow the building to be filed as Safe.

New York, NY

The Feil Research Building is a recent 7-story structure with brick façades. For Cycle 8 of FISP, Architectural Preservation Studio has performed the critical examination of the Feil Research Building for Weill Cornell Medicine. The inspection of the façade was performed from an aerial platform. Façade repairs were completed to allow the building to be filed as Safe.

Queens, NY

The staff of Architectural Preservation Studio completed the Fourth through Seventh Cycles critical examination and report filing for the Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP, formerly Local Law 11/98) for New York Presbyterian Hospital Queens. Additionally, our staff was responsible for phased façade repairs at the Main and North Buildings, the roof replacement at the Main Building, and selective window replacement.

New York, NY

Payson House, located at 435 East 70th Street, is a 1965 35-story precast-concrete building that houses administrative medical offices and apartments. By 2007, the 1,500 windows were aging and utilized outdated technology. Having outlived their service life, the windows needed replacement with new custom windows in order to provide a level of performance appropriate for this type of institutional building. Existing sash were removed and the windows replaced with double-sealed insulated glass with glazing that utilized high-performance coatings (low-e) and argon-filled glass cavities to offset high energy costs. After completion of the window replacement work, the hospital decided to clean the exterior prefab-concrete façade to reinforce the renewed look afforded by the window work.

An onsite evaluation of the existing conditions of the window units was performed by the staff of Architectural preservation Studio under WASA Studio and then presented to the hospital in a conditions-assessment report. Original building documentation, provided by the Owner, was reviewed and original design details were reconciled with field conditions. The report also proposed upgrade options, product datasheets, samples, recommendations and a cost estimate. Drawings and specifications were subsequently prepared and bid competitively.

During construction, samples were reviewed and laboratory tests were performed on representative specimens to evaluate the replacement system’s performance and appearance. Project details included the design and installation of a thermally-broken aluminum-frame high-performance system installed over the existing frames, which were left in place and modified in the field, thereby saving on removal and disposal costs, construction waste and installation time. A new snap-on interior aluminum-trim system was designed to cover the scars on the finishes adjacent to the existing units, which also contributed to control installation and finish costs. This approach allowed performance of the work on this occupied residential high-rise on a unit-by-unit basis, in which the contractor’s crews were able to remove the existing windows, install the replacement system and seal the perimeter joints around all windows in the same apartment during the course of a given work day.

With the new windows in place, the client chose to have the building cleaned to upgrade its overall appearance.  Existing elevation drawings showing the layout of the different precast-concrete panels of the building’s façades were prepared, along with performance specifications detailing the materials and methods outlined for the cleaning work.

During construction, cleaning tests following the specifications were conducted in the field under our staff’s supervision. The testing program was aimed at determining the most suitable combination of cleaning products, dwell time, and rinsing and runoff-collection requirements that would afford the best cleaning results. Testing indicated that, given the size and type of the exposed marble-aggregate texture of the rough surface of the precast wall panels, and to some extent that of the precast window surrounds, a general-purpose masonry cleaner was more suitable than a concrete cleaner. The process to determine the most appropriate material and cleaning methods permitted both a non-injurious approach to treatment of the precast-concrete finishes, as well as expeditious implementation of most of the wet-cleaning work before the cold season. Work started in the fall and was completed the following spring.

New York, NY

The Helmsley Medical Tower at New York Presbyterian Hospital was designed by Schuman Lichenstein Claman Efron Architects in 1985. The building stands 36-stories tall, and incorporates several setbacks. The structure consists of a reinforced-concrete frame supporting vertical strips of masonry cavity wall separated by aluminum-and-glass curtain wall.

When relatively new, the building suffered from chronic leaks through the entire exterior assembly. From the beginning of its occupation, repairs to the curtain wall, masonry and roofs virtually never ceased. The professional staff of Architectural Preservation Studio under WASA was retained to perform a comprehensive conditions assessment of the exterior building systems. An extensive review was made of original documentation, including construction drawings, specifications, correspondence, shop drawings and product literature, as well as reports of previous consultants. Documented leaks were plotted by year on elevations to establish trends and patterns. Exploratory probes were inspected to review concealed conditions. Laboratory analyses were performed on mortar samples. We prepared a comprehensive report detailing the pathology of the various exterior components and their synergistic effect on each other, along with recommended procedures for repairs and prioritized cost estimates.

Over a seven-year period, working within the client’s budgetary constraints, we designed and supervised the systematic implementation of $8 million in repairs in a multi-phased exterior rehabilitation program. All of our interventions to the roofing, masonry and curtain wall produced successful results. A unique repair solution we devised for the glazed curtain wall costing approximately $200,000 saved the client over $5 million in what would have otherwise resulted in the complete replacement of the curtain wall. All roofs (main, penthouse, bulkheads and setbacks) were re-roofed. Horizontal cracking at bulkheads was resolved. Shelf angles at every floor level received new flashing and end dams were introduced for the first time.

In addition to the work executed on the exterior, early in the multi-phased project, we designed the waterproofing of all penetrations in the two-story garage. A decade later, the client retained us to oversee the application of a new traffic-bearing waterproof coating. The building remains leak-free.

New York, NY

The professional staff of Architectural Preservation Studio, under WASA, completed a comprehensive facility conditions assessment of 25 residential buildings located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Recently, APS completed an updated exterior conditions assessment of 50 East 98th Street. APS is in the process of developing façade repairs scheduled to be bid out in the spring of 2020.

New York, NY

Mt. Sinai Hospital’s 515 West 59th Street is a 33-story concrete-frame building dating to 1973 that serves as a residential and commercial building for the hospital. The building was filed as Unsafe during Cycle 7B of FISP (Façade Inspection Safety Program). Mt. Sinai hired Architectural Preservation Studio to re-assess the existing construction documents and administer repairs. With large expanses of exposed concrete, the building suffered typical deterioration issues. Reinforcing bars installed too close to the surface corroded had caused extensive spalling. APS devised a repair methodology for sounding and preparation of voids for patching. Although estimated quantities were provided in the Base Bid, APS inspected every scaffold drop to finalize the exact scope of work. These were punch-listed as drops were completed. Initially, we also reviewed preparation, until we were comfortable with the contractor’s performance. Once completed, the Cycle 8 FISP report, which had been filed as Unsafe, was amended to Safe.

New York, NY

Architectural Preservation Studio was retained by Mount Sinai Health System to repair the façades of two of their hospital facilities in the Mount Sinai West Campus. These two buildings occupy three-fourths of a city block in the Midtown West Section of Manhattan and are better known as West and Winston respectively.

West is a 1993 Post-Modernist-style building designed by Skidmore, Owing & Merrill. It is 14-story steel structure with brick masonry and curtain-wall exterior. Its plan is H-shaped with the long axis oriented east-west along West 58th and West 59th Streets. The main entrance is located on 10th Avenue under a monumental archway.

The cornerstone for the 12-story Garrard Winston Memorial Building was laid in 1961. The building is steel frame with brick masonry and curtain-wall panel façades.

Typical façade repairs at both buildings involve replacement of damaged lintels, shelf angles, and cracked brick masonry, along with replacement of dried sealant at expansion joints and at the curtain-wall perimeters. The work was performed to bring the buildings in compliance with FISP (Façade Inspection Safety Programs).

New York, NY

Baird Hall was designed and constructed in the 1960s, as a residential building, but was later converted by Beth Israel Medical Center into doctor offices. It is a 20-story building with brick façades, concrete balconies and slate detailing.

The staff of Architectural Preservation Studio reviewed problems relating to Local Law 10/80 and subsequently, Local Law 11/98. Railings inset too close to balcony edges had caused spalling of the edges. Aluminum balcony-edge covers had exacerbated the condition by trapping moisture. In addition, insufficient reinforcing had caused the balconies to sag making the sidewall scuppers, designed to evacuate rainwater, ineffective. Other issues included delamination of slate sills, lintels and string courses; cracks in brickwork as a result of corroding steel; and displacement of parapets due to infrequent expansion joints and lack of vertical reinforcing.

After reviewing probes, we designed repairs to the building as follows. Balcony edges were recast and new aluminum railings were manufactured and installed. Existing balcony waterproofing was removed, additional reinforcing added, and a new lightweight sloped topping provided the proper pitch to the sidewall scuppers, which were replaced. New pedestrian traffic-bearing waterproofing was installed to complete the terraces. Defective slate sills, lintels and string courses were replaced. Selective rebuilding of brickwork and parapets occurred where necessary.

New York, NY

The staff of Architectural Preservation Studio reviewed façade deficiencies relating Local Law 11/98. Placement of reinforcing bars too close to the surface had caused the exposed concrete slab “eyebrows” and balcony edges to spall. We designed repairs that included the recasting of balcony edges and spandrel patching with a new built-out profile providing adequate coverage. Balconies received new pedestrian traffic-bearing waterproofing.

Brooklyn, NY

The staff of Architectural Preservation Studio designed and provided construction administration services for the replacement of 300 windows and storefronts in two fully-occupied dormitories at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate. The project included abatement of hazardous materials. The new units are double-glazed aluminum, replacing windows original to the 1980s construction of the dormitories.

Pomoma, NY

The staff of Architectural Preservation Studio under WASA Studio performed a large-scale conditions assessment of a 206-acre campus consisting of 17 buildings. The project was a component of a Public Benefit Corporation feasibility analysis. The campus includes a variety of county government departments, Summit Park Hospital, and Summit Park Nursing Care Center housed in 572,000 SF.