Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC

New York, NY
West Elevation After Restoration

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio headed the restoration effort for Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, both a NYC-designated and National Historic Landmark. Like many modernist structures, the building, consisting of poured-in-place concrete, gunite (a.k.a. shotcrete), and plaster on lath, is experimental in nature and exhibited multiple cracks and other signs of deterioration. Less than 50 years old, the Guggenheim had never undergone a holistic conservation treatment. It had also evolved over time, undergoing four major alterations, the most significant of which was the construction of the 1992 addition designed by the New York architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel and Associates. At that time, there was an upgrade in the thermal performance of the building envelope through the installation of concealed rigid insulation, although the museum remained prone to condensation at the single-glazed steel windows and perimeter skylights.

The project included extensive on-site documentation and monitoring of existing conditions, as well as detailed structural analysis of the building and testing of suitable repair products to address the deterioration of the exterior shotcrete and poured-in-place concrete. Other aspects of the work involved an MEP upgrade, as well as an analysis of the energy efficiency of all ground floor and Thannhauser Gallery windows and rotunda ramp skylights. The windows and skylights were replicated in the gallery area with an unprecedented double-glazed thermally-broken steel-frame system. Discreet moisture-management interventions also improved the performance of the envelope. The project has won five awards.

* designed with WASA Studio

Photo by David Heald © SRGF, NY. Courtesy of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

New York, NY
Detail of West Elevation After Restoration

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio headed the restoration effort for Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, both a NYC-designated and National Historic Landmark. Like many modernist structures, the building, consisting of poured-in-place concrete, gunite (a.k.a. shotcrete), and plaster on lath, is experimental in nature and exhibited multiple cracks and other signs of deterioration. Less than 50 years old, the Guggenheim had never undergone a holistic conservation treatment. It had also evolved over time, undergoing four major alterations, the most significant of which was the construction of the 1992 addition designed by the New York architectural firm of Gwathmey Siegel and Associates. At that time, there was an upgrade in the thermal performance of the building envelope through the installation of concealed rigid insulation, although the museum remained prone to condensation at the single-glazed steel windows and perimeter skylights.

The project included extensive on-site documentation and monitoring of existing conditions, as well as detailed structural analysis of the building and testing of suitable repair products to address the deterioration of the exterior shotcrete and poured-in-place concrete. Other aspects of the work involved an MEP upgrade, as well as an analysis of the energy efficiency of all ground floor and Thannhauser Gallery windows and rotunda ramp skylights. The windows and skylights were replicated in the gallery area with an unprecedented double-glazed thermally-broken steel-frame system. Discreet moisture-management interventions also improved the performance of the envelope. The project has won five awards.

* designed with WASA Studio

Long Island City, NY
Northeast Elevation After Restoration

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), is housed in a landmark-quality school building in the Long Island City section of Queens, NY. The building was designed by the Manhattan firm of Palliser & Palliser in the Romanesque Revival style and was completed in 1893. A 1906 addition by architect Frank Collins closely matched the style of the original building. The materials of the street façades include a bluestone-and-schist foundation; Philadelphia pressed-brick walls; rusticated-sandstone string courses, lintels and sills; decorative terracotta ornamentation; and a slate roof.

A century after the building’s original construction and subsequent additions, the façades—subject to atmospheric soiling—had completely deteriorated, the wooden windows were rendered inoperable and the timber roof exhibited signs of significant damage.

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio recommended a conservative approach to restoration, preserving the existing building fabric wherever possible. To fend off decay and to ensure the long-term viability of the building, the work was implemented in a phased program that included 200 squares of new slate roofing; structural repairs to the heavy-timber attic framing; brick, stone and terracotta restoration and cleaning; and more than 300 new metal windows with UV protection.  WASA Studio engineered the façade illumination, which won a Design Award in 2002 from the New York Art Commission.

*designed with WASA Studio

Photo by F Charles Photography

Long Island City, NY
Detail of Terra Cotta After Restoration

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), is housed in a landmark-quality school building in the Long Island City section of Queens, NY. The building was designed by the Manhattan firm of Palliser & Palliser in the Romanesque Revival style and was completed in 1893. A 1906 addition by architect Frank Collins closely matched the style of the original building. The materials of the street façades include a bluestone-and-schist foundation; Philadelphia pressed-brick walls; rusticated-sandstone string courses, lintels and sills; decorative terracotta ornamentation; and a slate roof.

A century after the building’s original construction and subsequent additions, the façades—subject to atmospheric soiling—had completely deteriorated, the wooden windows were rendered inoperable and the timber roof exhibited signs of significant damage.

The professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio recommended a conservative approach to restoration, preserving the existing building fabric wherever possible. To fend off decay and to ensure the long-term viability of the building, the work was implemented in a phased program that included 200 squares of new slate roofing; structural repairs to the heavy-timber attic framing; brick, stone and terracotta restoration and cleaning; and more than 300 new metal windows with UV protection.  WASA Studio engineered the façade illumination, which won a Design Award in 2002 from the New York Art Commission.

*designed with WASA Studio

Long Island City, NY
Construction Detail

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), is housed in a landmark-quality school building in the Long Island City section of Queens, NY. The building was designed by the Manhattan firm of Palliser & Palliser in the Romanesque Revival style and was completed in 1893. A 1906 addition by architect Frank Collins closely matched the style of the original building. The materials of the street façades include a bluestone-and-schist foundation; Philadelphia pressed-brick walls; rusticated-sandstone string courses, lintels and sills; decorative terracotta ornamentation; and a slate roof.

A century after the building’s original construction and subsequent additions, the façades—subject to atmospheric soiling—had completely deteriorated, the wooden windows were rendered inoperable and the timber roof exhibited signs of significant damage.

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio recommended a conservative approach to restoration, preserving the existing building fabric wherever possible. To fend off decay and to ensure the long-term viability of the building, the work was implemented in a phased program that included 200 squares of new slate roofing; structural repairs to the heavy-timber attic framing; brick, stone and terracotta restoration and cleaning; and more than 300 new metal windows with UV protection.  WASA Studio engineered the façade illumination, which won a Design Award in 2002 from the New York Art Commission.

*designed with WASA Studio

Long Island City, NY
East Elevation After Restoration

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), is housed in a landmark-quality school building in the Long Island City section of Queens, NY. The building was designed by the Manhattan firm of Palliser & Palliser in the Romanesque Revival style and was completed in 1893. A 1906 addition by architect Frank Collins closely matched the style of the original building. The materials of the street façades include a bluestone-and-schist foundation; Philadelphia pressed-brick walls; rusticated-sandstone string courses, lintels and sills; decorative terracotta ornamentation; and a slate roof.

A century after the building’s original construction and subsequent additions, the façades—subject to atmospheric soiling—had completely deteriorated, the wooden windows were rendered inoperable and the timber roof exhibited signs of significant damage.

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio recommended a conservative approach to restoration, preserving the existing building fabric wherever possible. To fend off decay and to ensure the long-term viability of the building, the work was implemented in a phased program that included 200 squares of new slate roofing; structural repairs to the heavy-timber attic framing; brick, stone and terracotta restoration and cleaning; and more than 300 new metal windows with UV protection.  WASA Studio engineered the façade illumination, which won a Design Award in 2002 from the New York Art Commission.

*designed with WASA Studio

Brooklyn, NY

The Brooklyn Museum of Art is an iconic structure with a 500-ft principal façade located adjacent to Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The original building was designed by McKim, Mead & White and constructed incrementally between 1895 and 1926. Left incomplete, new sections designed by Prentice & Chan, Ohlhausen Architects in 1977 and 1980. In 2004, Polshek Partnership redesigned the front entrance and new public plaza. The building became an individually designated NYC landmark in 1966 and was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

The Brooklyn Museum of Art has suffered from deferred maintenance. Architectural Preservation Studio was retained to perform a detailed visual survey of selective areas. Inaccessible areas of the roof level were inspected by industrial rope access. APS also coordinated structural engineering review and probes. A voluminous report was produced, as well as cost estimates for each section of the exterior in need of repairs. APS’s scope also includes the design of repairs and the administration of construction.

New York, NY
Interior After Construction

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio designed the restoration/conservation aspects of a new space for the Museum of American Finance located in the former headquarters of the Bank of New York at 48 Wall Street. The Museum occupies 30,000 sf of space and includes a converted interactive exhibition space (formerly the banking hall, a NYS-designated landmark interior). All interventions endeavored to preserve the original character of the interior, as well as the NYC-designated landmark exterior, including insertion of a new exit door to meet place-of-assembly code requirements.

*designed with WASA Studio
This project was designed in collaboration with C & G Partners

New York, NY
Interior Before Construction

Professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio designed the restoration/conservation aspects of a new space for the Museum of American Finance located in the former headquarters of the Bank of New York at 48 Wall Street. The Museum occupies 30,000 sf of space and includes a converted interactive exhibition space (formerly the banking hall, a NYS-designated landmark interior). All interventions endeavored to preserve the original character of the interior, as well as the NYC-designated landmark exterior, including insertion of a new exit door to meet place-of-assembly code requirements.

*designed with WASA Studio
This project was designed in collaboration with C & G Partners

Peekskill, NY
East Elevation After Restoration

The professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio designed the adaptive reuse of a historic train depot located in the Hudson Valley community of Peekskill, NY. The 3,000 SF depot, a NYS-designated landmark, will house a learning center and collection dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln’s service to the nation, featuring the president-elect’s Peekskill stop on his inaugural train journey from Springfield, IL, to Washington, DC, in 1861. Additionally, the new museum will highlight the role of the railroad in the Civil War effort, as well as be a place to explore the role of Peekskill’s citizens during the war. The project includes an interior and exterior restoration, along with integration of all new building systems, designed by WASA Studio’s MEP engineers.

*designed with WASA Studio
The conceptual exhibits were designed in collaboration with C & G Partners
Photography by Alexander Severin Architectural Photography

Peekskill, NY
Proposed Exhibits

The professional staff from Architectural Preservation Studio designed the adaptive reuse of a historic train depot located in the Hudson Valley community of Peekskill, NY. The 3,000 SF depot, a NYS-designated landmark, will house a learning center and collection dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln’s service to the nation, featuring the president-elect’s Peekskill stop on his inaugural train journey from Springfield, IL, to Washington, DC, in 1861. Additionally, the new museum will highlight the role of the railroad in the Civil War effort, as well as be a place to explore the role of Peekskill’s citizens during the war. The project includes an interior and exterior restoration, along with integration of all new building systems, designed by WASA Studio’s MEP engineers.

*designed with WASA Studio
The conceptual exhibits were designed in collaboration with C & G Partners
Photography by Alexander Severin/RAZUMMEDIA

Peekskill, NY
Interior View South After Restoration

Preservation Group designed the adaptive reuse of a historic train depot located in the Hudson Valley community of Peekskill, NY. The 3,000 SF depot, a NYS-designated landmark, will house a learning center and collection dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln’s service to the nation, featuring the president-elect’s Peekskill stop on his inaugural train journey from Springfield, IL, to Washington, DC, in 1861. Additionally, the new museum will highlight the role of the railroad in the Civil War effort, as well as be a place to explore the role of Peekskill’s citizens during the war. The project includes an interior and exterior restoration, along with integration of all new building systems, designed by WASA Studio’s MEP engineers.

*designed with WASA Studio
The conceptual exhibits were designed in collaboration with C & G Partners
Photography by Alexander Severin Architectural Photography

Norwich, CT

Architectural Preservation Studio (APS) was retained by the Norwich Free School to prepare Construction Documents for the replacement of the slate roofing at the 1886 historic Slater Memorial Museum. Designed by well-known local architect Stephen C. Earle, the Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as on the Connecticut State Register.