WBMA News 2009 (PDF format) - Walter B. Melvin Architects
Transcription
WBMA News 2009 (PDF format) - Walter B. Melvin Architects
. , WBMA NEWS Winter 2009 ■ WALTER B. MELVIN ARCHITECTS LLC’S restoration of the Plaza Hotel’s historic public areas, including the re-creation of the stained glass trelliswork laylight for the restoration of the Palm Court were recognized in three publications. ■ first row: Alex Herrera of the NY Landmarks Conservancy, Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte, John Farrell, Walter and Sarah Melvin, Mary Calder Rower; top row: Simeon Bankoff of HDC with Hafina Allen, and Elizabeth and Samuel White On October 29th the Historic Districts Council presented its 2008 Twentieth Anniversary Landmarks Lion Award to WALTER B. MELVIN OF WALTER B. MELVIN ARCHITECTS, LLC. As New York City’s landmarks advocate, the Council presents the Landmarks Lion Award each year to a person who has made a significant contribution to preservation. Mr. Melvin was honored in recognition of his 40 years of work in building preservation. Not only has Mr. Melvin developed details, methods and techniques that have become standard practice among preservationists, but many successful architects now in private practice gained valuable experience in his office. He has done much to foster understanding in the field of preservation during the course of his career while playing a key role in the restoration of over 800 historic buildings in and ■ around New York City. The Award Ceremony was held at Bridgewaters Restaurant at the South Street Seaport historic district. Attended by 250 supporters, including many staff members from WALTER B. MELVIN ARCHITECTS, LLC, former Historic District Council Lions, architects, contractors, and representatives of many preservation organizations, it was one of the largest such events sponsored by the Historic Districts Council. Three co-chairs presented the award: Harold S. Spitzer, AIA, of Spitzer & Associates, P.C., Susan Tunick, Founder of the Friends of Terra Cotta, and Samuel G. White, FAIA, of Platt Byard Dovell White Architects, LLP. In accepting the award, Mr. Melvin expressed his gratitude to his partners and staff, and to the many skilled craftsmen he had learned from in the field. ■ ■ Kahn, Eve M. “Profiting from History.” Clem Labine’s Period Homes, the Professional’s Resource for Residential Architecture November 2008 feature article, Volume 9, Number 6, p. 12. Peretz, Evgenia. “Eloise Sheds a Tear.” Vanity Fair, January 2009, Number 581, p.126. New York Construction Magazine, “Best of 2008 Award for the Plaza Hotel, Project of the Year.” December 2008, p. 105. Bruce A. Barton, A.I.A., B.S. Arch. Pennsylvania State University, 1989, was licensed in New York this spring, bringing to eight the total of licensed Architects in the firm. Dorian Yurchuk, Associate, was certified this March by the Green Building Certification Institute, joining Architect Anne Hinsman as a LEED Accredited Professional. ■ New York City’s Local Law 11 requires periodic five-year inspections of the facades of buildings taller than six stories. The Sixth Cycle ended February 2007, with mandated repairs to be completed by February, 2008. For the upcoming Seventh Cycle Local Law 11, the city is planning to amend the administrative code, allowing the Department of Buildings to stagger the deadline for , , ■ owners to file façade inspection reports. Although this change is designed to alleviate some of the last minute push, it may also create uncertainty as to the new scheduling requirements. The sheer number of such buildings in the city always makes it advisable to prepare reports early. @ . ■ ■ ⁽ ⁾ - ■ ⁽ ⁾ - . , of missing balconette balustrades and railings WALTER B. MELVIN ARCHITECTS, LLC is noted for its work on major façade reconstruction projects. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 165 West 66th Street: replacement of brick façade ■ 525 Park Avenue: terra cotta balcony and terrace reconstruction work 1040 Fifth and 1060 Fifth Avenue: façade work at two Rosario Candela buildings 720 Park Avenue under construction. After extensive work on the exterior masonry and terraces of the twenty-nine story Majestic building at 115 Central Park West, the firm celebrated the completion of the exterior brick reconstruction of the top four floors this season. Chantry entrance of Grace Church in New York. ■ ■ ■ 1120 Park Avenue: façade restoration, now in its final stages 1150 Fifth Avenue: limestone balconette replacement ■ ■ Parc Vendome Condominium: ongoing masonry work at parapets and corners ■ 11 West 81st Street: Beaux Arts street façade and slate mansard roof restoration 23 Park Avenue: restoration of roof, parapets, and brick and terra cotta facade at McKim, Mead and White’s five story townhouse ■ ■ 101 Spring Street: complete restoration of 1870 Renaissance Revival cast iron exterior in progress ■ 110 West 78th Street: historic nineteenth century façade and stoop restored ■ ■ 171 Macdougal Street: restoration of the Romanesque Revival façade from beneath a 1967 brick veneer wall ■ ■ ■ 720 Park Avenue: large scale terra cotta façade repair Liberty Tower at 55 Liberty Street: extensive restoration of the terra cotta façade of this New York City landmark , , ■ ■ 475 Tenth Avenue: terra cotta façade cleaned and repaired, followed by building-wide window replacement The Cloisters: newly restored French late gothic windows to be unveiled in the near future Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas, Fifth Avenue: decorative scrims designed to facilitate the restoration of the White Friar Windows General Theological Seminary: ongoing consulting for the exterior envelopes at this historic Chelsea campus Grace Church in New York: current work includes repair and restoration of finishes at the Chantry The Jewish Museum: façade cleaning, restoration of decorative limestone, replacement of 1909 slate roof and copper roof turrets, cornice and finials Friends Seminary: sidewalk, vault and roof work at this complex, one of the oldest Quaker schools in the country Marymount School of New York: copper clad solarium completed fall 2008; 19th century casement windows to be restored spring 2009 3 Hanover Square: restoration of limestone-clad façade at the site of the former Cotton Exchange planned for Spring 2009 10 Gracie Square: restoration of the limestone parapets and balconies of this prestigious 1930’s residential building overlooking Carl Schurz Park As consultant to Nancy Owens Studio Landscape Architects, the firm is working on three significant projects with the New York City Department of Parks: ■ Baisley Pond Park Comfort Station, Queens ■ Fort Totten Park, Queens ■ Rocks & Roots Park, Bronx 255 West 84th Street: complete replacement of 16 terra cotta balconettes with cast stone reproductions; reconstruction , , ■ @ . ■ ⁽ ⁾ - ■ ⁽ ⁾ -