“Mockups” are an essential part of the design/construction process. Some are meant to test the appearance of materials; some are meant to test the performance of assemblies; some are designed as tutorials for contractors or to test their workmanship; and some are meant to set the standard for finished products or assemblies.

1) Warren Weaver Hall, 2) visual mockup being installed on facade, 3) visual mockup after installation, 4) performance mockup

Our work on NYU’s Warren Weaver Hall included both visual and performance testing mockups of the new curtain wall system. The project included complete replacement of the existing single-glazed steel curtain wall with a more thermally efficient system, and the mockups were crucial to ensuring both the performance of the replacement and its aesthetic propriety to the original building design (Warner-Burns-Toan-Lunde Architects, 1963).

1) One New York Plaza, 2) detail of facade panels, 3) sealant mockup, 4) cleaning mockup

In one of several restoration projects we’ve conducted for One New York Plaza, multiple mockups helped ensure the appearance and performance of our specified solutions. A cleaning demonstration was performed to test the effectiveness and appearance of an application to rejuvenate the building’s aluminum facade panels, while a sealant mockup demonstrated the appearance and adhesion performance of sealant applied to the panels’ joints.

Mockups might be considered “dry runs” to test restoration solutions before applying them to an entire facade or building envelope, opportunities to bring unforeseen issues to light before they’re implemented on a large scale.