SuperScript

Reflections on the art and science of restoration, profiles of our projects, and discussions of issues in the profession.

March 14, 2024
The THING About Data
In The Thing from Another World (1951), a team tracks a mysterious aircraft across Polar ice. They fan out, and connect the “dots” of their positions to form a circle, revealing that the craft in question is actually…a flying saucer. The science in this Science Fiction story (fanciful as it is) echoes the methods SUPERSTRUCTURES uses to diagnose defects in building envelopes.
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March 7, 2024
The Fun They Had
The tradeoff between remote and in-person work calls to mind the famous Isaac Asimov short story, “The Fun They Had.” Back in 2020, our team did well working from home, mastering remote access tools and, in some cases, working as efficiently as in our office setting. But before long, many of us were saying we couldn’t wait to get back to the office (or on-site).
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March 7, 2024
Frost Jacking Day Tracker - 2023-2024 Season
SUPERSTRUCTURES is excited to launch the seventh season of the Frost Jacking Day Tracker. "Frost jacking" is what happens when freezing temperatures cause rain or snow to turn to ice and expand cracks in a facade. As cycles of freezing and thawing accumulate, the cracks continue to grow and exterior hazardous conditions or interior water damage or leaks can occur.
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February 29, 2024
A Crack Team
Remediation of cracks and spalls in masonry and concrete is a key part of our practice. While we endorse immediate repair of all observed deficiencies, we’re intrigued by this artist’s approach to less serious conditions (while they await repair, of course).
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February 27, 2024
An Ironclad Restoration: 31 Greene Street
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, “God is in the details.” SUPERSTRUCTURES’ restoration of 31 Greene Street (George W. DaCunha, 1876) in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District demonstrates how attention to restoration details at almost one hundred discrete locations creates a unified standout.
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February 22, 2024
Pyramid Scheme
Plans to “restore” Giza’s pyramid of Menkaure by recladding its facade with granite blocks have stirred up a monumental debate. The available evidence, including original stones remaining at the base of the pyramid, indicates that the original “design intent” included polished Aswan granite cladding. But should the pyramid be reclad? The question is a redux of the dilemma constantly facing preservationists.
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February 15, 2024
A Philosophical Challenge
SUPERSTRUCTURES' restoration of NYU’s Department of Philosophy Building (Alfred Zucker, 1891) posed two professional challenges to our team: to extrapolate, based on incomplete evidence, facade details that had been lost over time; and to decide where inappropriate past repairs to the facade should be reversed to recreate the building’s historic appearance.
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February 8, 2024
Acronyms, Initialisms, and Agencies
The SCA, NYCHA, DCAS, DDC, HHC, PANY&NJ, OGS, DASNY, and US GSA—SUPERSTRUCTURES has active projects for all these agencies.  So our client list is replete with acronyms, right? Actually, some are not acronyms, but initialisms. What's the difference?
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February 7, 2024
Custom House Conservation
SUPERSTRUCTURES’ Associate Principal, Lorie Riddle, RA (center) and Architectural Conservator, Nityaa Iyer (left) examine the condition of ornamental plaster on the rotunda ceiling of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House—from a platform 40 feet above the floor.
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February 1, 2024
WHO Needs Drones?
The skies over New York City got a little wilder late last year when Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl escaped the Central Park Zoo. City bird watchers may also start noticing Flaco’s mechanical counterparts: UAVs—drones—approved last year for building inspections across the five boroughs.
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SUPERSTRUCTURES Engineers + Architects

14 Wall Street, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10005
(212) 505 1133
info@superstructures.com

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