Got steel elements in a facade that have seen better days? Or a sidewalk vault with corroded steel that concerns you? With years of experience with facade and vault restoration, SUPERSTRUCTURES can help by determining how firmly the rust has taken hold.

With apologies to the creators of the "got milk" campaign, we’re borrowing the concept to underscore Superstructures’ essential services for your building envelope and the common problems that can affect it.

The New York Times published another in a series of recent articles inspired by the convergence of two coincidental events: the imminent start of Cycle 9 of New York’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP or Local Law 11), and a tragic incident in which a facade failure caused a pedestrian death.

On this day in 1828, Frederick Clarke Withers was born in Somersetshire, UK. Withers immigrated to the US and became a prominent practitioner of Gothic Revival architecture. The Jefferson Market Courthouse—since converted to a branch of the New York Public Library—is one of Withers’ most celebrated designs and the subject of SUPERSTRUCTURES’ extensive restoration.

It’s official: the DOB has adopted an amended rule governing exterior wall inspections and repairs, strengthening the existing Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP) but also making it significantly more complex.

Owners of buildings higher than six stories take note: The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has adopted its Facade Rule 103-04, which governs details of the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) for Cycle 9A, commencing on February 21, 2020. Read on for Cycle 9 updates, as they represent important new complexity in the program.

In our extensive experience with roof projects, we often encounter the challenge of working on occupied buildings, including schools, hospitals, and other structures with sensitive residents. But at NYU’s Silver Center, we had to accommodate sensitivity of another sort: scientific experiments in progress in the building’s labs. SUPERSTRUCTURES’ project to restore the roof in two sections of the 11th floor called for a design that could be stealthily installed and replacement materials that were odor free.

In the latest seminar in our monthly continuing education series, Harold Henry of Hanover Architectural Products presented “Plaza Pavers, Blocks, and Masonry Units.” His talk on January 15th explored an array of paver assemblies and their applications for plaza decks and roofs for about 90 clients and colleagues in our classroom.

Last July, we shared a celebratory post when the scaffolding and sidewalk shed on the Sun Building (280 Broadway) started to come down after 11 years of obscuring the National Historic Landmark. Penelope Green’s recent article in the New York Times explores scaffolding and sheds as essential protection for pedestrians but also as a quirky feature of the New York streetscape and the “City’s biggest canvas,” inspiring artists and designers. Fascinating as these ubiquitous, utilitarian structures may be, we have one goal: to see them come down as soon as possible.

A recent Crain's Op-Ed argues in favor of using drones to facilitate the City’s mandated facade inspections. This would be a reversal of years of City prohibitions against flying drones within the five boroughs—and none too soon. We applaud this initiative and our FAA-certified pilots look forward to giving our squadron of four drones a good shakedown within the city limits.