Location: Rochester, NY
Cost: $10,000 (fees for study)
Description: This National Register-listed building was erected in 1925 to the design of noted Rochester architect J. Foster Warner. The building is of steel frame construction with clay tile infill and an exterior face of brick with cast stone ornament. Bero Architecture prepared a condition report on the Aquinas Institute, a parochial high school located in Rochester's historic Maplewood neighborhood. The report included analysis of current building conditions, and a prioritized list of repairs and their estimated costs.
An important component of the report was the analysis of masonry (brick and cast stone) problems common to early twentieth century construction. The turn of the century marked a transition from masonry bearing wall buildings to steel frame buildings. Characteristics of the older buildings included: massive masonry walls with a high width/thickness ratio of the walls, simplicity in shape, and the use of weak mortar. The new buildings which developed with the steel skeleton frame were characterized by walls with low width/thickness ratios, large openings, and walls constructed of multiple materials. That is, the facing material is quite often different than the back-up material. The footprints of the buildings were quite often complex in shape and strong mortars were used to bed the masonry material. The consequences of this new technology were not all immediately evident at the time of construction but this building is now a text-book case of the exterior wall problems created by and associated with the developing new technology. The report also addressed the effect of deteriorating steel lintels on the brick and cast stone.
The report was used to support a successful Environmental Quality Bond Act (EQBA) grant application. The stated awarded a $300,000 EQBA matching grant to Aquinas.
Click on image for a larger view.