Download Historic-Preservation-Restoration-Pittsburgh-City-County

Pittsburgh City-County
Buildings and Courthouse
Historic Restoration
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh City-County Building houses the
administrative offices for the City of Pittsburgh, Department
of Public Works, Pittsburgh City Courts, and Allegheny
County Administration. The 144-foot high, 9-story building
was constructed in 1913 with a granite and terra cotta
façade, including an ornate terra cotta cornice and parapet.
Maintenance of the parapet and cornice had been deferred
for many years.
In 2011, small pieces of terra cotta fell to the sidewalk and
street below, prompting the City and County to close the
sidewalks around the building and take a closer look.
Initially, the first team of consultants developed a
recommendation to completely remove and replace the
parapet and cornice. The budget for this project was
estimated at $34 million, and an initial emergency repair
project was pushed through to stabilize the parapet in the
interim. FEA was retained by the contractor for the
emergency project to provide assistance on the proposed
repairs and access.
Once on-site, FEA advised the City and County that the
parapet could be saved by implementing innovative
approaches to terra cotta and stone water table
stabilization, expansion joints, coping stone removal and
through-wall flashings, and selective rebuild and
replacement. After negotiation, FEA was then retained by
the City as a sub-consultant to design the repairs and
provide construction monitoring services for the project.
The resulting project was completed in November of 2013
at a cost of approximately $4 million.
Before
After
PRIMARY CLIENT REFERENCE:
Edward Roethlein, AIA, LEED AP
Senior Project Manager, CDM-Smith
503 Martindale Street, Suite 500
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
(412) 208-2526
[email protected]
PRIMARY PROJECT REFERENCE:
Casimir Pellegrini III, AIA
Project Manager - Architecture Division
Pittsburgh Department of Public Works
414 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
(412) 255-2649
[email protected]
VALUE OF CONSULTING
CONTRACT: $125,000
INITIAL BUDGET OF CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT: $34,000,000
FINAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT: $4,000,000
CLIENT BENEFITS
 Provided alternative approach to
project resulting in $30 million in
savings.
 Long term repairs completed, further
repairs in the near future are not
anticipated
 Retained many of the original
construction materials, preserving the
historic workmanship
SCOPE ITEMS
 Terra cotta, granite, and brick masonry
assessment and repairs
 Structural steel repairs
 Façade access assistance and structural
load verification