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BSA Historic Resources
Committee
Meeting Notes for
February 2009
Present: Scott Acquilina, David Bliss, Susan
Brauner, Matthew Bronski, Greg Collings, Marilyn Fenollosa,
Bryan Glascock, Jack Glassman, Jeffrey Harris, David Hart,
Pamela Hawkes, John Hecker, Steve Jerome, David Kelman,
Ellen Lipsey, Nicole Benjamin Ma, Henry Moss, Pat Morrissey,
Susan Schur, Sara Wermiel, Eric Ward, Gary Wolf, Sally
Zimmerman
1. Sustainable Design and Historic Preservation
Criteria for Success - Synergies & Collisions:
Matthew Bronski and Henry Moss introduced the first of a
periodic set of project case studies that focus on the
pursuit of more sustainable outcomes when historic
structures and their sites are altered. Because of the
number of presenters, each had under 10 minutes to speak;
the upside was that we learned about a variety of problems
and solutions, which can be explored further at future
meetings.
- Eric Ward - Eric presented exterior envelope
challenges where Einhorn Yaffee Prescott is working to
reduce air movement and thermal exchanges at doors and
windows. Original entrance doors in a vestibule at
Faneuil Hall allowed air to enter and leave through gaps
at the stiles and where the bottom rails open and close
above worn stone thresholds. Removing an existing air
curtain improved the situation. Committee members
discussed drop-seals and other ways to close gaps while
retaining the old doors. At Tisbury Town Hall, Eric is
restoring 12/12 double hung sash windows; to reduce heat
loss, he is installing new exterior, triple track
aluminum storm windows with low-emissivity glazing.
Discussion centered on insulation strategies for weight
boxes, which, uninsulated, are a source of heat loss. A
solution is to put PVC pipe in the cavity as a track for
the sash weights and fill around it with spray foam;
cut-outs would have to be provided to give access to
weights.
- Sally Zimmerman - Sally used a Jan. 18, 2009 Boston
Globe article (see link below) about a hyper-insulated
house retrofit to illustrate the potential for
architectural losses and technical failures when rising
oil and natural gas prices lead people to encase their
vernacular old houses within thick layers of rigid
insulation. Sally and the committee noted that there are
sixty to one hundred million houses in the USA where the
next leap in fuel prices is likely to increase pressure
for demolition or exterior insulation approaches that may
trap moisture against vulnerable wooden surfaces and
structural members. Susan Maycock at the Cambridge
Historic Commission had reported that the number of
homeowners who buy poor-quality replacements for existing
wood windows has increased markedly. The committee noted
that homeowners could benefit from a simple set of
guidelines to help them make sensible energy-saving
improvements to their houses. Sara Wermiel said that
NStar home energy audits do not typically address
moisture issues within the building envelope. Susan Schur
suggested that we learn what the Building Envelope
Council may be doing about homeowner guidance. Boston
Globe article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/01/18/arlington_house_may_blaze_new_trail_in_energy_conservation/
and http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/01/29/green_makeover_home_edition/
- Pamela Hawkes - Pam showed an extensive addition to a
public library designed by Charles Platt for the town of
Glen Falls, NY. Ann Beha + Partners orchestrated the
restoration of existing (but concealed) sources of
natural light above a central atrium space with new
glazed curtain wall and translucent interior partitions
for the addition to deliver natural light deep into the
building while controlling solar heat gain and providing
good views over adjacent parkland designed by Platt. The
LEED charrette identified opportunities for energy
management while sensible orientation and a high-quality
control system for lighting balanced solar heat gain and
heat losses through glazed building enclosures. There is
Kalwall exterior skylight enclosure above the restored
laylight. New York State's energy agency helped pay for
energy and daylight models, daylight occupancy sensors
and photocells for new lighting on dimmable ballasts.
Over 90% of occupied spaces have natural light and views
to the outdoors.
- Scott Aquilina - The Carl A. Field Center Community
House at Princeton University is an adaptive reuse with
restoration and extensive reconstruction to an 1890's
balloon-frame eating club with failed stucco cladding.
Originally the Elm Club, this had been a handsome
Italianate building set comfortably within a spacious
site. Fifty years into its lifetime, the building was
drastically altered and was poorly maintained. Its hipped
roof with deep overhanging eaves had been removed and the
external walls were raised to incorporate a parapet.
Scott's team removed all stucco and plaster and
demolished about 25% of accumulated additions, to restore
the original footprint. The building had survived three
fires, countless termites' digestive transactions,
ruthlessly notched joists, and lost collar ties. Scott's
team designed the project to be consistent with LEED
Silver criteria, but Princeton does not certify its
buildings with the USGBC. In spite of the extensive
rebuilding, Scott is confident that embodied energy,
inactive carbon, and a minimized waste stream are
sufficient justification for not demolishing the
building. All windows are new Marvin assemblies. The roof
is insulated with Icynene. Wall cavities are insulated-
[presumably with fiberglass batt]. The new
exterior finish is Penncrete Portland Cement stucco. The
committee discussed the differences between acrylic
coatings, silicone paint systems, and integral coloring.
Pat Morrissey described new single-coat, stucco
applications from Germany - Keim Mineral Coatings.
- John Hecker: John described Carr Lynch &
Sandell's A. H. Hammond Organ Reed Factory restoration, a
Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit project in
Worcester. The project consists of six vernacular
industrial buildings developed c 1868-1890. The overall
area is about 57,000 sf on a crowded lot without set
backs. The buildings were converted to residential uses
for a non-profit client, a CDC that assembled nine or ten
funding sources to provide 100% affordable units. John's
presentation concentrated on responsible ways to handle
materials salvage and recycling through the demolition
and construction waste streams. In addition, John's team
salvaged, repaired and reused existing windows and
frames. The National Park Service reviewers opposed
adding insulation to the interior of existing walls, but
John persuaded them to allow it. The project encountered
hair-raising structural problems when steel and aluminum
siding was removed and once-interior brick walls were
exposed. Walls were poorly supported at foundation level
and in some cases, window frames carried the wythe of
brickwork above their openings. While John fought to
retain original windows, the residential use required
full lead abatement. [The completed project provides
a wonderfully varied massing for a dense housing project
that fits very well into a block where early
twentieth-century houses meet a busy commercial
street.] The project recently had its formal opening
(see
article).
2. Stevens Linen Mill, Dudley, MA: Sara Wermiel
presented a lovely granite mill that was constructed during
the Civil War and has stonework she believes is unusual. (It
was America's longest running linen mill and its demise may
be traced to the automatic dishwasher.) The stones of the
walls are roughly squared, and this and their varied colors
create a mosaic-like effect, with a livelier visual quality
than true ashlar. Sara's immediate interest is a particular
type of hand-tooling that produced long, parallel
striations, most obvious in stones that surrounded the door
openings. No one among the committee had seen stonework
dressed in this way although paving stones in Boston
sidewalks, English stable yards and in some of the masonry
of the McKim building at the Boston Public Library
incorporate parallel tool marks. Ellen Lipsey said masons at
the BPL referred to these marks as "tining." Sara found that
English stone masons lived in Dudley in the 1860's. She has
seen a reference to similar tooling called "droving" in
Scots masonry nomenclature. [A drove chisel is a
broad-faced cutting tool…] This is a beautiful mill
complex, but it has been vacant for several years. Pat
Morrissey suggested that Sara contact Warren Wilford of
Berkshire Stone to discuss the tooling.
3. Nantucket Drywall Hell: David Hart presented an
extraordinary accumulation of technical problems posed by a
forty-year old interior lining of gypsum wall board in an
1834 church on the island. In 1969, the church nailed 240
sheets of sheetrock over its uninsulated walls. E. K. Perry,
the renowned decorating firm, painted it in a trompe l'oeil
design. There were problems with mold and discoloration and
the walls were painted white. The ceiling is a water-based
paint and the walls are oil-based. While David was
struggling to decide how to approach 4,000 linear feet of
taped joints failing through thermal movement, a workmen
cleaning the new paint discovered the E. K. Perry signature
on the over-painted design. Chris Thompson (formerly a
frequent participant in this committee) of Robert Mussey
Assoc. helped with paint research. David would prefer to
remove the gypsum wall board and reconstruct the plaster
interior, but this would cost $750,000, and the church
cannot afford it. Instead, David and his client have decided
to heat the church minimally to reduce expansion and
contraction in the wallboard and to clean and retain the
interior lining.
4. Milton Poor Farm: David Kelman is keeping watch
over this 39 acre farm that was given to the Town of Milton
in 1781. Last year, the Town formed a committee to make
recommendations for what to do with the property. There are
five mid-19th century buildings (3 barn structures and 2
occupied houses). About half the property is wetland, the
other 20 acres could be developed. The site is zoned for one
acre lots.
5. APT/Northeast: Jack Glassman reminded the
committee about the Glass and Glazing workshop on March 13
in association with the Traditional Building Conference.
6. Society of Industrial Archaeology, Southern and
Northern Chapters Annual Meeting: Sara Wermiel announced
the conference (February 21) and noted that she would speak
on the beginning of reinforced concrete construction in the
U.S. with associated hagiographies for Thaddeus Hyatt and
Ernest Ransome. [The symposium was well attended. Sara's
talk highlighted the vulnerability of our uncharted
collection of early concrete industrial buildings in New
England. They are typically not very pretty. Little is known
of their architects or engineers. Little is known about
which buildings were significant in the development of
reinforced concrete design or construction. Sara's research
is bringing to light a number of connections between West
Coast innovations and East Coast applications. The early
applications emerged from the pursuit of fire-proof
structures, but earthquake resistance was a welcome feature
in California. It may also have penetrated the New England
market in part because it relied less on skilled masons. The
United Shoe Machinery Company factory complex in Beverly,
Massachusetts is a vast early example. This seems a topic to
pursue.]
7. Old South Meeting House Tour: Susan Brauner
announced a tour of Old South for February 26 to familiarize
the Old South Association's liaison from the Boston City
Council, Sal Olatino. Committee members are welcome.
8. Construction History Group: Sara Wermiel and
Matthew Bronski, two leaders of our BSA Historic Resources
Committee, are also forming a group to pursue topics in
construction history. E-mail Sara at swermiel@verizon.net if
you want to take part.
Next
Meeting
8: 00 a.m., Thursday, March 12, 2009
Featuring
Sustainable Alterations to Historic Landscapes
The Architects' Building, 52 Broad Street, Fifth Floor,
Boston
Visit the Historic Resources Committee Web Site
Henry Moss, Matthew Bronski, and Sara Wermiel co-leaders
and scribes
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