WBMA News 2009 (PDF format) - Walter B. Melvin Architects

 .  , 
WBMA NEWS
Winter 2009
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     
WALTER B. MELVIN
ARCHITECTS LLC’S restoration
of the Plaza Hotel’s historic
public areas, including the
re-creation of the stained glass
trelliswork laylight for the
restoration of the Palm Court
were recognized in three
publications.
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first row: Alex Herrera of the NY Landmarks Conservancy, Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte, John Farrell,
Walter and Sarah Melvin, Mary Calder Rower; top row: Simeon Bankoff of HDC with Hafina Allen,
and Elizabeth and Samuel White
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On October 29th the Historic
Districts Council presented its
2008 Twentieth Anniversary
Landmarks Lion Award to WALTER
B. MELVIN OF WALTER B. MELVIN
ARCHITECTS, LLC. As New York
City’s landmarks advocate, the
Council presents the Landmarks Lion Award
each year to a person who has made a significant contribution to preservation. Mr. Melvin
was honored in recognition of his 40 years of
work in building preservation. Not only has
Mr. Melvin developed details, methods and
techniques that have become standard practice among preservationists, but many successful architects now in private practice
gained valuable experience in his office. He
has done much to foster understanding in the
field of preservation during the course of his
career while playing a key role in the restoration of over 800 historic buildings in and
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around New York City.
The Award Ceremony was held at
Bridgewaters Restaurant at the
South Street Seaport historic district. Attended by 250 supporters,
including many staff members
from WALTER B. MELVIN ARCHITECTS, LLC,
former Historic District Council Lions, architects, contractors, and representatives of many
preservation organizations, it was one of the
largest such events sponsored by the Historic
Districts Council. Three co-chairs presented
the award: Harold S. Spitzer, AIA, of Spitzer
& Associates, P.C., Susan Tunick, Founder of
the Friends of Terra Cotta, and Samuel G.
White, FAIA, of Platt Byard Dovell White
Architects, LLP. In accepting the award, Mr.
Melvin expressed his gratitude to his partners
and staff, and to the many skilled craftsmen
he had learned from in the field.
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Kahn, Eve M.
“Profiting from History.”
Clem Labine’s Period Homes,
the Professional’s Resource
for Residential Architecture
November 2008 feature
article, Volume 9,
Number 6, p. 12.
Peretz, Evgenia.
“Eloise Sheds a Tear.”
Vanity Fair, January 2009,
Number 581, p.126.
New York Construction
Magazine,
“Best of 2008 Award
for the Plaza Hotel,
Project of the Year.”
December 2008, p. 105.
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Bruce A. Barton, A.I.A., B.S.
Arch. Pennsylvania State University,
1989, was licensed in New York this
spring, bringing to eight the total of
licensed Architects in the firm.
Dorian Yurchuk, Associate,
was certified this March by the
Green Building Certification Institute,
joining Architect Anne Hinsman as a
LEED Accredited Professional. ■
      
New York City’s Local Law 11 requires periodic five-year inspections of the facades of buildings taller than six stories. The Sixth
Cycle ended February 2007, with mandated repairs to be completed by February, 2008. For the upcoming Seventh Cycle Local
Law 11, the city is planning to amend the administrative code,
allowing the Department of Buildings to stagger the deadline for
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owners to file façade inspection reports. Although this change is
designed to alleviate some of the last minute push, it may also create uncertainty as to the new scheduling requirements. The sheer
number of such buildings in the city always makes it advisable to
prepare reports early.
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of missing balconette balustrades and
railings
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WALTER B. MELVIN ARCHITECTS, LLC
is noted for its work on major façade
reconstruction projects.
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165 West 66th Street:
replacement of brick façade
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525 Park Avenue: terra cotta balcony
and terrace reconstruction work
1040 Fifth and 1060 Fifth Avenue:
façade work at two Rosario Candela
buildings
720 Park Avenue under construction.
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After extensive work on the exterior
masonry and terraces of the twenty-nine
story Majestic building at 115 Central
Park West, the firm celebrated the completion of the exterior brick reconstruction
of the top four floors this season.
Chantry entrance of Grace Church in New York.
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1120 Park Avenue: façade restoration,
now in its final stages
1150 Fifth Avenue: limestone balconette
replacement
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Parc Vendome Condominium: ongoing
masonry work at parapets and corners
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11 West 81st Street: Beaux Arts street
façade and slate mansard roof restoration
23 Park Avenue: restoration of roof,
parapets, and brick and terra cotta
facade at McKim, Mead and White’s
five story townhouse
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101 Spring Street: complete restoration
of 1870 Renaissance Revival cast iron
exterior in progress
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110 West 78th Street: historic nineteenth century façade and stoop restored
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171 Macdougal Street: restoration
of the Romanesque Revival façade from
beneath a 1967 brick veneer wall
   
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720 Park Avenue: large scale terra cotta
façade repair
Liberty Tower at 55 Liberty Street:
extensive restoration of the terra cotta
façade of this New York City landmark
  , , 
   
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475 Tenth Avenue: terra cotta façade
cleaned and repaired, followed by building-wide window replacement
The Cloisters: newly restored French
late gothic windows to be unveiled in
the near future
Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas,
Fifth Avenue: decorative scrims designed
to facilitate the restoration of the White
Friar Windows
General Theological Seminary: ongoing
consulting for the exterior envelopes at
this historic Chelsea campus
Grace Church in New York: current
work includes repair and restoration of
finishes at the Chantry
The Jewish Museum: façade cleaning,
restoration of decorative limestone,
replacement of 1909 slate roof and copper roof turrets, cornice and finials
Friends Seminary: sidewalk, vault and
roof work at this complex, one of the
oldest Quaker schools in the country
Marymount School of New York:
copper clad solarium completed fall
2008; 19th century casement windows
to be restored spring 2009
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3 Hanover Square: restoration of limestone-clad façade at the site of the former Cotton Exchange planned for
Spring 2009
10 Gracie Square: restoration of the
limestone parapets and balconies of this
prestigious 1930’s residential building
overlooking Carl Schurz Park
As consultant to Nancy Owens Studio
Landscape Architects, the firm is working
on three significant projects with the New
York City Department of Parks:
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Baisley Pond Park Comfort Station,
Queens
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Fort Totten Park, Queens
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Rocks & Roots Park, Bronx
255 West 84th Street: complete replacement of 16 terra cotta balconettes with
cast stone reproductions; reconstruction
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