Buildings are living, breathing things and just like all living things they age. As they age, they require maintenance to continue to function properly and maximize their life span. Buildings, unlike other living things, don’t enjoy uninvited water. Water has been the number one source of structural deterioration in buildings for as long as we have been building buildings. Once water penetrates the building’s skin, it can remain liquid, freeze or migrate throughout the building as vapor. It will cause structural deterioration, aesthetic degradation and possible health concerns in the form of mold.
New York City is one of the oldest cities in the United States, yet few of its buildings were designed to have a life span of more than fifty years. Maintenance and restoration are the necessary means to keep our buildings healthy for centuries to come.
Buildings are similar to the human body. Façades and roofing act as the skin, structure the skeleton, HVAC the respiratory system, electrical the nervous system, and plumbing the circulatory system. Like our bodies, we need to maintain their health. Without proper maintenance, a building can be subject to unforeseen construction costs, and loss of property use and income. To assist owners and property managers with increasing the longevity of their buildings, Magnum Opus Architecture has created comprehensive restoration programs that include inspections, testing, construction documents, contract bidding, annual facility inspections, and maintenance programs.
- Investigation and analysis
- Property condition assessments / Water infiltration reports
- Façade restoration
- Balcony / Terrace restoration
- Parking garage restoration
- Construction documents
- Bidding
- Contract administration
Our Building Restoration & Preservation team creates construction documents and specifications for bidding of the required work, permit acquisitions and the successful execution of the work itself. Construction administration oversees the specified work to ensure compliance with the approved construction documents and works with the client to coordinate necessary tenant notices, schedules and payment requisitions.
WATER MANAGEMENT
is crucial in areas such as the Northeast, where weather exhibits combinations of sudden temperature drops paired with rain, ice or snow. Without proper water management in place these types of conditions cause permanent damage to a building. Two big facilitators for water intrusion are improper design and overlooked maintenance.
Often, maintenance and repairs are not thought of until a piece of masonry falls from a building; potentially injuring someone. Maintenance can prevent costly structural & facade repairs, interior repairs, large fines and lots of internal administration time managing these issues along with tenant complaints.
MOA’s Building Restoration & Preservation Team can correct improper designs with tried and true methods and materials that have proven to be the most durable, longest lasting and most economical. We also prepare a 20-30-year phased maintenance schedules, based on a client’s budget & schedule, to implement maintenance & repairs of the façade & roof over time. This can help a client ensure that their management team is aware of the required maintenance work, associated cost and inconvenience to operations with as much notice as possible. In this manner, it serves as a valuable tool in justifying it as a permanent line item on building’s budget for the long term.
MOA’s consultants can also prepare a similar maintenance program for the building’s infrastructure such as Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. A great part of having the long-term maintenance schedules is that it can be passed along from current members of the board to future members so that it won’t be overlooked.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
begins with the process of gathering lots of data in the form of old photographs, having materials analyzed and perform minor evasive probes to confirm the condition and make up of the existing structural components. Then based on the Client’s direction, we will implement the level of Historic Preservation desired or ,in the case of Landmarked projects, that which is required. We utilize tried & true modern technology and materials to ensure the structure has a long life ahead of it without compromising its historic character.
MOA inspecting deteriorated steel cornice supports 24 stories above street level