PAINTING GALLERY

Roof Replacement and Earth Berm Restoration

The National Trust Phillip Johnson Glass House, New Canaan, CT

Scope of Work

The scope of work included archival research, field survey, preparation of roof replacement and earth berm restoration construction documents, managed bidding and construction administration through completion. Included project permitting with the New Canaan Building and Wetlands Departments and project management on behalf of both Glass House and the National Trust in Washington DC.

Project Background & Profile

Philip Johnson's Painting Gallery is an earth berm building built in 1965 at the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. The Glass House is a National Historic Landmark. The gallery contains an exceptional collection of Modern art including works by Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Lynn Davis, Julian Schnabel and Cindy Sherman.

Due to the logistic and conservation concerns of dismantling the artwork, the collection could not be removed from the building during the work and was protected in-situ. The collection was closely monitored during construction and every effort was made to minimize dust and disturbance on the site. 

The scope of work included replacing the original 1965 roof membrane with a cold-applied Kemper roofing system at the main roof and sub-grade roofs under the berm. To access the roof work areas, each 54 over-sized, custom-fabricated, curved Redstone copings, each weighing 1200-1500 pounds, were removed by a crane and over 200 cubic yards of the earth berm were removed by hand.

The Painting Gallery roof replacement work also included restoring the full profile and landscaping of the earth berm over the building in keeping with Johnson's original design intent.

For more information http://theglasshouse.org/learn/repairing-the-painting-gallery-roof/