Silman’s design and implementation of an efficient structural reinforcement scheme for the trusses demanded close collaboration with the entire design and contractor team.
Photo credit: Ajay Suresh / CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Photo credit: Ajay Suresh / CC BY-SA 2.0.
Silman has a longstanding preservation-sensitive relationship with this structure, designed by Charles Clinton and completed in 1881. Work began in the late 1990s when the firm served as the prime consultant on a contract with the NYS Office of General Services (OGS).
In 2006, Park Avenue Armory Conservancy leased the facility from the state with the intention to restore and operate the facility as an arts center. Silman worked on the implementation of a multi-phase master plan for the renovation of the Head House, which included preservation and restoration of its historic rooms and the installation of new cores for elevators, stairs, and MEP infrastructure.
Additional work involved reinforcing the 200-foot-span trusses in the Drill Hall to provide more structural capacity for high-end theater productions and events.
Photo credit: Alison Meier / CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Photo credit: Alison Meier / CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Silman’s design and implementation of an efficient structural reinforcement scheme for the trusses demanded close collaboration with the entire design and contractor team.
Work also included an extensive upgrade of upper floors of the Head House, which now house the Lenox Hill Women’s Mental Health Shelter, and the restoration of the armory’s brick facades. Events and installations continued nearly uninterrupted throughout the renovation.
