For SUPERSTRUCTURES, there’s reason to celebrate this year: 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1972 passage of the Brooks Act, which mandated that architecture and engineering firms competing for Federal contracts be selected on the merits of their professional qualifications, rather than as interchangeable commodities based on lowest cost.  Most New York State and New York City agencies adopted a similar practice.

Throughout the city, SUPERSTRUCTURES has encountered some surprising and sinister figures glaring down from parapets and facades. And not just on Halloween, but every day of the year. They menace our team with leering looks wrought in terra cotta, cast iron, and stone. The culprits? Gargoyles and grotesques.

We work on the full range of building types, from public housing complexes to National Historic Landmarks. SUPERSTRUCTURES’ approach to restoration is the same for each of them.

This unsolicited testimonial is from the co-president of one of the city’s premiere restoration contractors. Producing documents that inspire this kind of praise relies on consistently satisfying the “Four Cs” of excellence: drawings that are clear, correct, concise, and complete.

Nunc Pro Tunc (noonk proh tuhnk) is a catchy Latin phrase meaning "now for then.” It’s typically applied in a legal context when a judgment is entered to have the same legal force and effect as if it had been entered previously. The phrase applies to our field, too.

We’re always on the lookout for innovative technologies that advance the art and science of restoration. One intriguing material we’ve been following: concrete that can repair itself. Briefly, this self-healing concrete uses an enzyme found in human red blood cells which reacts with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to form calcium carbonate crystals, effectively “healing” cracks before they grow and lead to more widespread failure.

From the sweeping travertine and glass skin of 9 W 57th Street to the bold geometry of SUNY Buffalo’s Ellicott Campus, SUPERSTRUCTURES has helped restore exemplars of 70s architecture in New York City and beyond.

This is our maxim related to New York’s Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP). In other words, if you attend to the condition of your building’s envelope regularly, then periodic filing of a FISP report becomes a formality. FISP filing should be part of a strategy rather than a commodity that’s only sought once during each five-year cycle - like income taxes.

The SCA, NYCHA, DCAS, DDC, HHC, PANY&NJ, OGS, DASNY, and US GSA. What do all these acronyms have in common? They all represent large agencies with multiple facilities, millions of square feet, and billions of dollars of value under their watch and SUPERSTRUCTURES has active projects for nearly all of these owners.

One of our mantras related to New York’s Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP) is “Fix, then file.” In other words: attend to the condition of your building’s envelope regularly and periodic filing of a FISP report becomes a formality.