“Preparing for Terra Cotta Surprises,” Habitat’s recent interview on the restoration of two Upper West Side buildings suggests that clients might expect the final cost for a terra cotta restoration project to be triple the initial estimate. That certainly is a surprise –at least to us.

IKEA features flat-packed furniture that you assemble yourself, saving money and giving you a bit of handyman satisfaction (and a collection of Allen wrenches). But the process of assembling a series of IKEA products comes with its own learning curve, one that illustrates the acquisition of expertise.

SUPERSTRUCTURES is excited to launch the fifth season of the Frost Jacking Day Tracker. "Frost jacking" is what happens when freezing temperatures cause rain or snow to turn to ice and expand cracks in a facade. As cycles of freezing and thawing accumulate, the cracks continue to grow and exterior hazardous conditions or interior water damage or leaks can occur.

Habitat magazine continues to characterize parking garages as “the new facades” with regard to their required inspections. They’ve raised alarms that city-mandated garage condition assessments are synonymous with periodic facade (FISP/LL11) inspections, but this equation is misleading. The comparison is reasonable to the extent that both facades and parking structures are subject to deterioration over time and mandatory inspections, but they also differ in important ways.

There’s a subset of LinkedIn posts that emphasizes the daredevil side of facade inspections with dizzying pics of rope access team members hanging high above the city. We understand that rope access has its thrilling side, but should it be the go-to method for facade inspection?

Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. That’s the essence of Cornell Tech’s research report, “Rebooting NYC,” which asks the City to give drones a chance by conducting a thorough study to see how their potential plays out for FISP facade inspections.

This is SUPERSTRUCTURES' unofficial mascot, Bucky. He's name after R. Buckminster Fuller and his innovative solution to this maze sums up our mission: why follow convention when there’s a better, more direct path?

In Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, Bleak House, Mrs. Piper is said to have “a lot to say, but not much to tell.” We’ve encountered this quandary when performing peer reviews on unsuccessful restoration projects. Their specification books tend to be the size of an old Manhattan telephone directory—a proliferation of words (sometimes redundant, sometimes contradictory) in lieu of a tight set of drawings.

Whether you’re new to New York’s Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP), or a veteran who could use a refresher on its current requirements, this short video will bring you up to speed.

SUPERSTRUCTURES is proud to have worked on a number of projects related to the history and culture of Black New Yorkers. Among them is the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building in Harlem. SUPERSTRUCTURES provided investigation, design, and construction administration services to restore the facade and curtain wall of the 1973 structure.