What is "outfrastructure?" When you hear the word infrastructure, you may think of roads, bridges, airports, and the like—the built environment that links our homes, stores, schools, offices, and cities together. But in an urban environment like New York, building envelopes—SUPERSTRUCTURES’ specialty—are infrastructure. We suggest adopting the term outfrastructure to make this relationship more evident.

If your Latin is rusty, Praemonitus Praemunitus means “forewarned is forearmed.” The Boy Scouts said it more succinctly with their motto, “Be Prepared.” Either way, it’s an ultimate expression of the value of research and preparation, and words that SUPERSTRUCTURES lives by.

Medical school students are taught “when you see hoof prints, think horses, not zebras,” meaning that a doctor should first think about what is a more common—and potentially more likely—diagnosis. In our field of exterior restoration, there’s a crucial caveat: sometimes it is zebras. We’ve found that some conditions require our experts to look beyond the obvious.

From Harlem to Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, plus Hunt’s Point in the Bronx, Queens’ Kew Gardens Hills, Brooklyn’s Fort Greene, and Staten Island’s St. George, SUPERSTRUCTURES has restored buildings in virtually every neighborhood of the five boroughs. This map illustrates the storied origins of Manhattan’s major neighborhoods, reflecting the city’s Dutch roots as well as its social and economic history.

What if old buildings are greener than new ones? We think we know the answer to this question posed by a recent Slate article. It offers a nuanced consideration of the embodied energy issues that can guide the decision to restore an existing structure versus building new. But we think that, in most cases, preservation wins the day when all factors are considered. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s position is that “the greenest building is one already built,” an assertion that SUPERSTRUCTURES has long shared.

A recent Habitat article outlines an unexpected downside of deferred maintenance of condo and co-op buildings: ineligibility for FNMA mortgages for individual owners. Add this to the list of reasons to be proactive in maintaining your building’s envelope. Topping that list is the fact that maintenance costs can spiral out of control if not nipped in the bud, so proactive repairs effectively flatten that curve.

Patients are always reassured when their physician is team doctor to the Mets, the Rangers, or the Knicks (or the Yankees or Giants). Think of SUPERSTRUCTURES as the “team doctor” for the Dormitory Authority, The Port Authority, the School Construction Authority, the Housing Authority, and the U.S. General Services Administration. In the field of exterior restoration, that's like being the team doctor to every pro team in the region.

SUPERSTRUCTURES has something in common with the Oakland A's of Moneyball: an aggregate of talent rather than an all-star approach.

The NYC DOB just released Using Drones to Conduct Façade Inspections, and SUPERSTRUCTURES would like to thank the department for the opportunity to have contributed to its report. We’d also like to reiterate our support for allowing the judicious use of drones to facilitate the inspections required by the Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP).

In 1992, multiple Grammy winner Vince Gill sang a country classic with the refrain “There ain’t no future in the past.” We beg to differ. Our contemporary practice includes the preservation of many of New York City’s historic buildings—irreplaceable beacons of the past.