"If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend fifty-five minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” Attributed to Albert Einstein, this may sound like a lopsided approach to problem solving, but it’s relevant to SUPERSTRUCTURES’ method. It’s not that our restoration solutions don’t get due diligence; it’s about a “measure twice, cut once” philosophy in reaching those solutions.

An important reminder for garage owners in New York City: a new inspection program for parking structures will take effect soon—likely in the first quarter of 2022. While we await the precise kickoff date for this program, another legislative milestone has been passed and it’s not too soon for owners to act.

As the old show-business quip goes, “It’s worse than dog eat dog—it’s dog doesn’t return dog’s phone calls.” SUPERSTRUCTURES is doing its part to assure that this run-around doesn’t apply to the business of architecture and engineering. We return calls and emails—whether we end up taking the job or not.

What’s black and white and red all over? No, not a newspaper. We’re talking about SUPERSTRUCTURES’ logo. We felt it was time to reflect on what this brand symbol stands for.

Recent heavy rains and flooding in New York City have underscored the problem that impacts most sidewalk vaults: water infiltration causing corrosion of their steel elements. If left unresolved, the structural degradation can lead to a sidewalk collapse. But in many cases, this damage is superficial and steel can be salvaged instead of scrapped.

Archtober is here and, this year, the month-long slate of architectural tours, talks, and events includes a session called Technical Aspects of Terra Cotta Restoration. Virtually all of SUPERSTRUCTURES’ award-winning preservation projects have involved terra cotta, and we bring that experience to every piece of the material we assess and restore, whether on a landmarked building or not.

On every project, we take our clients’ viewpoint by asking ourselves, “What if it were our building?” or “If it were our money, how would we spend it?” This professional perspective is part of why we’ve been retained for more exterior restoration projects than any other firm in NYC.

Jersey City recently mandated two new inspection requirements, intended to assure the safety of the buildings within its jurisdiction: structural inspections of all concrete buildings every ten years, and facade inspections of all exterior walls of buildings six stories or more in height every five years.

The International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC) has retired the term envelope in favor of enclosure to describe a building’s array of exterior surfaces. But we're sticking with envelope for a few key reasons.

SUPERSTRUCTURES’ professional relationship is ultimately with our clients: building owners. The contractors we work with also answer to owners, so we view them as natural allies in getting our designs built as intended for the benefit of our clients.