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.

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.