Built in 1911, 44 West 77th Street is a 14-story Neo-Gothic tower clad, in terra cotta and red brick. Originally, the building was entirely clad in exuberantly detailed high relief glazed terra cotta; however, during the 1950s, most of the ornament and approximately 60% of the flat ashlar terra cotta was replaced with brick. A significant amount of terra cotta remains and the building is still a stand-out on the block in this Historic Landmarked District. In 1980, the building underwent more modifications which included adding a stucco-clad roof level penthouse.
Thornton Tomasetti was initially contacted because of roof leak problems; however after in investigation, the team discovered more issues which stemmed from both the 1950 and 1980 renovations. The firm not only provided a thorough investigation, but developed construction documents for the entire building envelope. Services included replacement of slate roofing on terra cotta book tile substrate, flat bituminous roofing, infill of skylights and replacing others, reconstruction of 800 feet of parapets, replacement of selected terra cotta with new terra cotta and repairs of others. The penthouse underwent 30% reconstruction along with miscellaneous brick and stone repairs and reinforcing of corroded structural steel. Approximately 500 of the original wood double hung windows were restorated, many of which included stained glass panels. There was an in-kind replacement with insulated glass of a 17-foot by 20-foot monumental steel framed window, originally installed in 1950. Thornton Tomasetti also provided design for re-support of a 1,000-gallon oil tank currently resting on soil.
Project Stats
Location: New York, New York
Owner: Park 44 Owner’s Corporation
Area: Building Area: 125,000 sf, Roof Area: 8,500 sf
Completion Date: 2009
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