St. Elizabeths West Campus, Center Building

SGH consulted on the building enclosure for the restoration project involving a complete gut renovation to remove the interior structure, including load‑bearing corridor and partition walls; underpinning the existing mass masonry structure; and rebuilding masonry parapets. Highlights of our work include the following:

• Consulting on the existing exterior mass masonry walls, including overseeing a testing program to evaluate the brick’s durability and developing a restoration plan
• Performing hygrothermal modeling to evaluate options for insulating the existing exterior brick masonry walls
• Helping select and detail below-grade waterproofing, considering the transition from new underpinning piers to the existing masonry walls
• Detailing a new jacket wall inboard of the existing below-grade walls to collect any water bypassing the masonry and direct it out of the building
• Consulting on foundation drainage strategies
• Developing details for contemporary enclosures, including curtain walls and rain screen cladding at infill areas and additions, and their intersections with existing
• Designing flashing and detailing around restored windows
• Assisting with the detailing for steep- and low-slope roofing replacements