Philip Johnson's Painting Gallery: Case study of a modernist earth berm roof replacement and restoration

Abstract

Philip Johnson's Painting Gallery is a National Historic Landmark earth berm building built in 1965 at the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. The gallery design is based on an ancient Greek tomb also known as the Treasury of Atreus, and contains an exceptional collection of modern art including works by Andy Warhol, Frank Stella and Robert Rauschenberg. After the National Trust for Historic Preservation became the stewards of the Glass House site in 2006, recurring leaks at various locations became increasingly problematic at the Painting Gallery. It was determined that a comprehensive approach was needed to address the water emanating from under the berm at the roof and rising walls for the conservation of the building itself and to protect the building's highly significant art collection. The comprehensive approach began with a six-month study and evaluation of the building including review of all archival materials, trench probes, consultations with technical product representatives and proposed waterproofing and roofing system mock-ups.The study determined the repair scope of work that included replacing the original 1965 roof membrane with a cold-applied Kemper roofing system at the main roof and sub-grade roofs under the berm. To access the roof work areas, all of the 54 Redstone copings, each weighing 1200-1500 pounds, were removed by a crane and over 200 cubic yards of the earth berm were removed by hand. The scope of work also included restoration of the full profile and landscaping of the earth berm over the building in keeping with Johnson's original design intent.Construction began in July 2013 and was complete in October 2013. Mary Kay Judy was the Principal Architectural Conservator, Robert Silman Engineers were the consulting structural engineers for mobilisation and Nicholson and Galloway was the General Contractor.