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Best of 2006 Awards
Temple Emanu-El Restoration
BEST OF 2006: Rehabilitation, Renovation, and Restoration
PHOTO BY BRIAN ROSE |
A two-year, $25 million restoration effort has not only returned the 75-yearold Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan to its original grandeur but has also modernized the building’s infrastructure.
Throughout the construction effort launched in October 2004 and completed in October, the project team accommodated the temple’s need to not disrupt special religious services.
“It was a really complex project,” said one Best of 2006 juror.
Built in 1929, the 10-story Romanesque limestone structure on East 65th Street houses the world’s largest synagogue.
The main 11,319-sq.-ft. sanctuary seats 2,500 and features a peak ceiling height of 107 ft. The dramatic interior is unbroken by pillars, thanks to a structural steel frame that utilizes a system of buttresses.
The building contains numerous high-end architectural details, such as a monumental wheel-shaped stained glass window over the sanctuary’s entrance, limestone wainscoting, marble floors, a gilded and in-painted plaster ceiling, and tessere mosaics. Guastavino akoustolith tiles, known for their excellent acoustic qualities, adorn the walls.
Meanwhile, off the main lobby, the smaller Beth-El Chapel features equally impressive architectural details, with arched columns, two domes highlighting its Byzantine-styled interior, and a large Louis Tiffany stained glass window.
“It was probably the most complicated renovation project out there,” a judge said.
Over the years, an accumulation of dirt faded the ornate surfaces. In addition, leaking roof leaders had damaged the ceiling and akoustolith tiles.
Repair of the roof rainspouts was the first priority facing Tishman Interiors of New York, the project’s construction manager, which worked on designs prepared by two New York firms, Barteluce Architects and Associates and Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners.
Initially, project crews had to demolish selected walls within the structure to get access to the damaged features, which were encased in concrete within the walls. After repairing the leaks, the team installed an innovative drain waterproofing system that uses an inflatable tube to set an epoxy and felt liner inside the pipes.
Once the apparatus was threaded through the 10-story leader system, the tube was inflated, pressing the epoxy and liner against the existing pipe to form a waterproof barrier. The tube then was deflated and removed after the epoxy cured. After repairing the leaks, the team then restored the walls and moved to other restoration tasks. By far, the biggest was restoring the ornate plaster ceiling above the sanctuary without interrupting services.
The design solution was a two-phase approach utilizing a customized scaffolding system hidden behind a 2,300-sq.-ft. flame-resistant, dust-isolating curtain. During the first phase, the project team erected more than 1,000 scaffold frames in the rear of the sanctuary. A “tunnel” beneath the scaffolding allowed the congregation access to the front of the sanctuary for services.
The team finished the rear of the sanctuary and removed the scaffolding in September 2005, in time for the congregation’s celebration of the Jewish high holy days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. After the holy days, the team shifted focus to the front of the sanctuary. The team finished the restoration work before the high holy days in 2006.
The team used specialty contractors for intricate and time-consuming restoration tasks, such as the pane-by-pane dismantling of the massive wheel-rose stained glass window, which was sent to France for restoration. Crews also hand-cleaned the porous ceramic surfaces of the akoustolith tiles with wishabs, an eraser-like sponge, in order to prevent further damage.
A wood specialist restored the wooden pews, which were reupholstered using more than 3,000 lin. yd. of fabric. The modern touches included replacing the electrical system, upgrading fire alarms and sprinklers, and installing new HVAC and sound systems.
Key Players
Owner: Congregation Emanu-El
Construction Manager: Tishman Interiors
Architect: Barteluce Architects and Associates
Restoration Architect: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners
Restoration Consultant: Preservation Design
Structural Engineer: Office of James Ruderman
Mechanical-Electrical Engineer: AKF Engineering
Acoustic-Audio: Jaffe Holden Acoustics
Lighting Design: Sachs Morgan Studio
Stained Glass Restoration: Femenella & Associates
Plaster-Stone Restoration: Evergreene Painting Studio
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