Just Urbanism

03 UCC-DAAP Exterior 001, originally uploaded by darajan

Peter Eisenman’s Aronoff Center at the University of Cincinnati is in need for a $4.5 million façade renovation (pdf):

Façade renovation of the Aronoff Center. The Aronoff Center is a six-story structure built in 1996 with an exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS), window assembles, and a single-ply membrane roof with associated flashings consisting of a floor plate of approximately 130,000 gross s.f. total area. This project will renovate/restore the existing building envelope and complete renovation to exterior wall systems and interior finishes/assemblies damaged as a result of moisture or water damage.

The first part of the design will include all forensic investigations to develop the Program of Requirements to eliminate the migration of moisture, establish the priority of work scope with schedule and budget. The University will provide a previously commissioned façade investigation report upon request.

The second part of the design phase will include design document preparation for construction, bid/award, contract administration of construction and project closeout. Construction phase sequencing will be required to facilitate the existing building’s operations, as well as those of the surrounding buildings, throughout the construction period.

The total cost is budgeted at $4.5 million with design services starting in January 2009, construction contracts completed by April 2011 and professional services completed July 2011. When I attended UC, the Aronoff Center’s piazza skylights were replaced and the interior plasterboard in many areas were also renovated. This will be the second major renovation to the brilliant, if functionally challenged, building.

As Eisenman’s projects in Ohio go, he is now 2-for-3 in projects needing extensive repair; the Wexner Center at the Ohio State University built in 1989 was renovated in 2005 to secure the building envelope, control interior moisture and to calibrate gallery natural light (Renovation fact sheet pdf). No word yet if the Columbus Convention Center, built in 1993, is in need of repair. Or if batting .667 will get Eisenman into the Hall of Fame.

Update 28 OCT 2011

From an article from last year, construction costs have ballooned up to $6 million, including a complete facade replacement and internal improvements:

So when Ms. McGrew went to see Mr. Eisenman to discuss the exterior—”as a courtesy,” she says—Mr. Chatterjee came along. So did Mr. McInturf. Mr. Eisenman sided with Mr. Chatterjee—the colors were crucial, he said, not for aesthetic reasons, but because they constituted an essential notational element of the design. That tipped the scales in favor of preservation­—and against the black-and-white scheme. Next summer, when repairs begin, the exterior’s original colors will be restored.

The colored aluminum will cost about $6-million; the different finishes required for the Eisenman-in-black-and-white scheme would have cost a little more, Ms. McGrew says. The whole complex will be reroofed at the same time, and it may get some interior upgrades too—the carpet is worn, and the drywall has taken a beating in places where students use the building heavily.