One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza/885 2nd Avenue, New York, NY

Façade Restoration

One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza is 49-story high building that consists predominantly of an aluminum frame curtainwall with glass vision and spandrel panels and portico base. The west elevation consists predominantly of brick and CMU block backup wall that covers over two egress stairs. This wall is a cavity wall construction with relieving angles at each floor supporting the brick cavity wall.

A facade investigation confirmed that wall contained vertically cracked brick veneer. Testing was performed to confirm the required metal anchor location which revealed localized facade areas without appropriately spaced anchors, which contributed directly to vertical cracking. Further investigation revealed that the relieving angle was tilted out and not supporting the full width of the brick in some locations.

The proposed scope of work consisted of:

• Pinning the brick veneer to the backup CMU wall with stainless steel helical pins at areas without appropriately spaced ties.
• Brick stitching vertically crack brick with stainless steel reinforcement and backup ties
• Removing crack brick at relieving angles and reattaching angle to structure. Welding steel extension plates to support the full width of the brick.
• Providing rubberized asphalt flashing with stainless steel extension piece to allow bed joint to weep out.
• Resealing vertical expansion joints with elastic long lasting silicone sealant.

The project was very successful in remediating the original construction errors of lack of
appropriate ties in localized areas and misplacement of brick on angle with appropriate flashing.