Greenfield National Hall
This new addition to a 100-year old building in Connecticut consisted of a new glazed box projecting from the face of the original brick wall. The feature stair was designed to bridge old and new with a literal bridge.
The now-enclosed existing brick wall had a large window opening. The bridge projects through this framed opening transitions to steps and winds 90 degrees before running parallel with what was formerly the exterior face of the brick wall.
- Plate fabricated AESS box beam
- Plate fabricated sawtooth profile tracing the treads and providing the structural base for the picket rails
- Zero detail SS picket rail system at stair and around slab opening
We carried out Design Assist to develop zero detail transitions between all interfacing components, including the architecturally exposed structural steel stringer, wood treads, stainless steel picket rails and leather-wrapped handrail.
All wood treads and leather rails were context-fit in our shop, shimmed and balanced in their final position, then numbered and packed for reassembly in the field. Installation was carried out by Metropolitan Walters.
The existing brick wall is more than a century old. Over its lifetime, it has become highly irregular, which made it more challenging to coordinate structures and interfacing finishes.
The project also required tight reveals between multiple materials on curves, at steps and interfaces with brick. Through multiple surveys, scans and meticulous 3D modelling, we layered pristine structures and finishes into place alongside the existing conditions.
