New York, NY
City University of New York, Shepard Hall
Scope/Solutions
Constructed in the early 1900s, Shepard Hall was designed by George Browne Post in the gothic revival style and features a 1,520-seat theater called the Great Hall. Located on CUNY’s City College of New York campus, the building is included on the National Register of Historic Places along with the four other buildings designed by Post. When the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York identified that Shepard Hall’s roof was leaking, SGH investigated the water leakage problems and subsequently designed replacement roofing systems to preserve and protect the historic building.
Our investigation included water testing to identify leakage paths, including into the Great Hall, and making observations at exploratory openings to document concealed conditions. We subsequently developed a plan for replacing the roofing systems that included:
- Reconstructing the main slate roofs with an approach that helped avoid costly and disruptive replacement of the original terra cotta and concrete plank roof deck by installing new plywood sheathing overlay with new insulation, waterproofing, and slate tiles
- Replacing perimeter clerestory roofs with new reinforced fluid-applied waterproofing systems that integrate with the existing copper through-wall flashing
- Replacing the low-slope sheet metal roofs (gutter areas) with a new copper sheet roofing assembly with fully soldered flat-lock seams
- Retaining the existing GFRC and terra cotta copings and integrating the new roofing and flashing with the existing flashing
SGH coordinated with the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and provided bid‑phase and construction administration services for the project. The Great Hall remained fully operational during the work that was phased around university events, including graduation and commencement ceremonies.
Project Summary
2017
1.5M
14K
Key team members
