Koppers Building Rope Access Façade Assessment

Walter P Moore performed a façade assessment for the Koppers Building (also known as Koppers Tower), a historic landmark and one of the City’s most recognizable buildings. Constructed in the late 1920s, the building is the best example of Art Deco construction and ornamentation in Pittsburgh. The building exterior is comprised mainly of limestone with terracotta ornamentation, with the exception of the first four floors which are comprised mainly of granite cladding.
Our assessment, performed via rope access, identified items of the exterior façade in need of repair.

Signs of distress were noted at different façade system components, on multiple levels, and at all elevations of the Koppers Building. The façade distress included deterioration of the limestone and granite façades, as well as mortar joints, terracotta ornamentation, through-wall flashing membrane, and window seal components. A section of limestone coping was also observed to be displaced by several inches on the 29th floor parapet wall at the northeast corner.

Walter P Moore recommended a comprehensive façade assessment to address areas not directly observed during this limited assessment, as well as the development and implementation of a phased repair program. The displaced limestone coping on the 29th floor was recommended to immediately be reset and resecured.