Repairing a Concrete Masterpiece

by Rebecca Wasieleski
Created: December 14, 2007

Concrete takes center stage in the renovation effort at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

David Heald The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

The Guggenheim is currently wrapped in scaffolding during its renovation.
The Guggenheim is currently wrapped in scaffolding during its renovation.
In the process of developing a repair design, the renovation team working on the museum mapped out the cracks found in the exterior walls and categorized them into six degrees.
In the process of developing a repair design, the renovation team working on the museum mapped out the cracks found in the exterior walls and categorized them into six degrees.
The cracking at the web walls in the museum's rotunda require special repair. The deteriorated concrete is rebuilt with repair materials and the steel protected with Mapefer 1K.
The cracking at the web walls in the museum's rotunda require special repair. The deteriorated concrete is rebuilt with repair materials and the steel protected with Mapefer 1K.
A piece of foam is then installed in the crack and the renovation team will measure crack movement throughout the winter to determine the best crack filler to use.
A piece of foam is then installed in the crack and the renovation team will measure crack movement throughout the winter to determine the best crack filler to use.
In some areas of the rotunda, the repair contractor had to build up the crack the entire 5-in. width of the wall using MAPEI's Planitop XS.
In some areas of the rotunda, the repair contractor had to build up the crack the entire 5-in. width of the wall using MAPEI's Planitop XS.
A contractor sprays Mapelastic, a flexible cementitious membrane for concrete waterproofing and protection, on the rotunda walls at the Guggenheim Museum.
A contractor sprays Mapelastic, a flexible cementitious membrane for concrete waterproofing and protection, on the rotunda walls at the Guggenheim Museum.

A special system was created for large cracks that appear at the web walls. The crack is routed out and built up on one side with Planitop XS. A piece of foam is placed next to it and Planitop XS built up on the other side. The renovation team will monitor the cracks over the winter for expansion and contraction and the proper crack filler will be chosen based on the results of the monitoring. Weiss explains that this is an unconventional attitude in usual concrete crack repair. "One attitude is 'concrete is strong and you should use strong repair materials, and concrete is rigid and you should use rigid materials.' But that attitude has also failed. We're taking a different attitude, which is 'you see that crack, we have that crack in a photograph 20 years ago and we're not going to fill it up with cement and sand; we're going to fill it with something that will allow the building to stress and move where it needs to'."

The Guggenheim restoration will be finished in the spring of 2008, with the scaffolding coming down and any visible evidence of the changes gone for the 50th anniversary celebration.