{"id":3165,"date":"2022-12-22T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scaffoldingsolutions.com\/?p=3165"},"modified":"2022-12-26T06:04:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T11:04:37","slug":"scaffolding-to-repair-the-womens-museum-in-washing-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scaffoldingsolutions.com\/articles\/scaffolding-to-repair-the-womens-museum-in-washing-dc\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: Scaffolding to Repair the Women’s Museum in Downtown Washington, D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington D.C. champions the work of women artists through exhibits, online content, programs, and collections. NMWA has been located in the same building since it first opened in 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time went by, the 112-year-old iconic building was starting to show signs of its age\u2014exterior cornices and designs were crumbling, and the original windows were cracked. Because of this, the Board decided it was time to raise the money needed for a restoration and re-imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August of 2021, the museum closed its doors, and construction work began on a multi-year total renovation<\/a> of the interior and exterior of the building. Grunley Construction Company won the contracting bid and hired Scaffolding Solutions to provide the necessary scaffolding for the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Intricate and Heavy Challenge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The building itself was constructed in 1908 in the Classical Revival style, and it features an intricate terracotta design, cornices, and other complex architectural elements. Construction workers would need to remove each of the 1,200lb exterior stones and very carefully place them onto the scaffolding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project had several unique challenges, such as the delicate exterior, shoring under the north and south vaults to support scaffolding, and a uniquely-engineered trolley system. Compression ties into the windows were also required.  Extensive in-house testing and engineering shop drawings were developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grunley had very specific access needs that made this a highly complex job. They needed to <\/p>\n\n\n\n

get within 8 inches of access all over the building. The drawings also required Scaffolding Solutions to match and reflect the layout, while the scaffolding had to be strong enough to support the weight of the 1,200lb stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"The Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Scaffolding Solutions immediately got to work and incorporated a variety of unique features into the design:<\/p>\n\n\n\n