Western Construction Group, a national building restoration and preservation company founded in 1915, has formed a new team, Western Facades, a first-of-its-kind operation dedicated exclusively to full-scale, multi-million-dollar façade restorations and replacements.
The formation of Western Facades draws on key personnel with extensive experience on complex projects from Brisk Waterproofing, a Western company serving the New York City real estate community for nearly a century. The new team will be led by Senior Operations Manager, Michael C. Radigan, and will work exclusively on large-scale, complex facade restoration and recladding projects requiring the company’s unique expertise and experience.
The Western Facades team was established in response to the growing number of large-scale projects the firm has been retained for over the past several years. Responding to the growing need for such services in the market, Western Facades provides the size and manpower of the largest general contractors with the expertise of nearly a century of waterproofing and restoration experience.
Western Facades’ current project at the Rudin family-owned 215 East 68th Street, one of New York City’s premier rental properties, is a prime example of the types of projects for which the new team was developed. It involves removing the building’s white brick facade and replacing with a white terra cotta cladding. Working in association with Forst Consulting and Architecture, and FXFOWLE, Western Facades is installing a new “Passive Rain Screen System” developed in Germany, the largest such restoration of an occupied building of this type. The new system will provide energy savings by preventing heat transfer from the exterior skin through a 3- to 4-inch air and insulation barrier, while providing full air and vapor protection to the occupied space. The system also requires less maintenance than traditional masonry systems and makes repairs easier.
“Large and complex projects like these require a unique skills set and the coordination of hundreds of workers on a daily basis,” said Radigan. “Through the entire process, the goal is to raise the professional bar to make the project painless for building occupants and extremely successful for ownership. This is precisely the type of job for which the Western Facades team was created.”
Western Facades is part of Western Construction Group, offering a nationwide network of expertise that building owners, engineers, architects and property managers count on to develop cost-effective, corrective measures that can add years of useful life to buildings and structures. Serving the entire nation from more than 30 offices, they offer the best, time-tested techniques combined with innovative new technology.
