The Houston Museum of Fine Arts’ redevelopment plan for the Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus includes constructing a new Glassell School of Art building, as the prior building was demolished to allow for the campus expansion. The new Glassell building doubled in size, encompassing 93,000 square feet with a sprawling plaza out front. It is largely programmed as classrooms and exhibition spaces for students of the Studio School, the Junior School and Core Program residents.
Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing was selected by general contractor McCarthy Building Companies to perform roofing and waterproofing scopes for this project. The roof was designed as an outdoor space called the BBVA Roof Garden. It extends the plaza up the slope of the walkable roof and functions as both a green roof and a welcoming space with natural elements. It includes a pergola and an amphitheater. Chamberlin installed over 20,000 square feet of hot fluid-applied waterproofing underneath the green roof landscaping system and amphitheater along with pedestal paver installation. The plaza received nearly 50,000 square feet of hot and cold fluid-applied waterproofing plus site sealants. Chamberlin installed over 9,000 linear feet of exterior joint sealants on the building’s pre-cast panels in addition to water repellent. In the below-grade parking garage, crew members installed traffic coating, expansion joints and over 170,000 square feet of bentonite waterproofing. Fire-resistant joint sealants were installed on the interior CMU walls, high-performance tank coating in the water tanks and crystalline waterproofing in the elevator pits. Elastomeric coating was installed on the central plant portion of the building, which also received a PVC roofing system, sheet metal flashing and trim.
In approximately two years, Chamberlin sealed the Glassell School of Art’s new building and plaza watertight, leaving a space for Houstonians to access performing arts and education for years to come. The scheduling and sequencing of this project took open communication, coordination and high attention to detail. Not all of Chamberlin’s scopes could be completed consecutively, so pro-active planning was necessary to have crews available when it was ‘go time’. Proper sequencing of the nearly 20 trades on the project was vital, and Chamberlin had to consider the tie-in conditions of their various scopes as well.
Chamberlin holds safety as a top priority on every project they undertake. They believe that if a project cannot be done safely, it will not be done. Chamberlin began by developing a site-specific safety plan for HMFA Glassell School of Art. The development team included the project manager, superintendent, foremen and safety department. Since all of the project team was involved in developing this plan, it was well respected and vast knowledge and expertise were brought to the table. The project superintendents communicated this site-specific safety plan to Chamberlin crew members.
The Glassell School of Art was the first of three buildings to be realized as part of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts’ $450 million expansion of its Susan and Fayez S. Sarofim Campus. The transformation will also include a new conservation center designed by Lake|Flato Architects and a landscape plan by Deborah Nevins & Associates that knits together a century’s worth of signature architectural structures. For the first time, all Glassell School of Art students are served under one roof, since the new building houses both the Junior School and Studio School, as well as Core Program residents.