Koppers Building Rope Access Façade Assessment

We performed a façade assessment for the Koppers Building (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 exterior is mainly limestone and terra cotta ornamentation, with the exception of the first four floors, which are primarily granite cladding. Our assessment, performed via rope access, identified exterior façade items needing 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, mortar joints, terra cotta 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.

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