On October 5th, architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron unveiled their design for the restoration of the Park Avenue Armory. Their concept involves the excavation of the layers of paint, plaster and wallpaper which have built up since 1881– to quote Herzog, to “explore the very act of transformation, the evolution of an important structure as it is seen and used and worn down by one generation after another”. The $200 million restoration is in progress and will not be completed until 2015. One interesting fact about the project that was published in The New York Times on October 6th, is that 280,000 Q-tips were used in the cleaning of one of the rooms.
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Foreground Conservation and Decorative Arts in a joint partnership with Evergreene Architectural Arts revealed the original 1880’s decorative paints in the 2 pilot project rooms at the Armory. We have never worked so hard in our lives, within a demanding timeline and for a demanding client….but as the lead conservator, we never used a single Q-tip. They are for your ears. For some beautiful photos visit-
http://www.archdaily.com/176436/park-avenue-armory-herzog-and-de-meuron/