Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art Water Infiltration Remediation – Third Party Review Washington, District of Columbia Circa 1920, the Freer Gallery of Art was designed by Charles A. Platt in the Renaissance Revival style. The Freer Gallery of Art houses over 26,000 objects from the Neolithic to modern eras. It connects to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery using an underground passageway. The building’s facade is composed of v-jointed, rusticated-pink granite block walls terminated by a granite entablature and balustrade. The building walls consist of granite face stone with brick masonry back-up. The masonry back-up wall extends up to the underside of the full depth granite coping stone below the balustrade. A skylight system provides natural light to a secondary translucent skylight in the Gallery ceiling. The asphaltic roof membrane extends from the roof skylights down to the flat surface of the concrete deck and then wraps up the parapet wall, terminating five levels below the top of the masonry back-up wall. In 1993, renovations to the Gallery were completed which included a new copper gutter and roof. The roof was replaced in 2011 due to leaks at the roof drains. Concurrent with the roof installation, the granite mortar joints on the inside and outside faces of the parapet wall above the cornice, including the balustrade and top rail, as well as the exposed brick masonry mortar joints on the inside face of the parapet, were repointed. Hoffmann Architects was retained by Lend Lease (US) Construction, Inc. , on behalf of the Smithsonian Institution, to perform a 3rd-party investigation to determine the causes of water infiltration through the mortar and parapets. Our design professionals conducted a visual assessment and conducted water tests, after creating exploratory openings in the masonry and roof, to determine the root cause of the water infiltration. Representative samples of the brick and granite mortar joints were also taken for further analysis. As a result of the investigation, Hoffmann Architects recommended repointing of granite mortar joints, select installation of new silicone sealant joints, and roof replacement with a single-ply rubberized asphaltic membrane. Following the Owner’s acceptance of our recommendations, Hoffmann Architects reviewed submittals and provided on-site construction observation services while the repairs were made. Hoffmann Architects Specialists in the Rehabilitation of Building Exteriors.