Brooks Hall is located between the Rotunda and the Corner on the Central Grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. The existing building, was opened as the Lewis Brooks Hall of Natural History in the late 1870s, and consists of exterior brick and stone masonry with interior wood framing. An original open balcony level has been infilled to create a building with four floor levels, including a basement.

Prompted by noticeable deflections of the interior staircase at the main lobby, Keast & Hood prepared a structural condition assessment of the stair’s framing including recommendations for repairs to the affected building structure.

Plaster was removed from the underside of the stair during UVA’s 2014-2015 academic winter break, and were available for review during the first two weeks of 2015, after which the structure was covered over for fire protection before re-opening the building.

During the survey of the framing, significant fire damage was noted at the ground floor of the structure and unrelated structural damage was noted at the third floor landing. Keast & Hood prepared repair drawings for the third floor framing and performed analysis of the damaged ground floor framing.

Brooks Hall is located between the Rotunda and the Corner on the Central Grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. The existing building, was opened as the Lewis Brooks Hall of Natural History in the late 1870s, and consists of exterior brick and stone masonry with interior wood framing. An original open balcony level has been infilled to create a building with four floor levels, including a basement.

Prompted by noticeable deflections of the interior staircase at the main lobby, Keast & Hood prepared a structural condition assessment of the stair’s framing including recommendations for repairs to the affected building structure.

Plaster was removed from the underside of the stair during UVA’s 2014-2015 academic winter break, and were available for review during the first two weeks of 2015, after which the structure was covered over for fire protection before re-opening the building.

During the survey of the framing, significant fire damage was noted at the ground floor of the structure and unrelated structural damage was noted at the third floor landing. Keast & Hood prepared repair drawings for the third floor framing and performed analysis of the damaged ground floor framing.

CLIENT: University of Virginia
LOCATION: Charlottesville, VA

TYPE: Academic, Historic, SERVICES: Restoration, MATERIALS: Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Final photography © Martin Phillips