Gaston Hall is located inside the historic Healy Hall on Georgetown’s main quad, a late 19th-century loadbearing masonry building designed by Paul J. Pelz and John L. Smithmeyer, the architects of the Library of Congress’ Jefferson Building.
A well-loved teaching and speaking venue on campus, Gaston Hall is a two-story volume situated on the uppermost floors of Healy Hall. After more than a century of use, the Hall’s cantilevered wood balconies began showing signs of fatigue. When occupied, the balconies vibrated uncomfortably and visibly deflected. Unsightly temporary posts were installed at each cantilevered bracket, but these neither corrected the issue nor enhanced the experience for users. Our design team’s intervention successfully reduced vibration, removed the unsightly posts, and restored the beautifully crafted carpentry, joinery, and wool carpets to their original glory, while retaining as much of the original fabric as possible.
The original structure featured four sets of iron tie rods with decorative iron crosses anchoring the carved wooden brackets to the stone sidewalls. While visual inspection suggested that the tie rods and crosses were sound with no apparent signs of deterioration, destructive testing was necessary to confirm their condition. After multiple rounds of structural analysis and consultation with a historic metals specialist, the design team elected to replace the original iron crosses and tie rods with stronger, solid stainless steel fabrications. Additionally, the wooden beams concealed in the balcony were retained and sandwiched between new steel channel assemblies, which were through-bolted to each beam. This structural upgrade ensured that each bracket received new tension rods that stiffened the beams, resulting in greater overall stability through triangulation.
The first step in the restoration process involved documenting the space using 3D laser scanning, followed by the creation of an accurate Revit model. The wooden-paneled soffits beneath the balcony were uninstalled, cataloged, and later reinstalled. This careful removal allowed access for the precise insertion of new structural components from below. The existing wooden framing of the beams varied, requiring custom modifications to accommodate the new rods and channels. The four new exterior iron crosses, anchoring the tie rods, were CNC-machined via water-jet cutting to replicate the original profiles, and a high-performance black coating was applied to match the historic finish. After the original tie rods and anchor mechanisms were removed, the new rods were slid into place through the existing pathways, fastened, and grouted. Once installed, each structural assembly was tested before the soffit carpentry was painstakingly reassembled. Many of the original finishes had degraded over time and were refinished to match adjacent historic finishes. In the end, all the original carpentry was retained, none of the existing stonework required replacement, and a new custom wool carpet was installed.
2024 Merit Award Winner, AIA Northern Virginia Chapter
2024 Historic Preservation Citation, AIA Virginia