Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Philadelphia, PA

Owner/ Client:

The Ritz-Carlton, Gencom Group

Construction Data:

$1.8 million

O&S Services Used:

Architecture

Structural Engineering

MEP Engineering

Construction Administration

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a 330-room hotel located in a 30-story skyscraper in Center City, Philadelphia. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is therefore subject to the requirements of maintaining its original appearance and utilizing equivalent materials for restoration. The building’s façade was constructed with a marble stone veneer and is anchored to the terracotta back-up and steel structure. 

O&S was initially hired to provide engineering services to inspect the exterior walls and determine the best course of action to repair and maintain this prestigious façade. We performed a hands-on inspection of the entire façade utilizing suspended scaffolding. O&S also performed a survey of the roof.

The primary repairs were related to the marble façade which had deteriorated due to weathering. The marble surface had deteriorated in many locations due to freeze-thaw damage. The repairs called for cleaning the deteriorated surface to sound material and then sealing it with a glazing compound. All the marble repairs required mock-ups which were approved by the Philadelphia Historic Commission before repairs could proceed.

We were again hire in 2022 for another inspection in which we found that the marble at the dome was in fair condition but had heavy carbon staining and several cracks. The ocular window’s glazing at the top of the dome was in poor condition with about ten pieces broken. This damage was likely caused by an adjacent building’s glazing panel coming loose and impacting the ocular window.

We repaired the cracks in the marble masonry and thoroughly cleaned the marble of dirt and debris and then sealed it with a consolidant. Additionally, we removed and replaced all damaged glazing panels in kind.