The majestic State Capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota was in a state of deterioration: on the outside, the regal marble exterior design, completed in 1905, was crumbling.

The state embarked on a $272 million, four-phase restoration plan in 2013, with tasks including replacing plumbing and electrical systems, boosting energy efficiency, improving access, replacing the roof and repairing all of the crumbling stone.

Another major part of the project was restoring the building’s original wood windows, which had been covered over with aluminium windows 30 years ago. The ageing units—242 in total—had seriously suffered from fogging, failing glass, air leakage, and broken balances that rendered them inoperable. Window replacement manufacturer Re-View, was selected to restore the windows and bring the Capitol building back to life.

Since some of the individual double-hung windows are about 2 meters (6 feet) wide by 4 meters (13 feet) tall, the sashes weigh in excess of 115 kilograms (250 pounds). This resulted in the Re-view team engineering a system of weights and pulleys to make the massive windows easy to open. Many of the Accoya installed windows were tested for air and water infiltration by an independent testing agency and it was determined that they were twice as tight as the published ratings for modern replacement windows.

PROJECT STATISTICS

Project Owner – Department of Administration, State of Minnesota
Contract Administrator – CPMI (Cost, Planning and Management International)
Program Manager – MOCA Systems
Design Team – HGA Architects and Engineers
Construction Manager – JE Dunn Construction
Governing Body – Minnesota State Capitol Preservation Commission

Accoya Application:
• Windows