As
part of the EmpireStateBuilding’s
$500 million capital improvement program EverGreene artisans worked with
architects, Beyer Blinder Belle, to replicate the original Art Deco lobby and
corridor murals, painted in metallic silver and gold paints.
Obscured
and severely damaged by a 1960s-era hanging ceiling of paneled fluorescent
lighting, EverGreene performed
the initial ceiling investigation by looking above the suspended ceiling at
fragments of the original murals and found that it was deteriorated beyond
repair with thousands of perforations.
To recreate the murals, the design phase began by researching historical
photographs and tracing extant remnants of the ceiling murals. All mural painting work was executed in
EverGreene’s New York
studio on fire retardant canvas, using the highest quality materials. EverGreene’s recreation process demanded a
strict production quality control in a 26 step process that used over 15,000
square feet of canvas and 115,000 sheets of aluminum leaf to achieve consistency
over the duration of the project. The
murals were replicated and installed on a new ceiling, resting inches below the
originals. Over 20,000 man hours went
into the replication of the ceiling murals.
Work during the construction phase was completed after hours to minimize
disruption to this very active public space. To compliment the lobby’s marble clad walls, EverGreene artisans also designed
and created faux marble printed panels to cover the partition walls during
construction.
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