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Development of the Grohmann Museum at the Milwaukee School of Engineering involved one of the most interesting building renovations in the city in recent years. It also involved installation of one of the most interesting roofs in the city.
The museum, at 1000 N. Broadway downtown, was developed within an 83-year-old structure that most recently served as a check clearing facility for the Federal Reserve Board. Under that use, the building had narrow windows and no public access. As a museum, it has been opened up to more natural light and to the public, thanks to the work of Uihlein-Wilson Architects and The Bentley Co. as general contractor.
The 38,000-square-foot structure was originally built in 1924 to house Metropolitan Cadillac, then owned by Glenn Humphrey, whose last name is familiar to many Milwaukeeans not only from his Cadillac and Chevrolet dealerships but also through his extensive philanthropy in the community.
The building had been unoccupied since 2004 when the Federal Reserve moved its Milwaukee operations to Chicago. That all changed when Eckhart Grohmann, chairman and president of Milwaukee's Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., donated funds to acquire and redevelop the1000 N. Broadway building to house the extensive art collection he donated to MSOE in 2001. Grohmann also is an MSOE regent and longtime supporter.
Whether you are driving or walking by the corner of Broadway and State Street, you can't help but notice the museum's striking corner steel and glass cylindrical atrium and its rooftop sculptures.
But those dramatic rooftop sculptures you see from street level are only part of a unique rooftop sculpture garden created with the design/build help of F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing. The dozen roofline sculptures are each about nine feet tall and weigh 1,000 pounds apiece. Cast in bronze, they are replicas of smaller originals within the museum's collection. Another six sculptures are strategically situated about the 10,000-square-foot rooftop garden, which was created for both relaxation and entertaining.
Several situations made it an interesting roofing project, noted Greg Johnson, F.J.A. Christiansen's operations manager involved with the work. “It's a green roof, but one that has sod rather than the usual green roof plants,” Johnson stated. The statues amid the garden required unusual roof membrane placement. And perhaps most interesting, the tapered roofing system includes an Electric Field Vector Mapping (EFVM) layer – a high-tech way to check for leaks.
The EFVM layer is basically a thin foil-faced sheet that is placed between the insulation and the roof membrane, and grounded to the roof drains. When it's activated, the EFVM creates a low-voltage circuitry that can be monitored. If water were to leak through a hole in the membrane, even as small as a pinhole, the voltage would vary in that area, and the breach could be easily located.
When the EFVM system on the Grohmann Museum was tested, no breaches were found. The membrane was then intentionally cut to allow water to pass through to ensure the system was functioning. The person operating the EFVM monitor was not told where the cut was made. Within five minutes the leak location was identified, showing that the EFVM system was operable. (The membrane breach was then sealed.)
The EFVM layer remains in place for the life of the roof, allowing testing at any time or, should a leak be noticed, quick identification of the probable leak source. That means any repair work would be less disruptive and completed more quickly.
The Grohmann Museum roof membrane system utilizes a durable an 80-mil, PVC waterproof Sika/Sarnafil product, well matched to the waterproofing needs below this green roof plaza.
“The garden statues presented one of several unique project challenges,” Johnson noted. Before the statue bases were poured, a membrane had to be installed and flashing applied. After the bases were in place, the roof's insulation layer was put down over the concrete deck, followed by the EFVM sheet and the overall membrane, which was then sealed to the statue-base membrane.
But visitors to the roof won't see many hints of roofing materials. They will encounter a garden setting that includes walking pavers fanned out from the corner dome, large concrete pots with various plants, sod and the statues.
“It's a fully functional roof from a building envelope standpoint that also looks like a very nice garden,” Johnson said.
Because sod was used rather than customary green roof plants such as sedum and chives, an irrigation system was installed to make sure the grass gets sufficient water.
FJAC also installed copings on the roof's perimeter.
The work was all done under a very tight schedule. The schedule included an October open house for the museum. To accommodate the open house, some temporary materials had to be put in place.
The museum is another cultural asset for downtown Milwaukee and another indicator of the broad value MSOE adds to the city. The museum's collection, officially known as the Eckhart G. Grohmann Collection “Man at Work,” comprises 700 paintings and sculptures dating back to 1580. Various pieces from that collection will be exhibited in the three floors of galleries and in special themed exhibitions, including the current one through April 14: Physicians, Quacks and Alchemists.
The museum is billed as home to the world's most comprehensive art collection dedicated to the evolution of human work.
he Grohmann Museum presently is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon-6 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $5 general, $3 students 11-18 years old and adults 65 or older, and free to MSOE students with ID or children 10 or younger.
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