The Restorer’s Choice
Photo: Heather Smith Macisaac
Lime’s breathability triumphs. Paviliion X, one of ten that line the lawn of Thomas Jefferson’s “Academical Village” plan for the University of Virginia, was restored in 2009. Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects, the firm charged with realizing the restoration, determined that modern materials did more harm than good and thus returned to earlier, purer building materials like lime plaster.
“The column shafts are made of brick and are covered with a layer of modern, portland-cement stucco. This coating does not allow for the column to breathe properly, thus trapping water beneath the surface and eroding the hand-molded brick and lime mortar beneath. The University’s historic masonry crew will carefully remove this outer stucco and use a new lime-based application on the columns.”