Cast Stone & Concrete

3.5.1 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Stiles College, Yale University. Site specific sculpture with Eero Saarinen architecture.

3.5.2 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Morse College, Yale University. Site specific sculpture with Eero Saarinen architecture.

3.5.3 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Stiles College, Yale University. Sculptures in Saarinen courtyard during treatment. (2)

3.5.4 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Stiles College, Yale University. Sculptures in Saarinen courtyard during treatment.

3.5.5 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Morse College, Yale University. Sculptures in Saarinen courtyard during treatment.

3.5.6 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Morse College, Yale University. Cast stone sculpture after treatment.

3.5.7 1962, Morse College, Yale University. Cast stone sculpture after treatment.

3.5.8. Costantino Nivola, 1962, Stiles College, Yale University. Cast stone sculpture after treatment.

3.5.8.1 Costantino Nivola, 1962, Stiles College, Yale University. Cast stone sculpture after treatment.

3.5.9 Pandora, early 20th century, cast concrete, private collection. Overview of failing coating.

3.5.10 Pandora, early 20th century, cast concrete, private collection. Overview of Detail of failing coating and losses.

3.5.11 Pandora, early 20th century, cast concrete, private collection. Overview of fine surface fills.

3.5.12 Pandora, early 20th century, cast concrete, private collection. Detail after treatment.

3.5.13 Pandora, early 20th century, cast concrete, private collection. Overview after treatment.

3.5.14 Iron Rail Cast Stone Wall, Gracie Mansion, 1799-1966, New York, NY. Before detail showing crack through cast stone.

3.5.15 Iron Rail Cast Stone Wall, Gracie Mansion, 1799-1966, New York, NY. After treatment.

3.5.16 North Avenue Bridge, 1939, Merritt Parkway, CT. View of the cast stone ornamentation on historic bridge.

3.5.17 North Avenue Bridge, 1939, Merritt Parkway, CT. View of the cast stone ornamentation on historic bridge.

3.5.18 North Avenue Bridge, 1939, Merritt Parkway, CT. View of the cast stone ornamentation on historic bridge.

3.5.19 North Avenue Bridge, 1939, Merritt Parkway, CT. View of the cast stone ornamentation on historic bridge.

3.5.20 North Avenue Bridge, 1939, Merritt Parkway, CT. Detail of quartz, and mica aggregate.

Cast stone and concrete has been used in architecture and sculpture for hundreds of years as a means to mimic or replace more costly natural stone. It is a unique medium typically consisting of cement and selected crushed stone, such as limestone, sandstone, marble, and granite. The mixture is usually cast, ideal for the replication of architectural units and garden sculpture, but can also be sculpted after initial set has begun and carved after full curing. Once completed, the finished surfaces are washed or polished to expose the desired aggregates.

Many objects have interior iron armatures for added strength, particularly for extended forms and figurative appendages. Cast stone is susceptible to surface cracks from shrinkage, thermal expansion, particularly differential expansion from armatures, aggregate expansion from alkali-silica reactions, and freeze-thaw cracking. Once points of water ingress are formed from open cracks, armatures are in threat of corrosion expansion and staining, and interior cements in threat of leaching carbonates. Treatments require adequate material analysis and appropriate treatment materials and procedures compatible with the historic original. Attention to identification of the historic aggregate and new aggregate selection is of particular importance.

Conserve ART Cast Stone Services:

• Material Analysis
• Mortar Analysis
• Aggregate Matching
• Cleaning
• Friable Surface Consolidation
• Crack Injections
• Mending
• Fills
• Loss Replacement
• Structural Repairs
• Rigging
• Setting
• Pointing
• Maintenance