ZS Solutions

Projects

611 East Wisconsin Avenue

Project Team

ZS, Masonry Restoration, Inc.

Owner

Northwestern Mutual

Location

Milwaukee, WI

Area

7-stories

Completion Date

2012

The West Office Building is located at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Van Buren Street in downtown Milwaukee. The building was designed by notable Chicago architect Harry Weese. It was built in 1964 for the IBM Corporation, and it is considered to be a modern building of distinctive design for its use of thin precast concrete panel cladding system.

The ZS team was retained to perform a City of Milwaukee Facade Critical Examination. During the examination, distressed conditions were identified and quantified. The following year, Contract Documents were developed for bidding, and repairs were performed by a local qualified contractor.

The owner, under ZS design and direction, performed the repairs during the following construction season at all building elevations.  The building facade was restored to a safe condition. This project’s cradle-to-grave project approach included:

  • Performed a thorough condition survey of the building’s exterior facade, including a hands-on examination along all building elevations
  • Developed remedial repair recommendations including specialty designed repair mixes to repair the thin Reinforced Concrete panels and maintain the aesthetic look of the cladding
  • Developed probable construction costs to correct all existing cladding deficiencies
  • Prepared detailed repair bidding documents for the selected repairs
  • Performed bidding services in issuing the project for bid in accordance with owner bidding procedures and requirements
  • Performed Owner Representation and Construction Management services

The West Office Building is located at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Van Buren Street in downtown Milwaukee. The building was designed by notable Chicago architect Harry Weese. It was built in 1964 for the IBM Corporation, and it is considered to be a modern building of distinctive design for its use of thin precast concrete panel cladding system.

The ZS team was retained to perform a City of Milwaukee Facade Critical Examination. During the examination, distressed conditions were identified and quantified. The following year, Contract Documents were developed for bidding, and repairs were performed by a local qualified contractor.

The owner, under ZS design and direction, performed the repairs during the following construction season at all building elevations.  The building facade was restored to a safe condition. This project’s cradle-to-grave project approach included:

  • Performed a thorough condition survey of the building’s exterior facade, including a hands-on examination along all building elevations
  • Developed remedial repair recommendations including specialty designed repair mixes to repair the thin Reinforced Concrete panels and maintain the aesthetic look of the cladding
  • Developed probable construction costs to correct all existing cladding deficiencies
  • Prepared detailed repair bidding documents for the selected repairs
  • Performed bidding services in issuing the project for bid in accordance with owner bidding procedures and requirements
  • Performed Owner Representation and Construction Management services