printable versionRestoration of Main Quad’s aging front balustrade begins soon
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
The sandstone balusters at the front of the Main Quad are a well-known component of the university's architecture, but they have been eroding. A major restoration effort is scheduled to get under way March 21.
If Stanford were smiling, the nearly 500 sandstone balusters lining the front of the Main Quad would be the university's teeth—and right now, they are long overdue for some major dental work.
Exactly 495 of those pudgy pillars formed the balustrade when it was originally built before the 1906 earthquake. Since then, the sculpted railing has been a fixture of the university's figurative face, and the balustrade remains a key architectural and historic aspect of campus—even though its condition has deteriorated significantly over the years.
Most of the individual balusters are either cracking or crumbling or otherwise withering away. Much of that decomposition can be blamed on the elements' normal effects on the semi-brittle stone. Compounding that, however, are the unfortunate consequences of some initially well-intentioned practices.
For instance, prior to the reconfiguration of the irrigation system for the front landscaping within the last 10 years, overspray from the sprinklers would subject the balusters to frequent wet-dry cycles that accelerated erosion. And in other cases, previous patch-ups with a product that was incompatible with sandstone would crack and weaken the original material underneath.
But starting on March 21, the university will begin a major restoration project to save that sandstone smile. A joint effort of the Zone Management Administration office and the University Architect and Planning Office, the project is expected to take six and a half months to complete—starting in front of the Main Quad's Math Corner and working toward History Corner at the other end.
"The project goal is to maintain as much original sandstone as possible and maintain the look and feel of the original craftsmanship," said project manager Julie Hardin-Stauter. "We should be substantially complete before Reunion Homecoming."
That's when thousands of visitors come to campus for the annual alumni extravaganza, traditionally held some time in October. After that weekend, the restoration team expects to be spending several more months on minor touch-up work by hand—eventually wrapping up in April 2007.
Hardin-Stauter is the facilities manager for Zone D, which includes the Main Quad, Hoover Tower, Encina Hall, the Landau Economics Building and the Graduate School of Business. The onsite consultant will be Palo Alto-based artist Oleg Lobykin. He is an experienced stone carver, restorer and sculptor who first noticed the sorry state of the balustrade while his wife was enrolled at the Business School.
Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, and occasionally on weekends. An estimated six to 10 workers will be on site throughout the duration of the project, which in its initial phases will consist of fencing off 2,000 square feet for a lay-down area in front of Math Corner, trimming back the juniper bushes from the work area and laying plywood on portions of the lawn that forklifts will drive over.
Hardin-Stauter said bicycle parking will not be affected, and clear paths for bikers, walkers and those with disabilities will be maintained. She added that building managers near the balustrade will be kept updated on the project through meetings and e-mail notifications. And during high-profile events, such as Commencement activities in June, Hardin-Stauter said all work materials and equipment will be kept in the lay-down area.
"The actual work itself is fairly quiet," Hardin-Stauter said. "There'll be a lot of hand tooling."
The balustrade comprises 61 sections, with each baluster weighing 150 pounds and standing about 2.5 feet tall, Hardin-Stauter said. In order to get at the balusters themselves, the top slab will first have to be carefully removed. Balusters with relatively minor damage will be repaired with a suitable mortar product, but the vast majority of them will be replaced with pre-cast stone replicas, Lobykin said.
"A lot of different parts of the project are going to be a challenge," said Lobykin, who is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. "It's just a challenge to preserve this beauty."
Before coming to Palo Alto—where he founded a custom stone-carving business serving private, public and institutional clients about five years ago—Lobykin lived and worked in New York City for almost six years. While there, he did extensive design work and crafting on the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Since coming to the Bay Area, Lobykin has completed projects for a wide array of clients and has original sculptures on display in several local art galleries.
The new balusters will be made of the same material as the columns that hold up the arches lining the Main Quad. The university replaced more than 800 of the original sandstone columns as part of the Main Quad's seismic retrofitting. The color and texture of the replacement pillars were made to match their sandstone predecessors, said Associate University Architect Ruth Todd.
"We're taking a preservation-sensitive approach," Todd said. "Senior administration and the Board of Trustees have been concerned about this for a while."