Between May 31 and June 3, Vertical Access conducted an in-house training program in Ithaca, NY for all staff. Vertical Access used the Ithaca Fire Department's High Angle Rope Rescue and Aerial Operations facility. It is a four-story wooden structure that allows for many rigging and rescue scenarios that Vertical Access might encounter in our work on buildings. The training was organized and led by Mike Gilbert, Vertical Access' chief rigger and a Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT) Level 3 Supervisor.

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From April 6^th to 8^th, John Register from R-CON NDT Inc. trained our technicians and staff in non-destructive techniques for evaluating composite materials. A composite material is comprised of two or more materials that may be bonded together using an adhesive, or multiple sheets of a woven material held together with a resin. Composite materials can be much stronger and lighter than traditional building materials, making them ideal for wind turbines.

During the three-day course, we learned about the most widely used methods for non-destructively testing composite materials such as: visual, borescopes, tap testing, ultrasonics, radiography, eddy current, laser shearography, infrared thermography and bond testing. There was a focus on ultrasonics and bond testing with in-depth theory and hands-on testing with actual composite samples. The course was concluded with a certification exam that everyone passed.

Vertical Access was retained by Robert Silman Associates (RSA) to investigate and document existing conditions at the plaster ceiling in the sanctuary of Marble Collegiate Church in New York, NY. The scope of work for this survey included three parts. First was a visual inspection of the plaster ceiling from the floor and balconies of the sanctuary. Then sample drops were done using industrial rope access techniques to investigate selected areas of the ceiling. Lastly, investigative probes were created at the two bearing points of one of the roof trusses. In addition, Vertical Access took samples of the plaster ceiling for petrographic examination, chemical analysis and acid digestion by Testwell, Inc. Vertical Access' documentation of the plaster ceiling and treatment recommendations will be used by the project team consisting of Helpern Architects, RSA and Vertical Access for the development of repair strategies.

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Vertical Access is pleased to announce that Kelly Streeter and Evan Kopelson have joined founder Kent Diebolt as Partners of the company.

Kelly first started working for Vertical Access in 1997 after graduating from Cornell University. She worked as a structural engineer with Robert Silman Associates from 1997 to 2000 and then received a Master of Science in Structure Engineering from University of Colorado. While in Colorado, Kelly worked with Atkinson-Noland & Associates before returning to work for Vertical Access in 2003. Kelly is based in Guilford, CT and also works in Vertical Access’ New York City office. Recently, Kelly has been leading Vertical Access’ work in the design of maintenance access and fall protection systems for historic buildings including the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Post Office and Courthouse and Colony Club in New York City. She also has expertise in the application of nondestructive testing techniques such as ultrasonic tomography and impulse echo. Kelly is a professional engineer, licensed in NY.

Evan joined Vertical Access in 2005, after gaining nine years of experience working in architecture and conservation firms. Evan has a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology and Classical Civilization and received a Master of Science in Historic Preservation, with a specialization in architectural conservation, from the University of Pennsylvania. Following graduate school, he worked as an architectural conservator with Building Conservation Associates in New York and Architectural Resources Group in San Francisco. Based in the Ithaca, NY office, Evan manages Vertical Access’ field projects and building investigations. Evan is a professional associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC).

Keith Luscinski will be returning to work full time at Vertical Access in July. Keith previously worked at Vertical Access for the summer between his junior and senior years of college and then for a year following his graduation from Cornell University with a degree in industrial engineering. Since May 2008, Keith has worked in Alaska assisting in a geological field study, rock climbed in Yosemite and Utah, taught snowboarding in Colorado and traveled in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. These experiences should prepare Keith well for his return to Ithaca.

Kent was in Barcelona, Spain at the end of June, to give a lecture on his experiences evaluating Guastavino Vaults in the United States. The lecture was presented at la Massa Theater in Vilassar de Dalt. Just up the coast from Barcelona, this theater was Rafael Guastavino's last project in Spain, before he emigrated to the United States in 1881. The La Massa theater hosted a lecture series this year, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Rafael Guastavino y Moreno, and Kent was one of the invited speakers.

More information on the La Massa Theater can be found here.

The following week, Kent had a meeting to discuss a potential project at the Cathedral de Palma in Mallorca and visited the Cementos Collet mine and plant with his friends from Banyoles, Oriol Rosello and Monica Alcindor.

Cementos Collet is a hundred-year old business in Guardiola de Bergueda in the Spanish Pyrenees that mines and manufactures fast-setting natural cements. This is the cement found in the mortar that Kent used at the former Asland Cement factory where he helped restore failing timbrel vaults there in March, 2007. Cementos Collet has been owned and operated by the Casas family since the 1940's and the third generation hosts are brother and sister, Mariano and Ita Casas.

He also visited Gaudi's work in progress, the Sagrada Familia and Iglesia Santa Maria del Mar, constructed in the 14th century.

Links:
Cementos Collet - the cement used for Catalan Vaults
More information on the Sagrada Familia
More information on Iglesia Santa Maria del Mar


See more photos from Kent's trip.