Skip to:
(M) Main Content

JHPA

Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, Inc.

Main Branches
architecture
planning
preservation

PROJECTS

Restoration

Chesterwood Studio

Stockbridge MA, 1997-98

Chesterwood was the summer home and studio of the American sculptor Daniel Chester French, best known for his statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Chesterwood was where he created the famous statue, as well as many of his final works. The studio was designed by the architect of the Lincoln Memorial, Henry Bacon. A unique feature of the building is a rail system that allowed French to roll his large sculptures out of the studio to examine them in the sunlight.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation selected JHPA to prepare a conditions survey of the existing dry-laid masonry foundation wall, and to determine how to halt the seepage of groundwater into the studio’s basement and prevent frost heave of the studio’s floor supports.

Together with structural and geotechnical engineers, JHPA developed a strategy for waterproofing the highly irregular exterior face of the foundation wall, as well as a plan for draining the interior of the basement. In addition, the firm designed a historically referential wooden ADA access ramp.