The yearlong Duke Chapel restoration project aims to preserve the building
D
uring a media tour inside the Chapel this semester, Dean Luke Powery quipped that the congregation’s newest members are “the Scaffolding family.” Indeed, scaffolding has dominated the building, both inside and out, since restoration work began in May. The reason is simple: the bulk of the work is being done in the Chapel’s highest places—the ceiling and roof—where workers need a steady platform. As work has finished in the highest locations, some of the scaffolding has been taken down and repositioned. “Buildings, like people, have lives, and the life of this one was starting to get old at 80 years and so it was time for a little fix-up,” said Paul Manning, director of project management for Duke Facilities Management, during the tour. The project is on schedule for the Chapel to reopen in May of 2016.
With the building being closed for a year, other infrastructure repairs and maintenance are also being done. Woodwork in the chancel has been refurbished. A new air conditioning system is being installed. Electrical and audiovisual wiring is being replaced and upgraded. Nearly all of the work is aimed at preserving the Chapel’s original character. Project leaders have taken care to protect the Chapel organs and other delicate items from dust and exposure.
On the roof, crews are replacing lead-coated copper sheets. Inside the building on the ceiling and along window tracery joints, crafts“If we do a good job,” explained men carefully grind 3-6 inches of damaged mortar away and replace project manager Ray Walker, “you it with new, more flexible material. will never know we were here.” 6
CHAPEL VIEW magazine | Winter 2015
t
Staying In Character
Watch a video of a media tour inside the Chapel