A Copper Alliance Member
Edition #17
Brooklyn’s Buried Treasure Saved by City
A rendering of the 4th Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, NY, restored. Courtesy of HDR/Daniel Frankfurt of New York City.High-resolution version of this photo.
Just a short subway hop across the East River from Manhattan, the borough of Brooklyn is a thriving community with a fair share of tony townhouses, spacious parks, art galleries and museums. But the lion’s share of attention—and budget dollars—has always tilted toward Manhattan, leaving much of Brooklyn’s heritage to fade almost to invisibility over time.
Recently, however, a piece of that heritage has been rediscovered beneath the billboards and grime that have literally built up on it over the years. A key station on the New York City elevated subway line, built at a time when the nation was struggling to overcome the Great Depression and hailed as an Art Deco landmark, is about to be restored to its original glory by the City’s transit system. When completed, the station will take its rightful place among other architectural icons saved in recent years from neglect and potential ruin.
The 4th Avenue Subway Station is located in Park Slope, an area dotted with landmarks such as the Brooklyn Museum and Botanic Gardens, Prospect Park and the historic Montauk Club, which has hosted U.S. Presidential visits going back to Teddy Roosevelt. The station also serves a number of once-gritty but now emerging neighborhoods in Brooklyn, such as Red Hook and Carroll Gardens.
According to James McConnell, vice president of HDR/Daniel Frankfurt, the New York City architectural firm hired to guide the project over the next two years, the 75-year-old station will be meticulously restored to its authentic Art Deco appearance and stature.
Although it is a public works project, restoration funds have been allocated to return the structure to its original prominence. The work will require some 6,000 square feet of copper needed to reconstruct the station’s exterior façade, barrel-shaped roof, gutters and flashing, and track-side fascia, McConnell said.
Initially, consideration was given to using less-costly substitute materials, but the city ultimately decided to remain faithful to the station’s original architecture and restore or replace the materials that were installed when the structure was built.
A rendering of the 4th Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, NY, restored. Courtesy of HDR/Daniel Frankfurt of New York City.High-resolution version of this photo.
“Everything that was once copper will be put back as copper,” McConnell said. “When this project is complete, the 4th Avenue Station will be returned to its original glory and once again become a central part of the community.”
The 4th Avenue Station was designed by the Thompson-Leopold-Fredburn Engineering Company and erected in 1933. Its structure includes a steel-framed arch that spans the avenue with a four-track railway platform that measures 660 feet in length and 95 feet in width. The platform accommodates two local and two express trains at a time on the transit system’s F line, and offers transfer connections to M and R line trains. Roughly 10,000 riders travel the line daily.
The station is the second highest elevated railroad station in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s transit system. Before being purchased by New York City in 1940, the station was independently owned.
It also is the only station in the MTA system which incorporates authentic Art Deco construction of ornamental brick, steel and concrete. In 2005, the station was listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.
Through the years, however, the station was neglected and allowed to fall into disrepair. Much of the structure, including the copper used for the roof and for adornments to the platform’s interior, was damaged by water and gradually deteriorated, according to McConnell, who described it as “in terrible condition—it really hasn’t been rehabilitated.”
McConnell said copper was ultimately chosen for the station’s restoration because it is considered a “green” material with sustainable qualities, including recyclability and longevity.
The restoration project will include the removal of a large advertising billboard that has obscured the station’s arched exterior for many years. Repairs will also be done to the sheet metal covering the fascia and along the edges of the arch above the avenue.
An original aluminum curtain wall, which is visible from inside the platform, will be stripped of paint and restored, and metal sheeting that was once installed as a “temporary” covering for the windows under the arched canopy will be removed.
“We’re going to replace [the sheeting] with clear windows,” McConnell said. “You’ll be able to see daylight through the fascia. It’s really going to enhance the feeling of safety and security. The station will get its old identity back and its prominence will be reestablished in the community. It should be quite nice.”
A rendering of the 4th Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, NY, restored. Courtesy of HDR/Daniel Frankfurt of New York City.High-resolution version of this photo.
David Foell, lead design manager for the New York City Transit Stations Program, stated that the MTA is expected to bid out the restoration project, which began with initial design work in 2007. The work on the station will be part of a larger contract to rebuild a section of the transit system known as the Culver Viaduct, and the cost of the entire project would probably exceed $100 million.
McConnell said he expected the restoration work to begin this summer or early fall and take up to 18 months to complete. The station would remain open during construction. Cu
RESOURCES
National Register of Historic PlacesThe Killing Game: Using Copper to Battle Deadly Bacteria
Missouri teen researches antimicrobial properties of copper
Michael Stockwell, 18, conducting research at Missouri University of Science and Technology.High-resolution version of this photo.
When it comes to research projects, Michael Stockwell is a whiz. He won his third-grade science fair with a homemade rocket launcher. Three years later he investigated alternative food sources for Monarch butterflies. Today he’s a finalist in a national science competition for his research into copper’s ability to kill harmful bacteria. And he’s not even out of high school.
This 18 year-old Tuscumbia, Missouri, senior recently claimed first place in another prestigious competition, the Junior Science Engineering and Humanities Symposium (JSEHS), for his antimicrobial research. As a result, he was invited to present his work at the upcoming 2008 National Junior Science Engineering and Humanities Symposium in Orlando.
Stockwell’s study, titled The Killing Game: Copper, a Possible Bactericide for Contact Surfaces, examined whether ordinary copper and brass surfaces could be used to limit bacterial growth. Although his research was carried out on a far smaller scale and with a limited budget, the teen scientist’s efforts mirror recent multi-year research projects conducted in England and the United States on copper’s naturally antimicrobial properties.
In his project, Stockwell replaced the door push-plates in restrooms at three local high schools with uncoated copper, brass and stainless steel plates, then he measured bacterial counts on their surfaces. After 24 hours, each plate was swabbed to collect bacterial samples and the bacterial “loads” were counted. The experiment was conducted over three days.
In addition to this “real world” study, a lab component was included in Stockwell’s research. He introduced E. coli and S. epidermidis bacteria to copper, brass and stainless steel samples to test each metal’s antimicrobial properties over a given amount of time. The push plates and metal laboratory-grade samples were provided for the experiments by the Copper Development Association, originators of the research upon which Stockwell based his project.
The results were striking. In the school tests, significantly fewer bacteria survived on the copper and brass push plates than on the stainless steel plates. In the laboratory, more than 99 percent of the bacteria on the copper and brass were killed, compared to a substantially lower percent killed on stainless steel.
Dave Westenberg, an associate professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, worked with Stockwell on the research project and provided him with lab space to carry out the experiments.
“Michael is extremely mature for his age and really knew what it would take to do the scientific research,” Westenberg said. “He’s working on groundbreaking stuff.”
Despite his impressive accomplishments, Stockwell is still a boy at heart. His role models are people like his grandfather—who helped him construct his third-grade rocket launcher—and his mother, who has always supported his work and the long hours he spends doing research.
“She pushes me to excel,” Stockwell said. “And she really rides me if I don’t.”
Last year, Stockwell’s research in microbiology and medicine, which focused on the bacterium Wolbachia and its effect on insects and pesticide control, earned him another first place finish at JSEHS. He is currently seeking to have his research papers published.
When not wrapped up in his scientific studies, Stockwell keeps busy by volunteering at his church, participating in a local youth farming organization, and playing baseball and basketball.
Following high school graduation, Stockwell plans to attend Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he’ll major in aerospace engineering and enroll in the Air Force Reserve officer training program.
Although Stockwell is not certain whether he will continue his studies in biology when he attends college, Westenberg admitted that he would be a welcome addition to his class. “I certainly wouldn’t mind having him walk into my lab,” he said. Cu
Pumping Copper
Exercise routines may differ, but to be effective they all require two constants—adequate oxygen flow to the body’s muscles, and a nutritious diet to replenish the fuel rapidly consumed by the body during workouts.
Adding aerobic exercise to your routine helps to increase the oxygen level in your blood. Oxygen is needed to promote tissue repair and recovery after strenuous workouts. It also protects against cramping and fatigue.
According to Dave Grotto, spokesman for the American Dietetic Association and recent author of 101 Foods That Can Save Your Life, our bodies react poorly when deprived of oxygen during workouts. “Your muscles won’t have any power,” he says. Insufficient oxygen “also hurts distance training, and it allows lactic acid to build up, which can cause cramping.”
A balanced diet plays an equally important role in health and fitness. Maintaining the proper levels of essential metals and nutrients ensures that our bodies function as they should. Copper, for example, assists in producing red blood cells and hemoglobin—both vital for transporting oxygen throughout the body. Copper also strengthens connective tissue and is important for bone growth and strength.
Muscle supplements typically contain copper, but they are often compounded into other, less familiar forms, such as copper citrade, copper aspartate, copper fumerate, copper malate and copper AKG. “This is copper that is attached to an amino acid,” Grotto explains. “When copper is attached to an amino acid, it gets absorbed by the body much more quickly.”
There is a great deal of confusing terminology when it comes to bodybuilding supplements, which are not regulated by the FDA. According to Grotto, nutrients are naturally balanced in healthy individuals, so supplements should not be needed. Maintaining a balanced diet is usually the best course during training, he adds, and it will help your daily workouts and muscle recovery.
One food item that Grotto identifies in his book as copper-rich is sesame seeds. Nuts, grains, shellfish and dried fruits are also good sources of copper. For more information, visit www.copper.org, the ultimate online source for information on copper and copper alloys. Cu
CDA Launches Architectural Awards Program
This program is intended to increase public awareness and promote excellence in architectural copper design for buildings constructed during the past five years. Award submissions divide into two categories: Historic Restoration and New Construction. Three winners in each category will be honored with commemorative plaques and given industry recognition for their projects.
Members of the CDA and CCBDA Building Construction Architectural Team reviewed nearly 50 submissions throughout the past year. The six finalists will be announced in the spring.
The winning projects will be featured on www.copper.org, the ultimate online resource for information about copper and copper alloys. Cu
Copper on the Brain
New findings show that maintaining adequate amounts of copper in your diet may be vital in fetal brain function and development.
In a study using rats as the test subject, it was reported that biologist Cutiss Hunt showed moderate copper deprivation caused underdevelopment of memory-control areas of pups’ brains. The pups showed slower development compared to a controlled group born from mothers with sufficient amounts of copper in their diets.
Why is this important for pregnant women to know?
In the study, the specific areas of the brain that were affected—the dentate gyrus and hippocampus—are linked to higher brain functions, such as learning.
Although you may not see or hear about many copper deficiency warnings, approximately 8 to 16 percent of childbearing-age women have copper-deficient diets, according to the Agricultural Research Service. Cu
Covered in Copper:
New 787 Dreamliner Includes 57 Miles of Copper
High-resolution version of this photo.
To protect the plane’s nonmetallic body—and passengers within it—against lightning strikes, a copper “conductor cable net” reportedly will be embedded in the fuselage. This creates a metal enclosure that allows electricity to harmlessly pass around the aircraft, a phenomenon that is well understood and tested by aircraft designers. Copper is commonly used for this application because of its superior electrical conductivity.
According to Boeing, the new aircraft also will include 57 miles of copper wiring.
Although the Dreamliner is a large aircraft by today’s standards, it will use less fuel and fly farther than many commercial jets now in use. Boeing already has more than 700 orders valued at $110 billion for the Dreamliner, making it the most successful rollout in aviation history. Customers that place orders today will have to wait until 2015 for delivery. Cu
RESOURCES
Boeing Back to TopResources
Brooklyn’s Buried Treasure Saved by City
CDA Launches Architectural Awards Program
Covered in Copper:
New 787 Dreamliner Includes 57 Miles of Copper
