Heinz Chapel Fleche
When it was completed in 1936, an article in the journal American Artisan declared the fleche of the Heinz Memorial Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh to be "the most imposing and largest fleche erected in this country in the past two years." Over 70 years after its construction, the fleche is still an imposing structure but is also showing signs of its age.  This has prompted the University of Pittsburgh to undertake an assessment of the fleche as part of a more comprehensive repair and restoration plan for the chapel. Working with the University of Pittsburgh, Landmarks Design Associates Architects and Brace Engineering, VA technicians inspected and documented the condition of the fleche in early May. This work included survey and documentation of all areas of the exterior sheet metal cladding, inspection of the accessible levels of the interior structural steel framing and live-feed video of representative areas of the interior and exterior.

Heinz Memorial Chapel was constructed between 1933 and 1938 as a posthumous gift from Henry John Heinz to the University of Pittsburgh in memory of his mother, Anna Margaretta Heinz. The Chapel was designed by the Philadelphia architect Charles Klauder in a neo-Gothic style that emulates the 13^th century high Gothic Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, France. Klauder, as part of the firm Day and Klauder from 1913 to 1927 and later under his own name, designed numerous collegiate buildings almost exclusively in the neo-Gothic style. Facing the Cathedral of Learning at the center of the University of Pittsburgh campus, the Heinz Memorial Chapel is a landmark and centerpiece of the University and neighborhood.

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Employee Updates: Keith Luscinski

Keith Luscinski, a recent Cornell Engineering graduate, has joined Vertical Access full time for the summer.
Keith, an active tree and rock climber, worked with VA during his senior year at Cornell, helping to carry out various research projects at the VA lab in Ithaca, NY.He presented a paper illustrating his findings in the lab at the annual SPRAT conference.  The paper, "Failure Testing of Swaged Rope Anchors" was well-received by all.

See more photos of Keith on the job

Old World Technologies Adapting in the New World
November 3-7, 2007 - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Please join us in beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico for the 2007 APT conference. The conference hotel, the Caribe Hilton in Puerta de Tierra, located just outside of the historic walled city of Old San Juan, sits within 17 acres of lush gardens overlooking the ocean.