Interior Work Is Starting to Begin at MMA Research Center
The photograph you see below is the interior south wall of the MMA Library/EcologyLab. The patchwork you see is the terracotta tiles that make up the supporting walls of the building – there is about an inch of stucco on the exterior and a half an inch of lime plaster on the inside walls and that’s it. Those ridges you see are actually the terracotta tiles which make up the structural walls of the building. When built in the early 1930s, about three coats of a lime plaster were placed on the terracotta and then tempera paint which is the more yellow looking finish you see in areas where the plaster did not fail. If not for some leaks about a decade or more ago, the plaster would not have failed because everywhere else in the Wing the plaster is in excellent condition – you can’t beat lime plaster!
But due to the damage from the leaks, the lime plaster had blistered and pulled from the terracotta so we called in Pen Austin, an island mason who specializes in traditional methods of mortar, paint finishes, and plaster and who has completed work on the Mitchell House. Her work on the Science Library is partially Community Preservation Act funded – it became a bigger project because of the work that was completed on the outside of the building. We had the right woman – and her team – on the job and they completed the plaster work in about a week. It will take about a month for the lime plaster to cure and then painters can paint the walls at a later date – once all the work is completed on the Library/EcolgyLab interior.
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