This construction method involves bracing and retaining the historic street-facing shell of an existing building while demolishing the interior. Crews then erect an entirely new structural frame and floor plan that ties back into the preserved exterior wall. Developers use this technique to meet heritage preservation codes or maintain neighborhood character while maximizing the square footage and utility of the new space.
We've to install heavy steel retention towers on the sidewalk to support the brickwork, since the city approved facadism for this heritage block.
Rookie project managers often underestimate the cost of the temporary steel bracing required to keep a freestanding brick wall stable against wind loads during a facadism project.
Also heard as
- facade retention
Related terms
Rehabilitate
The extensive restoration and repair of a deteriorated building to make it fully functional and code-compliant.
Dead load
The permanent, stationary weight of a building's structural elements and fixed equipment.
Hoarding
A temporary, solid perimeter fence erected around a construction site to protect the public and secure materials.