Award Description

Project Participants

• Owner – City of Meridian Mississippi, Meridian, MS
• Architectural Consulting Firm – Archer Architects, Meridian, MS
• Historical Architectural Consultant – Richard B Hudgens Architect, Selma, AL
• Structural Engineer – Engineering Resource Group, Jackson, MS
• Historical Finishes Consultant – George Fore, Raleigh, NC

United Restoration and Preservation, Inc recently completed the exterior restoration of the Terra Cotta at the Historic Meridian City Hall. The project, as funded by the city, was part of a four phase master plan to bring the 100 year old structure back to life and rejuvenate the downtown city atmosphere of Meridian, Mississippi.

The structure’s façade is 100% Terra Cotta, with Terra Cotta block back-up. The building had been neglected and the façade was in need of major historical repairs. A design team which included an Architectural Consulting Firm, a Historical Consultant, a Historical Finishes Consultant, and a Structural Engineer all worked together to develop a set of plans and specifications for the restoration of the structure. Due to United Restoration’s personnel and their specific experience with this type of structure, our company was written into the Specifications as an approved and recommended historical restoration contractor.

The Scope of the work included;

• Extensive exterior cleaning to remove paints and Cementitious coating from the terra cotta.
• Removal and Replacement of over 1600 terra cotta units. Of these 1600 units, over 100 individual models and molds were produced to cast and fire the new units.
• An estimated additional 2,000 units were repaired in place and glazed using historically approved materials.
• 32 of the decorative column capitals were replaced. Each unit weighed approximately 350 pounds and was installed using a custom designed stainless steel anchoring system.
• The entire building exterior was repointed 100%.
• Structural repairs were completed at the cornice level to provide adequate support for the decorative terra cotta.
• A new parapet cap and flashing system was designed to satisfy the requirements of the MS department of archives while providing a watertight barrier at the roof level. The flashing system was fabricated using fully soldered stainless steel sheet metal.