Renovation: Building Condition

Exterior

Treat yourself to a seat on the grounds of the Capitol at sunset. Watch as the color of the light gray and buff limestone comes alive with the orange glow of the setting sun. As the shadows deepen, the carved ornamentation of the capitals and the ornate cornices are articulated. Soft light picks out the tooling marks on the stone faces, each handworked by an individual stone mason. The limestone, quarried from the ancient sea beds that are the foundation of Kansas, have been formed into a symbol of Kansas democracy and pride.

Now come close to the building; examine the ground around the base of the building. Look at the sills that project from the building. Look toward the gutters and the roof itself. What you will see are pieces of building stone, which have fallen, sometimes to the entry stairs, from the columns and cornices above. Kansas limestone is a durable material, but preservation requires on-going care. After more than a hundred years of exposure to the hot sun, cold winters, moisture driven by high winds, and even an occasional tornado or two, the most exposed exterior stones have deteriorated. Over the last several decades, the State of Kansas has spent an average of almost $200,000 a year on stone repair, yet the forces of Mother Nature are winning despite this level of stewardship.

As time marches on, the stone will continue to deteriorate. Deterioration of one stone can allow moisture to penetrate to the back of an adjacent stone, hastening its deterioration, and so on. The leaking gutters have caused the stone to deteriorate and have caused massive staining of the stones. A comprehensive stone repair program can halt this downward spiral of deterioration and is the most cost-effective approach. A comprehensive project will obviously not entirely eliminate the need for small on-going repairs, but they will be needed much less frequently.

Safety is an important concern. In the fall of 1999, a 20-pound piece of stone fell in the pedestrian way below the south portico, posing an immediate risk of injury to passersby. A comprehensive stone preservation project can substantially reduce the risk of injury and will substantially enhance the effectiveness of the use of funds.

Code and Life Safety Issues

Concerns related to the safety of public places and in the work place are considerably different in the year 2000, than when the Capitol construction began in the year just following the Civil War. Today's concerns include Legionnaires disease, PCBs, asbestos, lead paint, and other environmental hazards. Fire was a concern then and is a concern today. These concerns have led to building codes and laws requiring smoke and fire alarms, fire suppression systems, emergency lighting, exit lighting, and safe refuge areas for people with disabilities during fires, and other emergencies.

When the school children and the citizens of Kansas are invited into their Capitol, they expect to be in a safe environment; however, most of the significant hazardous materials exist in the Capitol, including PCBs, lead paint, and asbestos. There is no comprehensive smoke detection or emergency warning system in the building, no fire alarm, no voice speakers, no strobes, a minimal fire suppression system located only in portions of the basement, inadequate egress, and minimal exit signage and emergency lighting. These represent only some of the life safety and fire code concerns.

There are also safety issues outside of the building. In addition to the previously noted falling stones, there is considerable conflict between pedestrians and vehicles at the ground level entrances to the building, at the base of the north and south staircases, and in the north parking lot. To protect both the building occupants and its visitors, safety must be improved.

Interior and Infrastructure Systems

There are two aspects affecting the building infrastructure systems. As time passes, there are technological advances, and things wear out. Both of these are characteristic of the buildings existing electrical, telecommunications, and heating/ventilating/air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The typical replacement cycle for HVAC equipment is every thirty years, and with the existing HVAC system approaching forty years of age, it needs total renovation, to be brought into compliance with codes, and be made more efficient in both operation and utilization of space within the building. Comprehensive rewiring for electrical and telecommunication systems are also a high priority. Telecommunication systems are currently a mixture of copper and fiber optic cables; this system configuration can cause significant reliability problems. Accommodation of future advances in telecommunications is severely limited. Electrical wiring dates from renovations at various times in the past, and configuration of the electrical system can result in localized overloads. Continued growth of electrical demand due to advances in office technology will eventually load the system beyond its designed capability. It is time for a comprehensive replacement of the building infrastructure.

The interior finishes have generally stood up quite well over time. Yet, marble floor tiles have been replaced with mismatched marbles, some have broken edges, and some are stained by rust from file cabinets previously placed in the hallways. Marble wainscot corners have been chipped and broken by impact with carts and delivery dollies. There are cracks in plaster walls and ceilings, and a few significant chunks of plaster have fallen in the recent past. The original decorative wall paint has been painted over or skimmed over with plaster. Florescent fixtures have replaced original cast bronze lighting fixtures. The woodwork of the doors and wainscot at the main entries has cracked, is scratched, has missing pieces, and in many locations the varnish is dry, brittle, and clouded. There has been water damage and paint is peeling from the ceilings. The beautiful copper and bronze alloy coatings of the staircases and the rotunda are darkened and corroded. The backside of the columns and the walls of the sixth level of the rotunda are covered with graffiti. There are holes in the copper soffits at the entries from shot gun pellets. It is time for a complete renewal of the interior finishes of the building.

Preservation: Bringing Out the Best

A survey of recent state capitol preservation projects, part of the HSR, indicated that the preservation activities were the most visible and made the greatest impact. Most capitols reported a three-fold increase in visitation after preservation. Virtually every capitol preservation project has identified a historic period to which they have restored the building. Since the Kansas State Capitol was built during three time periods, the appropriate time period for restoration will vary. Almost every capitol improvement project has found that preservation provides the impetus to do it right. As one legislator commented, "as legislators we tend to be involved in the art of compromise on a daily basis, this is one project in which one does not compromise. You must do it right and do it to the best of your ability, all the way through."

In the course of the development of the HSR, it was discovered that there were many areas of the Kansas State Capitol where ceilings and walls were decoratively painted. In many capitol restoration projects across the United States, it has been the preservation or replication of the historic decorative paint schemes that have had the greatest visual impact. The Kansas State Capitol has superb high quality interior finishes and materials, many of which are in good sound physical condition, with simply the restoration of finishes required. A comprehensive preservation project can once again reveal the beautiful hidden finishes and decorative painting, restore existing exposed finishes of walls and ceilings, and allow the building to be seen and experienced as it was originally intended by its designers.

The master plan is about efficiency and function. It is an on-going struggle to retain as much of the state government as possible within the walls of the Capitol. It requires great efficiency in the use of space. The struggle demands that all spaces within the building be utilized as efficiently as possible while still retaining the historic configuration.

The building must be efficient in accommodating visitors, constituents, the Legislature, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and staff. As part of the master planning process, their needs have been assessed through comprehensive and intensive interviews and detailed fact finding. By these methods, it has been determined how the building can become more efficient in serving its occupants and visitors.

Kansas State Capitol Renovation: