Intermountain Contractor’s Top Projects of 2009 in Utah and Idaho

17 Idaho State Capitol Renovation and Garden-Level Wing Addition $107 M

Owner: State of Idaho, Division of Public Works
GC: Jacobsen-Hunt JV II
Architect: CSHQA Architects; Lemley/3DI
Engineer: CSHQA (all disciplines)

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Originally constructed in 1905, this nearly 200,000-sq-ft renovation project (overall cost projected at $107 million; GC’s contract is for approximately $85 million) includes the restoration, preservation, and rehabilitation of the Idaho State Capitol building, in addition to Garden Level Wing additions. This will include an upgrade of all systems and infrastructure, along with seismic upgrades, life safety and accessibility upgrades, the rehabilitation of all exterior windows and tenant areas, two new stairwells and elevators, the restoration and preservation of existing historic materials, and a complete new roof.

Restoration work is progressing with the removal of paint from existing Corinthian column capitals located in the House and Senate Chambers. The plaster capitals are made up of ornate leaf patterns with intricate detail that has been obscured with the buildup of countless layers of paint applied over the last 100 years. Work is also proceeding on the restoration of scagliola, the historic plaster-based material used on the marble-like columns throughout the Capitol. Some wainscots and various other architectural elements within the Capitol were also finished in scagliola. In a similar procedure to the paint removal process, the restoration contractor has produced mockups demonstrating repairs to cracked and damaged scagliola as benchmarks for the remainder of the work. Historically accurate colors were chosen by the contractor to reproduce the marble-like veining that runs through the plaster on the scagliola repairs. In addition, the surface of all existing scagliola will be honed to remove the yellowing layers of aged polyurethane and provide a smooth marble-like finish in the meticulous restoration process. Project is slated to finish December 2009.

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