Kimbell Art Museum

The Kimbell Art Museum is regarded as one of Louis I. Kahn's architectural masterpieces. Unfortunately, like many architecturally significant buildings, the Kimball had major roofing problems. ROOFTECH was selected as the Engineer of Record to design, test, and inspect the reroofing of this building after a devastating hail storm that occurred on May 5, 1995.

The primary roof was a lead roof that had been replaced after a premature failure of the original roof. ROOFTECH researched Kahn's original design and discovered that he originally specified lead coated copper. Sheet lead, which lacks the durability of the intended material, was substituted. A mock up was built showing ROOFTECH's solution, and the new design was approved. The project was successfully completed, including the replacement of the skylights and other sensitive components.