Internationally renowned architecture firm Ennead Architects completed its three-year preservation of the Crossing Dome at the heart of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. Located in Morningside Heights in Manhattan, the landmark Cathedral has suffered years of deterioration, water infiltration and damage from a 2001 fire. Ennead designed a copper roof that provides the historic dome with permanent water-proofing, thermal insulation and improved structural integrity.

Originally designed and constructed in 1909 by famed Spanish-American architect and master builder, Rafael Guastavino, the Cathedral’s dome is made of overlapping, self-supporting terra cotta tiles and was intended to be temporary. It is nearly 133 feet in diameter and spans across the Cathedral’s four great granite arches which define the Crossing. Subsequent designs called for completing the Crossing with towers or spires of various sizes, some of which presumed the removal of the ostensibly temporary tile dome. In 1916, just seven years after its construction, the ambitiously-scaled dome (the largest of its kind) had already begun to flatten, and the first of many repairs were performed.

▼场地环境，Context

▼圆顶近景，Close-up view