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Critique of Milstein Hall: Nonstructural failure

Jonathan Ochshorn

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Nonstructural failure contents: 1. introduction | 2. water and thermal control | 3. sloppy or dysfunctional details | 4. dangerous details | 5. maintenance issues | 6. cracks
 
tentative book cover design for OMA's Milstein Hall by Jonathan Ochshorn

My book, OMA's Milstein Hall: A Case Study of Architectural Failure, has been published. Much of the material formerly included in these "Milstein Critique" webpages has been removed from these pages and incorporated in the book. Some supplementary material remains on these webpages — primarily videos and links to related documents.

3. Sloppy or dysfunctional details

Figure 2. Video (1 minute long) by J. Ochshorn shows moths (and other creatures) trapped within the glass "display case" in Milstein Hall (video shot July, 2012; can also be viewed directly on YouTube).

Figure 3. Video (2 minutes long) shows curved guard rail detailed with cheesy sealant joints and glued-on aluminum strips instead of with difficult-to-manufacture curved gaskets, resulting in sloppy and ad hoc details for the curved sections (video shot January, 2012; can also be viewed directly on YouTube).

Figure 7. Video (1 minute long) by J. Ochshorn shows acoustically-challenged auditorium doors in Milstein Hall (video shot August, 2013; can also be viewed directly on YouTube).

Figure 8. Video (1 minute long) by J. Ochshorn shows various problems with indoor and outdoor lighting (video shot August, 2013; can also be viewed directly on YouTube).

Figure 9. Video (1-1/2 minutes long) by J. Ochshorn shows staining or mottling of concrete surfaces (video shot April 5, 2010; can also be viewed directly on YouTube).

Figure 12. Video (1 minute long) by J. Ochshorn shows multiple points of failure of the curtain wall cover plate on the west facade of Milstein Hall (video shot July 16, 2020; can also be viewed directly on YouTube).