The Armbruster Company engineered concrete materials and methods for the restoration of the historic Thomas Edison Memorial Tower in Edison, New Jersey, on the site of Thomas Edison’s first Menlo Park laboratory.
We evaluated the thirteen original colors of mosaic concrete on the tower, located aggregates for concrete repairs, engineered concrete mixtures to replicate the historic materials, created samples of the new concrete mixtures and specified repair techniques adapted from traditional concrete production methods. We reviewed construction phase submittals and visited the site to help the design and construction teams successfully match the historic concrete with new precast components and in-place repairs.
Earley Studio created the original exposed aggregate mosaic concrete by blending multiple colors of pebbles and sand, crushed and screened to exacting sizes, and cast into 2 inch thick precast panels that served as the exterior formwork for the structural concrete core of the tower. The restoration utilizes precast panels and cast in place patches of concrete made with 8 colors of crushed quartz pebbles, 3 colors of crushed ceramic pebbles and 3 colors of sand.
