Design Solutions - Summer 2008 - (Page 13) The rich wood faces of the rostrums conceal staff work surfaces and electronic equipment. At the House chamber’s entry portal, original hand-carved decorative panels were refinished and reinstalled in new wood surrounds based on photographs of the original work. The large brackets that frame the entry were also recreated. These curved brackets contain a hand-carved panel surrounded by a curved stile and rail frame with a knob finial at the bottom. In addition, massive wood railings were created in the House chamber entry and gallery. These railings include large turned wood spindles in the lower portion with a segmented arch supporting the cap assembly. Beautiful Wood Hrabal notes that it was originally thought that the chambers’ woodwork was fabricated from American Walnut. “The existing wood has been bleached, glazed, re-stained and was, as a result, difficult to identify. Therefore the wood was sent to a laboratory for identification. The wood was classified as Sindora and identified as Sepetir (also called Supa) and probably originally sold as Honduras Mahogany. Sindora and Mahogany are not in the same family although look very similar. “With this new information,” continues Hrabal, “the primary wood used throughout the renovation was changed to African Mahogany. This matched exactly the original Sindora.” In the Senate European Walnut burl veneers were used on most raised panels, and in the House were used on the raised panels on the rostrum, press boxes and in other select locations. “The new woodwork blends in with the refurbished 136-year-old woodwork so perfectly and seamlessly that it is indistinguishable,” adds Huschitt. 5Matching and installing the new wood surrounds. summer 2008 I DESIGN SOLUTIONS 13 Illinois State Capitol Renovation
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