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Amoco Building
Inves t i gat i on of Marb l e Pane l s and Rec l add i ng
1988
The exterior of the eighty-two-story Amoco Building was clad in white marble panels imported from Carrara, Italy. In 1986, significant cracking and
bowing of the building’s marble panels led to an extensive investigation by WJE. The study concluded that the panels were continuing to lose strength
and the risk of panel failure under high winds was increasing. After extensive research on replacement materials, WJE designed and oversaw the
recladding of the building with Mount Airy granite.
The Amoco Building is the tallest building in the world that has ever been reclad, and it is the tallest building in the world clad with granite
panels. This project established WJE as an expert in stone investigation and design. The investigative approach and tests developed for the
Amoco Building have been applied by WJE engineers and architects on dozens of other projects.
Notes of Interest
• The Amoco Building is currently the fourteenth tallest
building in the world, and the tallest building in the world
without any major antennae, spires, or finials at the top.
• From 1990 to 1992 the building’s 43,000 marble cladding
panels were replaced by two-inch-thick Mt. Airy granite
panels at a cost of about $80 million.
• The marble removed from the cladding of the building
was crushed and used as decorative stone to surround
Amoco refineries, notably the refinery inWhiting, Indiana.
Some intact marble panels were donated by Amoco to
teach disabled individuals how to fabricate small stone
items like bookends, clocks, and pen holders.
The Amoco Building is the tallest building in the world that has ever been reclad. This project
establishedWJE as the leaders in stone evaluation. – Ian Chin
From the initial investigation to the final repair design and implementation, our in-house
multidisciplinary expertise was instrumental. – Jim Connolly
A monumental project requiring the full range of WJE skills – Gary Klein
Investigation of loss of strength of marble panels and then safeguarding one of the tallest buildings in
the world – John Hanson
WJE 50 Years