Lawless & Mangione Architects & Engineers LLP

Lawless & Mangione Architects & Engineers LLP (L&M) offers full-service architecture and engineering services to clients across the Tri-State area. The L&M team comprises a mix of architects, structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and construction administration professionals to bring together design, engineering and restoration services under one roof. The company was founded in 1982, and L&M has set itself apart from the competition in the three decades since through an unparalleled attention to detail across disciplines.

The L&M team is based out of Yonkers, N.Y., and serves institutional, commercial and multifamily residential clients across the five boroughs and into Westchester County. “More than anything else it’s our responsive service that makes the L&M team different,” asserts William J. Struth, a principal at L&M.  “We strive to address the client’s needs head on and always respond quickly when an issue arises.” The company receives roughly 85 percent of its work from repeat clients and client referrals, confirming the success of this approach.

Administering the Most Effective Solutions

L&M has made a name for itself in the past 30 years through restoring historic New York City buildings to their former glory, but the firm also has strong mechanical, structural and electrical engineering teams to bring a historic building’s infrastructure up to date. L&M has the capabilities to restore and preserve the façade of landmark buildings, repair the building’s foundations, as well as update the mechanical and electrical systems to more efficient systems. The company’s in-house talent can handle exterior restoration and interior alterations, guided by the active and daily involvement of the firm’s principals. L&M’s historical preservation professionals are skilled at finding suitable replacements for windows, doors and roofing and can offer restoration expertise for brick, terra cotta, limestone, cast stone, concrete and marble.

The L&M team ensures that scheduled work meets local building codes, historic landmark requirements and green building codes. Six of LMN’s 65-plus professionals are LEED Accredited Professionals and the company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, which further allows the company to accommodate clients’ retrofit needs. Because the company employs specialists in both LEED and historic landmark criteria, L&M can work with clients to find energy-efficient building envelope solutions that adhere to the building’s original design.

Drawing on these capabilities, the L&M team began offering clients energy audit services to help identify a building’s least energy-efficient areas. Once a survey is complete L&M’s mechanical, electrical and structural engineers can develop a design that will boost the building’s energy efficiency without compromising the original aesthetic. L&M can review alteration plans even for small-scale individual apartment renovations, and subsequently ensure that any proposed work will meet the building’s requirements and not impact adjacent property owners adversely.

The only times L&M regularly calls in external help are when a job requires elevator installations and major structural repairs. The L&M team has a network of contacts to reach out to, and the team can work with clients to find a qualified specialist nationwide if a local solution cannot be found.

Bringing the Past Up to Date

In the early 2000s L&M completed work on the Eldorado, a twin-towered Art Deco housing cooperative overlooking Central Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The building was designed by Emery Roth and completed in 1931, it became a co-op in 1982, and it achieved historic landmark status in 1985. By the early 2000s the co-op moved to shine up the exterior and restore the building’s architectural features.

L&M was chosen to oversee over $4 million in restoration to the façade’s exterior, which included participation from virtually all of the firm’s divisions. L&M’s structural restoration experts oversaw the replacement of all the building’s balconies with new ones made with fiberglass-reinforced concrete. Additionally, the cast-stone decoration on the building’s façade had not held up well to the elements, so L&M found a landmark-approved weatherproofing coating to prevent further decay.

L&M has expanded its focus recently to the public works market. According to Struth, L&M has had a number of window replacement projects for the Mitchell-Lamas affordable housing program, as well as a number of limestone restoration projects.

“We’re beginning to move toward more institutional projects, though the co-op and multifamily housing market will always be our primary market,” expands Struth. “In the next few years, though, we will be focused on maintaining our existing client base and growing into other areas like the energy audit market.”

Throughout all endeavors the L&M team will continue upholding the level of responsive service that clients expect and depend upon. The New York City real-estate market is rapidly recovering to prerecession levels, and no matter where Lawless & Mangione Architect & Engineers LLP chooses to find growth the firm will help clients stay ahead of building code requirements, sustainability goals and the elements with a comprehensive set of architecture, engineering and construction management talent.