Vases, flowers and shells

Breathing new life into old stone

The shell lunettes you can see in the image consist of lime render brought and formed on site, while the vases, capitals, consoles and jambs were made from lime-sand brick. In the course of restorations to the facades on Josefsplatz, the stone surfaces, a large proportion of which still bore the marks of Baroque craftsmanship, were carefully cleaned of cement or synthetic resins from earlier refurbishments. Once cleaned the shell lunettes were strengthened with limewater and supplemented with lime render mortar in accordance with historical guidelines. The stone and stucco surface were reinforced against weathering with a thin layer of lime sludge before being coating in silicon resin paint. In addition, exposed stone pieces like the parapet vases were hydrophobicised.