Industry Inspired Viewing

by Christopher Brinckerhoff | 1 December 2020 12:00 am

Judges for the 2020 Metal Construction News Building and Roofing Awards praised the design for being an efficient, straightforward building with subtle embellishment, and for exhibiting another use for metal building systems.

Industrial Inspiration

Sarah Rege, AIA, NCARB, WELL AP, LEED AP BD+C, senior project manager, principal at Perkins&Will’s San Francisco office, says, “The project found inspiration from the history of South San Francisco as an industrial city and the associated building typography; this led directly to using a large span exposed steel frame to mirror the historic warehouses. This type of structure leant itself to providing large openings that encourage an immediate connection between the interior and exterior. These two design aspirations drove the concept for the project.”

Indeed, Rege adds, “The authentic beauty of the exposed metal building aligned with the design vision and added visual interest in the space.”

Clean, Crisp Details

The judges lauded the clean, crisp detailing of the building. For instance, Rege says, “The main supporting metal columns terminate on a simple plate with exposed fasteners. The storefront and roll-up doors intersect at the back of the column to contain it inside the building.”

In particular, Ethan Law CEO at Quality Erectors and Construction Co. Inc. in Benicia, Calif., says, “The architects’ design utilized the building columns as exterior wall framing for both the roll-up doors as well as all the louvers and glazing. This made for a very thoroughly coordinated metal building design as well as infield installation procedures.”

Specifically, the lunch pavilion, called The Edge, has seven glazed, roll-up doors, three on either long side of the building and one at an end. Law says his company installed them with custom details so they fit with other elements. “The roll-up doors were closely coordinated by the design team to tuck right into the metal building columns and other supports,” he says. “These doors were also supported in a way above the dining area to miss interfering with the radiant heaters and other MEP items.”

Throughout the design, Rege says, “The building’s elevations are unadorned and rely on the simple alignment and spacing of joints and other elements within a set structural grid, which is all fully expressed on the interior and exterior of the building.”

Another place where careful detailing preserved the design’s long, clean lines was at an almost 70-foot-long ridge-top skylight running the length of the building. “The building uses a single-ridge skylight that runs uninterrupted above the dining hall, providing dramatic lighting that changes throughout the day,” Rege says. “This skylight posed a small detailing challenge as a deviation from the standard building system. A glulam on top of the steel frames provides both the curb and structural span for the skylight; the flashing tied into a typical standing seam roof for the metal building system.”

Visually, in another example of polished detailing, Perkins&Will layered the structural and non-structural elements with specific finishes and colors. Rege explains, “The finish painting of the main structure in light gray contrasting subtlety with the substructure finished in white. This simple change in color reinforces the hierarchy of the metal building elements.”

Openness and Ventilation

In tandem with framing views of the bay throughout the entire building, Perkins&Will designed it with ample ventilation via the roll-up doors and louvers above them, and louvers above sidewall bays.

Rege explains, “The actuated wall louvers are located in each bay on the long sides of the building either above the roll-up or swinging doors. These openings provide the buildings ventilation, totally just above 5% of the floor area as open area. No mechanical cooling is provided as comfort can be achieved for roughly 80% of lunch hours with the open area described. Passive ventilation will be achieved for the majority of occupied hours via the operable louvers and garage doors, limiting the need to operate heating mechanical equipment only during extreme conditions. This supports Genentech’s goals of lowering energy use and eliminating the use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in equipment.”

Law says extensive coordination among project team members was central to correctly executing construction. “The use of glazing throughout three of the four building walls makes for a very clean design. The project itself during construction had its complications around coordinating all of these windows, louvers and doors, but in the end one could not ask for a cleaner building envelope. The lines on this building are truly beautiful.”

To complete the work Quality Erectors erected Kansas City, Mo.-based Butler Manufacturing’s metal building system and installed Deland, Fla.-based Kingspan Insulated Panels Inc.’s KingZip standing seam roof system in Flurothane Coastal Kynar Dove Grey. Quality Erectors installed Moon Township, Pa.-based CENTRIA’s 20-gauge Econolap exposed fastener metal wall panels, solid skin and perforated panels with a stainless steel finish, and Grandview, Mo.- based Ruskin Co.’s actuated metal louvers in Kynar Ascot White.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/industry-inspired-viewing/

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