Frozen in Time
During construction, as contractors began removing flaking lead paint on Pier 15’s exterior cast-in-place concrete wall that faces San Francisco Bay, they made an archaeological discovery. Advertisements and billboards from shipping companies that had once owned the pier were revealed.
“This was a moment in the project where there were scheduling problems and the quickest solution would’ve been to scrape off the peeling paint, prime it, paint it and be done with it,” remembers Marc L’Italien, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, design principal with EHDD, San Francisco. “But we fought really hard to find a means to remove the surface layers and preserve the billboards as they were. Our goal was not to repaint them as though they were new but allow people to see the different layers of signs from years past. I think it’s one of the things that gives this project a very distinct and unique personality.”
Dennis Bartels, the Exploratorium’s executive director, agrees: “That is one of the neatest little finds of the place. Seeing the names of all those companies that possessed the site before we did kind of allows us to feel the spirit of those who preceded us, and that’s extra special.”
Retrofit Team
Architect: EHDD, San Francisco
Engineer: Integral Group, Oakland, Calif.
General Contractor: Nibbi Brothers, San Francisco
Radiant System Installer: ACCO Engineered Systems, San Leandro, Calif.
Retrofit Materials
Adhesives and sealants: Dow Corning and Sika
Concrete: Scofield
Glass: Bendheim and Viracon
Photovoltaics: SunPower
Roofing: Johns Manville and Siplast
Structural: AMT Metal Fabricators
PEX piping: Uponor
Water-to-water heat pumps: Multistack
Insulation: Knauf and Owens Corning
Gypsum: USG
Carpet: Tandus Flooring
Ceiling: Armstrong, Eurospan, and Hunter Douglas
Furniture: Teknion
Lighting: Borden, We’ef, and Zumtobel
Plumbing/water: American Standard and Elkay
Seating: Forms+Surfaces
Walls: Gallina USA and Hufcor
Wayfinding: Thomas Swan