The Golden Gate Bridge is acclaimed as one of the world's most beautiful bridges. With its tremendous towers, sweeping main cables, and great span, it is a sensory beauty featuring color, sound, and light. Celebrating 75 years, the bridge can be a very busy place; it is estimated that about nine million people from around the world visit the bridge each year.
When asked by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy to serve as the lead architect for the 3,426-sf Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion, Project Frog was in search for a fiber cement product that included a moisture management system. Looking at several different manufacturers, price points, and aesthetics, Project Frog landed on Nichiha’s Illumination Series panels through a client who had recently used the product on one of their buildings.
The Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion was developed with the latest technology and innovation available. The building’s cladding will serve to call attention to the structure itself, with the famous international orange color on three sides and a storefront consisting entirely of glass, floor to ceiling.
Project Frog was intrigued by the plethora of physical properties of Nichiha panels, including durability, panel proportions, clipping system, texture/finish, V-groove panel joints, and the ability to utilize Nichiha’s Color Xpressions System, where Nichiha will match any paint manufacturer’s colors in satin finish. The patented clip system allows for panel joints to fall off stud locations as well.
“When you have a landmark with such strong national recognition and commitment, you know you have the right combination of product advantages,” states Doug Kennard, territory manager at Nichiha USA. “This Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion project typifies all the aspects of the Nichiha brand... providing quality exterior cladding solutions that deliver on high performance and bring to life the look our clients desire. Plus if we can also lower the installed cost and shorten the installation process, we’ve done our job.”
The new Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion is made from environmentally responsible materials and has abundant green features including: high-performance, super-insulating glass units incorporating suspended film technology; abundant natural daylight; complete LED lighting system for artificial light; ultra-high efficiency furnace with economizer function; and low-flow commercial plumbing fixtures; in addition to Nichiha’s sustainable Illumination Series panels, which contain 40 percent recycled content.
The new Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion will include interpretive display elements and artifacts alongside retail merchandise. Not only will it teach its visitors about the historical significance of the building, but it will also provide educational information about sustainable building techniques, energy performance, and environmental responsibility. +
Related Stories
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 7, 2014
Concrete solutions: 9 innovations for a construction essential
BD+C editors offer a roundup of new products and case studies that represent the latest breakthroughs in concrete technology.
| Jan 6, 2014
An interview with Jerry Yudelson, President, The Green Building Initiative
Green building consultant Jerry Yudelson has been named President of the Green Building Initiative and the Green Globes rating program. BD+C's Robert Cassidy talks with Yudelson about his appointment and the future of Green Globes.
| Dec 18, 2013
Firestone Building Products acquires Spain-based Terrassa in global expansion
Firestone has announced that it has agreed to acquire the manufacturing assets and brands of Terrassa, Spain-based Giscosa and Giscolene®. The acquisition of the Giscosa Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) plant near Barcelona expands Firestone’s global manufacturing and distribution capabilities and product offering.
| Dec 16, 2013
Is the metal building industry in a technology shift?
Automation is the future you can’t avoid, though you may try. Even within the metal building industry—which is made up of skilled tradesmen—automation has revolutionized, and will continue revolutionizing, how we work.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
| Nov 27, 2013
University reconstruction projects: The 5 keys to success
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the environmental, economic, and market pressures affecting facility planning for universities and colleges, and outlines current approaches to renovations for critical academic spaces.
| Nov 22, 2013
Health Product Declaration Collaborative to develop protocol for third-party verification of HPDs
Seven leading product sustainability assessment companies partner with the HPD Collaborative to develop the verification and quality assurance protocols.
