CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/517026
JUNE 2015 44 CompositesWorld INSIDE MANUFACTURING » Te San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA, US) expansion has received a lot of press, and for good reason: It is, to date, the largest architectural use of fber-reinforced plastic (FRP) in a US building project — more than 700 panels, some as large as 1.5m wide by 9m long, totaling 7804m 2 on a contoured 10-story façade. It is the frst time a composite system has passed the rigorous fre-regulation testing that permits its use above the fourth story on a high- rise exterior in the US. Missing from the accolades for this high-profle example of the rapid change in building skin technology is the manufacturing story behind the headlines: Te step-by-step production process used to make and, just as important, Kreysler & Associates' (American Canyon, CA, US) pre-production preparation for, the integrated cladding/unitized panels that helped make the SFMOMA expansion's façade a much heralded piece of municipal art. Design development partner When asked how the façade construction process began, Kreysler & Associates presi- dent Bill Kreysler quips, "With over a year of design development," referring to the The fabrication and installation of 700+ composite panels has a backstory of detailed design and careful quality assurance. SFMOMA façade: Advancing the art of high-rise FRP By Ginger Gardiner / Senior Editor