The 34-story commercial building at 45 Fremont Center in the South Financial District of San Francisco was originally built in 1978 by internationally-renowned architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Yet, the building was showing its age and required a renovation in 2016. To update its exterior a low-VOC fluoropolymer was utilized, which the coatings experts at Tnemec provided to ensure a long-lasting and aesthetically-pleasing result.
Coating Consultant, Carl Bowers of Amos and Associates, Inc., describes, “Older buildings around the city are showing their age, especially with the new construction going on in the area. The aluminum curtain wall on 45 Fremont Center was showing oxidation which resembled corrosion.”
Photograph ©Tnemec
The building owner, Shorenstein Company, and architect, McGinnis Chen Associates, specified the team at Tnemec to complete the recoating. As representatives at Tnemec explain, “The decision to specify Tnemec was based on a visual inspection of side-by-side mockups from Tnemec and one of its largest competitors in the fluoropolymer coatings market. Tnemec was selected based on the uniform texture and smoothness of its mockup.”
Photograph ©Tnemec
Bowers describes the project’s challenges, stating, “Getting the roller-applied coating on a 34-story building to look like a spray-applied, factory-finished coil coating was a challenge. The coating contractor made this possible by applying enough film on the surface to level it out without showing any roller marks.”
To ensure a seamless exterior finish the surface of the façade was cleaned by power tool to roughen the original finish in a uniform fashion. The building’s surface was then primed with Tnemec’s Series 135 Chembuild epoxy coating. Next, the team utilized a Series 1072V Fluoronar, low-VOC, finish coat that was taupe-colored. Tnemec explains, “The satin finish fluoropolymer coating provided an ultra-durable performance and outstanding color and gloss retention.”
Photograph ©Tnemec
The team’s premier Fluoronar coating system contains Lumiflon FEVE resin technology, which allows the coating to remain intact for an extended period of time, eliminating the need to recoat. The fluoropolymer protects the building from UV radiation and other environmental deterrents that contribute to coating degradation. Fluoronar, with Lumiflon FEVE resin’s hyper-durable nature, provides the 45 Fremont Center façade with a long-lasting, high performance coating system.
Featured Image: Shorenstein Properties LLC
Post Images: Tnemec
Categories Architecture