Location: South San Francisco, CA
Project Value ≈ $500,000
Client: City of South San Francisco
General Contractor: Swinerton
Products: Trava Panels made with Douglas fir and kerfed to meet the design demand
Expected Install Date: October 2022
Acoustics Provider: Sonus
SmithGroup, an international architectural, engineering and planning firm with 15 offices in the U.S.and China, along with the City of South San Francisco has selected Sonus to provide the wood paneling for their state of the art Community Civic Campus. But these aren't your standard Trava panels, read on.
The centerpiece of the Campus, where Sonus will provide the specially-designed curved Trava panels, is the Community Theater. It will be built to serve both as a performance space and a City Council Chambers that accommodates community education and public interaction at City Council meetings and Community Town Hall gatherings.
Why Sonus?
The theater is exposed to the elements, including direct sunlight, intense variations in humidity, and salty coastal air. Wood would warp and fall apart in months whereas Trava panels, with their unique construction, are built to withstand a high humidity environment.
Don't take our word for it, read what the Director of Capital Projects, City of South San Francisco had to say:
"The signature glass-enclosed three-level structure unifies three important program functions into a single building: Library, Parks & Recreation, and the City Council Chamber. The building’s airy, translucent facade reveals the building’s many opportunities for discovery, learning and play, and gives patrons beautiful views to Sign Hill and the San Bruno Mountains. At the intersection of El Camino Real and Chestnut Avenue, the sculptural form revealed within the three-story glass enclosure, is an iconic presence, emphasizing the vision of South San Francisco’s future as a nexus of innovation."
All good projects start with identifying a need.
In this case, another product was already specified but months into the construction, the architects learned the selected solution wasn't going to work within the high humidity environment. The Sonus rep engaged them to find a better option and within weeks we had prototyped, tested, and built out a mock install to show the client we could meet their demands. The secondary benefit was a perfectly mastered soundscape in the glass enclosed corridor. Thanks to some expanded investigation, we discovered Sonus was a good fit for more than just panels in the gathering spaces. During our conversations, the client discovered Trava was more cost effective than the originally specified product, more robust, more sustainable, better for people in the space, with faster lead times. It wasn't one single thing but many that got us the signature on the approval. And because we took the opportunity to play an advisory role, other projects have opened up with the firm, contractor, and client. In order to close the job we made two quick-turn visits to the site to provide manufacturer support during mock installations. At every turn we went the extra mile and it paid off.
There is even more to this project that we cannot wait to talk about, but we didn’t want to overload you with too much information and awe inspiring service. At Sonus we are experts at finding solutions for tricking projects, so if you are working on a project and need acoustic solutions click here.
