Asian Art Museum SF: East West Bank Art Terrace Renovation

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Design (WJE) were responsible for designing an exterior raised floor that reflected the modern of appeal of one of San Francisco’s most recognized architectural venues while meeting exceptionally high load bearing requirements for commercial vehicle traffic. Large scale installations being driven by forklifts create extreme temporary and long-term point loads that could occur anywhere across the 7500 SF expanse exceeding the capacities of standard options.

WJE reached out to the Eco Arbor Design team to help identify and source options that would meet the unique challenges of this project. Early on it was recognized that standard concrete or porcelain pavers alone would not meet the exceptionally high engineering requirements. Together the team identified that combining an FRP grate to support porcelain pavers could achieve the required integrity and desired appearance. Working with manufacturing partners our team sourced a unique 16”x 24” x 5cm thick Porcelain paver. At 5cm in thickness, the paver was 150% thicker then a standard paver. Combined with a 1.5” thick FRP grate (50% thicker then our standard FRP systems) the sandwich was extensively tested at WJE’s testing facilities before getting approval for the final specification.

Under the oversight of cb2 builders, specialized. large format, flat head screws, countersunk into the FRP adhered the grates to the pedestal risers. The complete system was installed with rubber shims between the FRP and pavers for spacing and dampening and foam systems between pedestals for additional insulation and sound dampening. The project was completed throughout 2023