Nearly three years ago, architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro broke ground on the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives’ (BAM/PFA) $112 million expansion and renovation. Diller, Scofidio + Renfro successfully merged old and new into a dynamic state-of-the-art home for BAM/PFA’s offices, collections, and programs. The project integrates a 48,000-square-foot Art Deco–style building, formerly the University of California Berkeley printing plant, with a 35,000-square-foot new structure. The printing plant’s distinctive north-facing sawtooth roof was preserved, which resulted in the collaboration with our firm, Advanced Glazings Ltd. (AGL).
According to BAM/PFA’s Founding Director Pete Selz, the building was designed to make “an aesthetic statement of its own,” while showcasing a multitude of art and film exhibits. The Solera L glazing was chosen for its unique and powerful ability to deliver and distribute natural light to the interior in all directions. To create the perfect viewing experience, AGL, used modeling and a toolchest of variable constructs to create custom Solera L glazing units and meet the buildings complex requirements. Solera delivers a seamless combination of natural daylight and lumen levels throughout the gallery space without contrast and glare.
With so much acclaimed art on display, precision was needed to achieve the perfect delivery and quality of daylight. With our product, the architects were able to balance style with function—the end result is that guests can experience the much-admired art in color correct light without glare or contrast.”- Michelle Milburn, COO, AGL
This project was a perfect challenge for AGL. Our Solera L product was used strategically to bring the optimal amount of full spectrum daylight throughout the gallery,” says Michelle Milburn, COO, AGL. “With so much acclaimed art on display, precision was needed to achieve the perfect delivery and quality of daylight. With our product, the architects were able to balance style with function—the end result is that guests can experience the much-admired art in color correct light without glare or contrast.”
Now, the iconic structure is an exciting landmark for Berkeley’s downtown art district and home to more than 400 films, 20 art exhibitions, as well as an extensive schedule of programs and performances annually.
SOLERA ® (link) insulated glass products are designed to deliver superior daylighted spaces and a wide range of thermal insulation from R2 to R25. Our product lines are engineered to be highly configurable, allowing control of light diffusion and transmittance, control of solar gain, thermal insulation, sound transmittance, aesthetics, safety and more. Our services include illumination, lighting and daylighting analysis, glare/contrast and thermal modeling.
Sources:
https://dsrny.com/project/bampfa
https://bampfa.org/
Photo credit: http://www.bciconcrete.com/project/berkeley-art-museum/