Swinerton Builders Completes Work on the New de Young Museum

December 15, 2005
(San Francisco, CA)

General contractor Swinerton Builders recently completed its work on the new deYoung Museum in San Francisco.

The museum is 293,000-square-foot building featuring a three-story main level and a nine-story tower topped by an observation deck with sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.

Architects Herzog & de Meuron of Basel, Switzerland, designed the building and Fong & Chan of San Francisco was the Architect of Record.

Built on the site of the former deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park the new museum is an architectural and engineering marvel. The steel structure features a unique base isolation foundation system designed to stringent seismic standards. The unique copper exterior took more than 950,000 pounds of copper in 7,200 separate panels. The museum features exhibition spaces, sculpture gardens, a cafe, gift shop, theatre, and offices.

Swinerton, a leader in green construction techniques, was able to incorporate numerous green features into the construction and design of the building including recycling materials from the old museum, use of recycled copper for the exteriors and a state-of-the-art energy efficient heating and cooling system throughout the entire museum.

"Construction of this building was extremely complex given the seismic requirements for the site, the unique materials like the copper skin, and the engineering of the tower," said Swinerton Northern California President Charlie Kuffner. "As the builder of both the new deYoung and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art we are proud to have contributed to the art and culture of San Francisco and the world."

With offices throughout California and the West, Swinerton Builders is one of the leading general contractors in the U.S. Swinerton's notable projects include the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the library and the first classroom building at the new UC Merced campus.

CONTACT:
Swinerton Builders
Will Cannell
Marketing Manager
415.984.1247
wcannell@swinerton.com