Fire Rated Glass Helps SFPUC Building Achieve LEED Platinum

The new San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Headquarters combines maximum daylighting and fire safety with a multi-story, fire rated glass stairwell from SAFTI FIRST®.

SAFTI FIRST®, leading USA-manufacturer of fire rated glass and framing systems, is proud to supply the fire rated glass and framing in the new San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Headquarters.

Dubbed as the “greenest building in North America,” this Class A LEED Platinum office building features a transparent, 2-hour fire rated stairwell, situated prominently near the main entrance. This enables abundant natural light to penetrate further into the building, as well as unobstructed views to the outside for all 14 floors.

“The architects wanted an open stairwell so that the natural light coming from the art installation and glass exterior could penetrate further into the building,” says Adam Bird, the project manager from Webcor. “However, since this was an exit enclosure, it also needed to be fire rated up to 2 hours.”

To meet the design, LEED and fire rating requirements of the application, SAFTI FIRST® supplied SuperLite II-XL 120 in GPX Architectural Series Wall Framing and SuperLite II-XL 90 in GPX Builders Series Temperature Rise Door , starting from the lobby all the way to the topmost floor. The GPX frames, with their clean appearance and uniform, hard-edged sightlines, were supplied with a clear anodized finish to match all the non-rated systems in the building.

Since SAFTI FIRST®’s products are manufactured in Merced, Calif., and within 500 miles of the job site, it was able to contribute to achieving LEED points for utilizing local materials.

The result is an elegant, transparent, and code-compliant stairwell that enhances the building’s overall design, maximizes daylight harvesting, and protects people and property for up to 2 hours.