25 Van Ness Avenue

San Francisco is world-renowned for many things, among them the care the city takes to preserve its architectural treasures. The 55,000-square-foot building at 25 Van Ness Avenue is home to a number of city and county departments including the San Francisco Arts Commission, the New Conservatory Theatre, and the San Francisco Real Estate Division, Human Rights Division, Parking Division and the Commission on the Status of Women. Daily it is visited by hundreds, if not thousands of members of the public, so the appearance of its exterior is of the utmost importance.

Caring for the building’s exterior presents several challenges – some natural, some manmade. The temperatures and topography of the area lead to a predominance of fog filling the Bay Area most mornings; an earthquake is always possible; and graffiti artists regularly paint the building.

The project at 25 Van Ness Avenue sought to alleviate these problems by using protective coatings to address the challenges simultaneously. The bottom eight feet of the concrete building received a coat of Series 135 Chembuild, a modified polyamidoamine epoxy, followed by Series 75 Endura-Shield, a polyurethane topcoat. Because the coating system is cleanable, any graffiti painted on the building can be removed.

The remainder of the building received a coat of Series 151-1051 Elasto-Grip FC, a waterborne polyamine epoxy, and a topcoat of Series 156 Enviro-Crete, a waterborne acrylate. Series 156 is a flexible and breathable coating with excellent elastomeric properties, making it ideal for protecting concrete and masonry substrates from driving rain, freeze/thaw, UV light and humid environments.

Sitting across the street from the city’s Department of Public Works Bureau of Architecture, the building receives high marks daily from those who look out on it from their nearby offices.