"utilities"

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. 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. 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 Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago features an incredible, 4-story mural by local artist Eulojio Ortega. The mural, brilliant for conveying the story as visitors go from floor to floor, is interestingly located in an exit stairwell. Traditionally, stairwells are enclosed in opaque walls, leaving them dark, isolated, and rarely utilized unless in an emergency. To allow the mural to be visible through multiple floors, encourage stair usage and meet fire rated code requirements, the architects redesigned the 2- hour stairwell using transparent, floor-to-ceiling butt-glazed glass walls with the largest tested and listed fire resistive glass panels available.

Preface This How To Series publication is an educational tool intended to give guidance to anyone specifying sheetsteel building products. This particular publication deals with the retrofit of the building envelope utilizing sheet steel. This is a generic guide giving the basic details and should only supplement the specific recommendations or design guidance published by the manufacturer appropriate to their own products. The material presented in this publication has been prepared for the general information of the reader. While the material is believed to be technically correct and in accordance with recognized good practice at the time of publication, its should not be used without first securing competent advice with respect to its suitability for any specific application. Neither the Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute norites Members warrant or assume liability for the suitability of the material for any general or particular use.