Page 22 - Bernardon Response to RFP-Chestnut Run Campus Master Plan

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Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed North American Headquarters

Location: Malvern, Pennsylvania

Design Statement: Bernardon provided architectural
design services for the new North American headquarters of
Saint-Gobain, the largest building materials manufacturer in
the world, and its subsidiary CertainTeed. The design team
had to revive an aging structure on an abandoned, 65-acre
corporate campus.

The original buildings were built in the 1960s with a modern
glass and exposed steel structure that over the years developed
unappealing rust stains on the façade. The two buildings were
also built on different elevations with just a small connecting
corridor. Plus, because the structures were mainly glass and
steel, there was virtually no insulation and no thermal break team developed a curved glass façade partially inspired by the
from the exterior to interior steel frames. Though inefficient Saint-Gobain Pavilion at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, harking
and visually unappealing, the old buildings and HVAC back to their identity as a historic French company.
systems remained fairly well maintained despite the years
of vacancy, and the campus was plentiful in natural features. Curving around a spacious outdoor area conceived to
The renovated headquarters is a bold, beautiful, 280,000 SF enhance casual interaction, the campus has a simultaneously
office building with an innovative and eye-catching design. transparent and embracing ambiance. In order to create the
To create Saint-Gobain’s desired “iconic design,” the design new building envelope, the old buildings had to be stripped
down completely to their core skeletal structure. The occupants

BERNARDON | Response to Request for Proposals | MRA Group
Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park | Campus Concept Master Plan | June 14, 2021 Page 16