Page 10 - Bernardon Workplace Statement of Qualifications

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 partially inspired by the Saint-Gobain Pavilion at the 1937
and no thermal break from the exterior to interior steel Paris World’s Fair, harking back to their identity as a historic
frames. Though inefficient and visually unappealing, the old French company.
buildings and HVAC systems remained fairly well maintained
despite the years of vacancy, and the campus was plentiful Curving around a spacious outdoor area conceived to
in natural features. The renovated headquarters is a bold, enhance casual interaction, the campus has a simultaneously
beautiful, 280,000 SF office building with an innovative and transparent and embracing ambiance. In order to create the
eye-catching design. To create Saint-Gobain’s desired “iconic new building envelope, the old buildings had to be stripped
design,” the design team developed a curved glass façade down completely to their core skeletal structure. The occupants
of the new headquarters would not be able to navigate freely

WORKPLACE | www.bernardon.com