The Pier 15 Exploratorium renovation project used 200,000 feet of Wirsbo hePEX™ crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system. One of the many benefits of flexible PEX is its ability to bend around existing structural components to incorporate the radiant system with the least amount of disruption to the structure. Photo courtesy Uponor.
The Pier 15 Exploratorium renovation project used 200,000 feet of Wirsbo hePEX™ crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system. One of the many benefits of flexible PEX is its ability to bend around existing structural components to incorporate the radiant system with the least amount of disruption to the structure. Photo courtesy Uponor.
The Pier 15 Exploratorium renovation project used 200,000 feet of Wirsbo hePEX™ crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system. One of the many benefits of flexible PEX is its ability to bend around existing structural components to incorporate the radiant system with the least amount of disruption to the structure. Photo courtesy Uponor.
The Pier 15 Exploratorium renovation project used 200,000 feet of Wirsbo hePEX™ crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system. One of the many benefits of flexible PEX is its ability to bend around existing structural components to incorporate the radiant system with the least amount of disruption to the structure. Photo courtesy Uponor.
The Pier 15 Exploratorium renovation project used 200,000 feet of Wirsbo hePEX™ crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the radiant heating and cooling system. One of the many benefits of flexible PEX is its ability to bend around existing structural components to incorporate the radiant system with the least amount of disruption to the structure. Photo courtesy Uponor.

Uponor Wirsbo hePEX Tubing Used in Award Winning Pier 15 Project

July 29, 2014
The award-winning project showcases 200,000 feet of Uponor North America’s Wirsbo hePEX crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the unique radiant heating and cooling system that uses the San Francisco Bay as a heat sink/heat source.

The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI), a manufacturing-based trade association, recently named the Pier 15 Exploratorium as their Project of the Year in the Building/Construction division.

The award-winning project showcases 200,000 feet ofUponor North America’s Wirsbo hePEXcrosslinked polyethylene (PEX-a) tubing for the unique radiant heating and cooling system that uses the San Francisco Bay as a heat sink/heat source.

The project, designed by EHDD Architecture of San Francisco and engineered by Integral Group of Oakland, renovated a century-old building on San Francisco’s Pier 15 into the largest net-zero energy and net-zero carbon museum in the US. The 330,000 sq.ft., LEED-Gold structure is projected to be 57% more efficient than the ASHRAE 90.1 energy standard requires, thanks in part to the Uponor radiant heating and cooling system.

“We are very proud to receive this recognition by our peers in the plastics pipe industry,” says Bill Gray, president, Uponor North America. “The Pier 15 Exploratorium is an excellent example of the benefits of flexible plastic pipe and how it can transform a historic building into an impressively sustainable project.

Working in conjunction with manufacturer’s representative Osborne Company of Livermore, radiant system installer ACCO Engineered Systems of San Leandro, and general contractor Nibbi Brothers of San Francisco, the team was able to substantially reduce installation time with the use of Uponor’s Radiant Rollout Mats on approximately 80% of the floor surface. The custom-designed mats are prefabricated to project specifications at Uponor’s factory in Apple Valley, Minn.

To see how this project was executed, click over to Contracting Business.

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