Cantor Arts Center

THE PROJECT:
Located in Stanford, California, the Cantor Arts Center was founded along side the famous University in 1894. The historic museum was renovated and renamed in 1999 after generous benefactors, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor. The museum’s diverse collection includes over 38,000 works that span over 5,000 years of art history. The Cantor also boasts the largest Rodin bronze collection outside of Paris. Drawing nearly 200,000 visitors annually, the Cantor Arts Center is one of the most visited University Art Museums in the country.

THE CHALLENGE:
Faced with a roof nearing the end of its life, facilities management needed reliable, watertight protection for their priceless collection. The project had two requirements: match the existing Stanford red roofs and to keep the museum open during construction.

For years, DERBIGUM has been the go-to choice for Stanford University due to our roofing systems performance against upwardly building movement and long-term warranties. So without a doubt, Museum management knew DERBIGUM could deliver the peace of mind protection they needed.

THE SOLUTION:
The Museum first received a layer of Derbiboard, our high performance polyiso insulation board. Besides improving thermal efficiency, Derbiboard provides a clean, strong base for roofing systems. A coverboard was installed next, providing an additional layer of protection and fire resistance. Both layers were secured using Derbibond low-rise foam adhesive to meet the museum’s request for minimal disruption during construction. Derbibond’s low odor formula provides safer working conditions and reduces job site noise by eliminating the need for fasteners.

Normally DERBIGUM systems require two membrane layers, but in this case, museum administration wanted total assurance their collection would be secure. This resulted in two layers of Derbigum XPS (160 mil) capped off with a third layer of Derbicolor XPS-FR (180 mil) to be installed. That’s 500 mils of redundant, triple-reinforced waterproofing performance. Let’s not forget, Derbicolor’s granule surfacing adds yet another layer of protection but also met the museum’s color matching requirement.

The biggest hurdle on this project came early on during the removal of the existing BUR roof. It was discovered that the roof’s concrete deck was not level in many areas. This required extra time and attention from our DAC, Blue’s Roofing, to ensure that the system’s foundation layers achieved full adhesion.

With trusted performance of DERBIGUM products backed by a 30 year guaranty, the Cantor Arts Center will have reliable, leak-free protection for years to come.