Redwood City, California

Exterior Corinthian Columns, and the Entryway have the look and feel of old world materials, because they are. But below is a modern core.

Lera Glass Inc. created beautifully detailed architectural details for the Courthouse during its renovation. These architectural details are molded from fiberglass, but surfaced with authentic old world materials. The sandstone pieces are surfaced with sandstone that’s geologically identical to the original sandstone on the building. The only difference being, that it’s synthetically bonded in place . The copper pieces are coated with actual copper, and have a patina resulting from  traditional techniques. These old world materials are bonded to their modern core using a proprietary techniques.

Why Fiberglass? Fiberglass, while being very cost effective, also makes this renovation seismically sensible. Far lighter than traditional stone, and supported with a steel inner framework it is far safer than the original stone. Because of its light weight, it’s easier to install than traditional stone. Incorporation of an inner steel frame work also makes structural calculations much easier to engineer.