Adjacent to train stations, major highways, and San Francisco International Airport, Avia Labs establishes a new convergence point for life science research in Millbrae, California. The six-story facility offers 315,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory and office space for leading biotechnology companies and academic research institutions.

With a site constrained on all four sides and by FAA height restrictions, the zero-lot-line design maximizes square footage while activating key entry points and amenities with sculptural urban gestures. Avia’s high-performance façade and concrete structural system elegantly balance the challenges of a transit-oriented development.

The western-facing façade is articulated with interlocking glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) panels and acoustically glazed units. This allows daylight to penetrate the deep floor plates while mitigating sound, vibration, and electromagnetic fields created by nearby train stations. This design language continues around the south and east façades with varying window width, expressing the feel of gaining momentum.

The sculptural GFRC façade also integrates lights into the window panels. Throughout the day, the windows cast shadows on the adjacent coffers. While at night, the lighting shifts as the illuminated corners of the glass indirectly light the coffers.

The building’s recessed main entrance features floor-to-ceiling windows under the cantilevered second story. The double-height lobby features transit-inspired industrial materials balanced with modern furnishings and custom, signature sculptural lighting.

A third-floor terrace cantilevers from the building to offer mountain views and a connection to the surrounding neighborhood. Additional amenities include balconies with green walls and a variety of conference spaces.

While creating a home for innovative companies and their teams to achieve life-changing breakthroughs, Avia Labs placed equal priority on sustainability. The design team implemented a holistic, low-carbon strategy with a lifecycle analysis of concrete, reinforcing steel, façade, and cladding. The reach-code, all-electric building program integrates photovoltaic panels, supporting the client’s mission to push the boundaries of sustainability, health and wellness, and energy performance for a life science laboratory building.

Custom Unitized Curtain Wall for Avia Labs Science Facility
Gutmann North America supplied the custom unitized curtain wall system for Avia Labs, working alongside fabrication and installation partner Coalition Glass from the early stages of the project.

The folded, shifting facade described by Flad Architects introduced a set of engineering requirements that went beyond standard curtain wall supply. GNA's role was to solve for the technical complexity of that facade through design assist services, custom profile development, and off-site panel fabrication.
 

Facade Challenges
The Avia Labs curtain wall presented four primary engineering challenges:

Oversized Unitized Mega-Panels: Modules reached up to 14.4 feet in height, requiring profiles with the structural capacity to meet air, water, and wind performance requirements at that scale.
GFRC Integration: The parametric Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete panels, with their recessed and protruding geometry, required precise alignment with curtain wall frames and custom extruded brackets to achieve clean, perpendicular intersections.
LED Lighting Integration: Linear LED lighting was integrated directly into the curtain wall framing, requiring a custom aluminum die developed by GNA and a full mockup build and test prior to fabrication.
Construction Sequencing: Panel assembly off-site in controlled factory conditions allowed the schedule to be maintained on a fast-tracked project while reducing on-site labor demands.
 

GNA's Scope
GNA provided design assist services including new profile design, structural calculations, NFRC simulations, project mockup construction and testing, and fabrication support. Custom aluminum extrusions were developed to address GFRC integrations, LED lighting channels, and oversized module reinforcement. All unitized panels were factory-assembled by Coalition Glass prior to delivery.

Tl;dr
GNA developed a custom unitized curtain wall system for Avia Labs featuring integrated LED lighting channels, custom GFRC brackets, and oversized panel reinforcement, all engineered in-house and mockup-tested prior to fabrication, in collaboration with Coalition Glass.