Successful Management of a Unique Project
Frank Lloyd Wright designed his one-and-only government/civic project shortly before he passed away, and it has achieved tremendous historical and architectural importance. The 172-foot Spire is the central landmark of the Civic Center. It also functions as the radio tower and houses ventilation ducts for the central boiler system.

Vanir was retained to assess the condition of the Spire and to manage its restoration.

The Spire has 1,225 gold anodized aluminum panels of different size and configuration. The panels had deteriorated to the extent that they required complete cleaning and re-anodizing.

Our Process Proved to be Successful
We created the process for restoration of this unique structure following the strict guidelines created by the Frank Lloyd Wright foundation and Historical preservation Society for the County of Marin.

Every panel had to be removed and properly tagged to correlate with the supporting structure, and ensure proper reassembly.

The process for cleaning the underside of the panels is the same as used by NASA to clean the ceramic tiles of its space shuttles: cryogenic. Each piece was frozen in order to detach encrusted debris that is otherwise impossible to extract.

In addition to renovating the entire structural frame and protecting it from further corrosion and deterioration, Vanir's project manager designed a new deflection system to allow the exhaust fumes to blow away from the spire and avoid corrosion/decoloration of the panel.

We think Outside the Box
"Vanir has the ability to think out of the box. They were willing to take on not only technically challenging projects but also politically challenging projects...they worked with us every step of the way to ensure a successful conclusion."
-Robert Beaumont, Asst. Director of Public Works, County of Marin