"A building is a building. It cannot be read like a book; it doesn't have any credits, subtitles or labels like a picture in a gallery. In that sense, we are absolutely anti-representational. The strength of our buildings is not only the immediate, visceral impact they have on a visitor; it must be combined with the overall pleasure one experiences in the interior." - Jacques Herzog of Herzog & de Meuron

The de Young Museum, located in San Francisco, CA, is one of the most critically acclaimed architectural buildings in San Francisco. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron of Basel, Switzerland, the structure’s soaring facades create interesting, acoustically challenged spaces.

The museum’s broad main staircase leads from the double-height interior lobby to the open, expansive galleries. Floors are paved with a honeyed colored hardwood. In order to lower the reverberation time, the BASWA Phon Classic Fine Finish was recommended by the ARUP Group and thereafter specified by Herzog & de Meuron.