Conceived in the 1950s and opened in the 1960s, it is a continually growing entity. By 2000, the American Public Works Association was calling its original core system one of the 20th century’s top 10 public works projects, alongside the Panama Canal and the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, two billion passengers later, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) crosses under the city’s famous bay, is 104 miles long, has 43 stations and serves four counties containing close to four million people. BART’s latest expansion opened in June 2003 and connects to San Francisco International Airport; now, downtown as well as connections to points far from the city are a half hour or less away. But in many ways, the real excitement is at two such transit points: San Bruno and South San Francisco. There, daylighting by Kalwall makes them as different from traditional subway stops as, quite literally, night and day. At San Bruno, just one station north of the airport, San Francisco-based Greg Roja and Associates, (GR&A) Inc., designed the barrel-vaulted roof to be supported by delta trusses; in this thoroughly modern structure, their curvilinear shapes still suggest a Victorian aesthetic, a nod to the area’s historic significance. But inside, instead of the dankness and poor artificial lighting of a more typical subway station, BART riders find that a combination of Kalwall clerestories and curtainwall create an atrium throwing soft, balanced daylight from the ceiling above all the way down to the train platform and tracks several levels below. A coast-to-coast search had awarded to artists Gordon Huether and Christine Stone a commission for two, 15' by 15' murals. An organic part of the overall structure, the huge "stained glass" artworks are incorporated into 1,530 square feet of Kalwall wall panel units to the north and south. Those entering San Bruno from a pick-up and drop-off area off Huntington Avenue are greeted by Kalwall curtainwall: 11,900 square feet on the east and 1,400 square feet on the west. The next station to the north is South San Francisco, a design-build project by Howard Needles Tammen Bergendoff California Architects. Like San Bruno, it uses Kalwall to daylight the lobby and platform areas below a vaulted, metal roof. South San Francisco, however, uses the translucent panel systems in the form of skylights in the roof above the east and west entrances and enclosing the north and south arched ends above the escalators that lead to the train platforms far below. Comprised of 4,119 square feet of Kalwall, the skylight panel systems are configured to match the arc of the roof and curved plan of the ends. As California's famous sunshine passes through the Kalwall, the diffuse, translucent panels eliminate glare, harsh shadows and the accompanying eye strain to deliver a balanced wash of natural daylight. In addition to creating the desired atmosphere, the daylighting helps save energy by minimizing the degree of artificial lighting required. Even on cloudy days, the panels transmit even, usable, natural light. Minute glass fibers within their surfaces act as prisms to magnify and transform even the lowest levels of daylight into uniformly balanced illumination. Kalwall is highly insulating and delivers controlled heat gain and superior HVAC energy performance. Even in San Francisco's relatively gentle climate, transportation facilities must stand up to a high degree of wear, dirt and abuse. Kalwall is vandal-resistant and the sheeting action of its fiberglass surfaces allows it to clean itself with every rainfall. As a manufacturer in the forefront of "green" design and concern for the environment, Kalwall is proud of its role in helping to build mass transit and soften the impact of the automobile on air quality. These stations are not nondescript, cold and cavelike. Even if most patrons only experience them for a few minutes as they hurriedly move on to their next destination, Kalwall makes these subway stops light, airy, pleasant places to be. Over six years before San Bruno opened, GR&A, Inc.'s design for the station was recognized by the American Institute of Architects with a Certificate of Merit. Looking ahead to 2010, BART estimates that almost ten thousand riders a day will ride the rails in daylight from Kalwall translucent panels. San Bruno BART Station Architect: Greg Roja & Associates, Inc. Kalwall Specifications: Clerestory: 1,530 square feet Curtainwall: 13,300 square feet Light Transmission: 35% Solar Heat Gain Coefficient: 0.42 U-Factor: .53 Panel Color:    .070" Crystal SW exterior    .045" White Type 25 interior South San Francisco BART Station Architect: Howard Needles Tammen Bergendoff California Architects Kalwall Specifications: Skylight: 4,119 square feet Light Transmission: 35% Solar Heat Gain Coefficient: 0.42 U-Factor: .53 Panel Color:    .070" Crystal SW exterior    .045" White Type 25 interior For more information, contact: Bruce Keller Kalwall Corporation, 603-627-3861 (U.S. 800-258-9777)