200 Eleventh

200 Eleventh Avenue in Chelsea

Designed by the acclaimed Selldorf Architects , this residential high-rise structure occupies the corner of 11th Avenue and 24th Street in West Chelsea, New York City, and was completed in mid-2011. These condominiums are part of a new residential area forged from a former industrial zone, now home to the city's galleries for contemporary art. The 19-story building is supported by a 3-story plinth which serves as a base for the 16 stories above it. This base's material palette and massing (terracotta cladding and blackened steel window frames) is in harmony with the surrounding industrial buildings, and also serves to set the tone for the less subtle forms on the tower.

Above the plinth rises the tower's stainless-steel rain screen, a uniquely classic high-rise whose distinguished façade is visible from both short and long distances. Zahner designed and built the stainless steel architectural forms which outline the visual frame for the building. The details of these forms were intentionally loosely defined during the planning process, so that they could be worked out in a collaborative fashion with the Design Assist Group. This kind of collaborative building process is key to the development of smart connections and high-end metalwork. Zahner worked closely with the architects at Selldorf to match their intent while meeting the constraints of sheet metal construction.

The 3-frame animation below shows the design assist process for the curving form connection, from the original 3D model to the final unitized system that Zahner would produce. Below the animation is an image of the mockup that was produced at the Zahner fabrication facility. The final result is a highly crafted connection finished with the Angel Hair™ Finish on stainless steel.

The video above shows one of the most intriguing features of this building. The architects wanted to create a new kind of living experience by allowing residents in the high-rise to park outside their front doors on their floor. Residents access the car elevator through a driveway at the base of the building. Each car has an electronic pass that opens the elevator and automatically directs the elevator to the appropriate floor. Residents then proceed to their floor and park in their private garage.

The photograph above shows the ribbon-like quality and depth of the stainless steel architectural forms that Zahner provided. Also notable is the way that the evenly spaced terracotta surfaces on the plinth beneath echo the stainless steel forms above.

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"Zinc shows its mettle" - The Miami Herald 4/20/2013

Zahner's Director of Marketing, Gary Davis, discusses the benefits and uses of Zinc in architecture.