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The North American Copper Awards has recognized Zahner's copper metal-work for the Waipolu Gallery in Oahu, Hawaii. Waipolu Gallery and Studio in Hawaii

Zahner completed the New Academic Building at Cooper Union in New York City. See the time-lapse construction video at Videos & Downloads.

President and CEO Bill Zahner is featured in the August Issue of Wired Magazine, where he has now been dubbed, the "Alpha Geek" of Metal. Read Article

Alpha Geek Bill Zahner holding Metal Sheets

The NASCAR Hall of Fame project reached 1,000,000 man-hours without a "lost-time" accident milestone recently. In recognition for Zahner's achievement TBEKD presented a plaque to Zahner
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Bill Zahner named an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects.

Introducing the Hands of the Artistâ„¢ division, where Zahner engineers and craftsmen produce projects for artists.
Visit Zahner's Hands of the Artist website

Cooper Union

The New Academic Building at 41 Cooper Square

The 175,000-square-foot, $111.6 million addition, known simply by its street address, 41 Cooper Square, covers the full block on Third Avenue from East 6th to East 7th Streets, bordering the East Village. Although it is roughly the same size as the Foundation Building diagonally across Cooper Square, its futuristic façade is strikingly different in style and unlike anything else around it.

A vertical piazza—the central space for informal social, intellectual and creative exchange—forms the heart of the new academic building. An undulating lattice envelopes a 20-foot wide grand stair which ascends four stories from the ground level through the sky-lit central atrium, which itself reaches to the full height of the building. This vertical piazza is the social heart of the building, providing a place for impromptu and planned meetings, student gatherings, lectures, and for the intellectual debate that defines the academic environment.


Model of the building's understructure.

Detail of the gorge which splits the building
 

The Screen

From afar, the New Cooper Union Academic Building appears to have tall windows scattered all over it's surface. As you draw closer, you realize that these little windows are actually sheets of stainless steel, and it is the rest of the building which is the window. Perforated stainless steel with a mechanically-applied Angel Hair™ finish adorns the entire facade of 41 Cooper Square.

The perforated metal skin surrounding the entirety of the building serves several sustainability purposes: It controls sunlight penetration during the Summer to reduce the influx of heat radiation, while serving as an insulating barrier in cold weather, further reducing energy loss. Thom Mayne used similar screens as energy-saving devices before, and this one promises a 50% reduction in heat load.

Cooper Union at Street View