Entertainment | Zahner

Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium

November 1, 2021/in Exterior Architecture Entertainment, Renovation, Sculpture, Zoo Omaha--Nebraska Smith Bourne & Associates Blue, Green, Grey, Orange, Silver, White M 2019 Featured /by dsegard

Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo

Originally built in 1995, renovations for the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium at the Omaha Zoo were completed in May 2020, featuring a redesigned facade, an updated outdoor cafeteria area, and new entrance features to the aquarium and aquarium conference center. As our third project in the Omaha metro area, Zahner provided various new design elements for this renovation, including the stainless steel wave facade on top of the building, the custom-cut metal coral features and column covers, the dimpled blue stainless steel cladding around the café, and the milled sea creatures that adorn the walls surrounding the space.

Completed Sea Turtle Cafe at the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Completed entrance sign for the aquarium, fabricated utilizing Zahner's ZEPPS system.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium exterior and Sea Turtle Cafe at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo at sunset.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Zahner was brought on early in the concept development stage to provide Design Assist, which allowed us to work closely with the project team to refine the design intent, provide guidance on materials and finishes, and construct a comprehensive mockup for review before the project went into full fabrication. Due to this collaboration, there were zero change orders on the scope, and installation ran smoothly in cooperation with the contractor and the other trades’ schedules.

Original sketch for the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium facade, by Mark Bourne.

Photo courtesy of Henry Doorly Zoo

Visual mockup for the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium facade, assembled in Zahner's Kansas City facility.

Night viewing of the mockup for the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium facade.

The freeform wave facade that sits atop the Sea Turtle Café was fabricated using Zahner’s ZEPPS™ technology, which combined the framing structure and the exterior skin into a complete curvilinear system. The individual wave units were pre-fabricated in our shop and shipped to the job site, where Zahner field technicians installed the full facade.

Zahner field workers install the wave facade on top of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY

Profile of the completed wave facade on top of the Sea Turtle Cafe at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

The face of the waves features a custom etched pattern that provides a reflective, rippling water effect.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

View of the Sea Turtle Cafe outdoor space at sunset with lighting.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Various multi-color lighting systems were incorporated into the design to emphasize the aquatic theme at night.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Decorative painted aluminum coral features adorn the edges of the café’s canopy and wrap the supporting columns. These were cut on our water jet before they were hand-rolled to the correct radius.

Custom-embossed blue stainless steel clads the walls of the Sea Turtle Café and mimics the look of rippling water. Zahner fabricated a custom die to create this seemingly random emboss pattern. This feature is further highlighted by the lighting throughout the space, creating a fully immersive experience for visitors.

Zahner also provided the various metal sea creatures that decorate the walls of the café and the entrance sign. Each sea creature was individually milled out of aluminum on our CNC equipment.

The dual-layered coral feaures were waterjet cut out of aluminum to clad the edge of the canopy.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Custom rippled blue stainless steel clads the ceiling of the outdoor cafe to create an underwater feel to the space.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Custom milled sea turtles and starfish against the rippled blue stainless steel cladding.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Zahner millled out several different sea creatures to decorate the walls of the cafe, including sharks, jellyfish, turtles, stingrays, and starfish.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

All elements of Zahner's scope are further emphasized at night time.

Photo by Alexandra Hoffman, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

SoFi Stadium

June 11, 2021/in Exterior Architecture Arena & Stadium, Entertainment, Performance Center Inglewood--California HKS Silver, White XL 2020 Homepage Featured /by dsegard

SoFi Stadium is a sports and entertainment destination built in Inglewood, CA. Referred to as “unprecedented and unparalleled,” SoFi Stadium is the indoor/outdoor home of the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. SoFi will host a variety of events year-round, including Super Bowl LVI, the 2023 College Football Championship Game, and the 2028 Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

Designed by HKS, the 70,000-seat stadium also has a 6,000-seat venue and a 2.5-acre plaza, all of which are covered by a canopy of translucent ETFE membrane and 34,789 unique panels both in perforation and shape. Zahner’s expertise in perforated imagery (ImageWall®) was put to the test by HKS LINE and their image discretization algorithms/software. The panels were then manufactured by Zahner using a mass customization process developed in coordination with the architect.

THE INDEPENDENTLY-SUPPORTED CANOPY ALLOWS FOR WIND CIRCULATION, PROVIDES DIFFUSED LIGHTING, AND PROTECTS EVENT-GOERS FROM WEATHER.

HKS designed a unique canopy and skin for SoFi Stadium featuring custom-perforated anodized aluminum panels from Zahner.

PHOTO © NIC LEHOUX

ZAHNER PRODUCED 512 PANELS PER WEEK, OVER 67 WEEKS TO BE DELIVERED ON-SITE AND INSTALLED.

PHOTO © NIC LEHOUX

Zahner was brought on board to provide Zahner Assist, which allowed the architect to prove out their design and materials. As a result of the design team’s satisfaction, Zahner was ultimately chosen to furnish the outer shell scope of the stadium.

Drone view of the Frost White anodized aluminum front soffit of SoFi Stadium.

Photo by Jesse Pacheco, ARKO | © A Zahner Company

Drone Video

Custom Frost White Anodized Aluminum

During the Zahner Assist phase, Zahner was asked to develop an anodized finish with a white tint for the project, which did not exist in the market at that time. Using Zahner’s expertise in metallurgy, the Frost White anodized finish was developed specifically for SoFi Stadium. Due to its weight and strength, aluminum has a great benefit in many architectural applications. This finish was also applied to the 16 feet-long leading edge fascia of the canopy, which Zahner fabricated and supplied.

Closeup of Frost White anodized aluminum triskin panels.

The unique Frost White anodized finish on 1/8 inch thick aluminum panels has never been used before in any other project.

Photo by Jesse Pacheco, ARKO | © A Zahner Company

Drone view of the Frost White anodized aluminum front soffit of SoFi Stadium.

Photo by Jesse Pacheco, ARKO | © A Zahner Company

Mass Customization Through Digital Fabrication

Together with HKS, Zahner created a parametric design-to-fabrication workflow that streamlined production activities from the design model to the fabrication machine. On SoFi Stadium the promise of mass customization (part variation without additional cost) was realized through novel software automation and atypical project delivery methods.

A key to the production process was the transfer of design intent from the architect to Zahner. Instead of creating individual panel drawings (labor intensive to make and review), the architect provided ‘encoded’ text files with design intent for each unique panel. Zahner developed an automation script that automatically read each text file, nested each panel, and applied part specific fabrication parameters.

By virtue of this analysis, we were able to generate machine instructions directly from the design model, removing laborious tasks that traditionally add cost but not value. Ultimately this streamlined, collaborative process led to a drastic cut in the programming time for each panel from an unacceptable 15 min to an impressive 7 seconds per panel, managing the volume of unique panels efficiently and affordably.

Graphic showing the typical CNC fabrication method of one program producing 1000x parts.

Graphic showing Zahner's challenge of 10,000x programs producing one unique part per program.

This process fluidity is not typical in traditional production workflows where design and engineering tools are siloed from manufacturing tools. Here we wielded a computational dexterity common in the design/engineering software further downstream within the manufacturing process. The workflow allowed us to embed fabrication and sequence information directly into the CAD model during the design and engineering phase.

Included in the embedded information was an inscribed “dot code” on each panel, trackable via a custom app through the fabrication, shipping, and installation processes. This was a critical part of fabricating and shipping all 34,789 unique triskins under an expedited project schedule. Using this improved process, communication between architect, engineer, fabricator, and installer was seamless and the team was able to respond to project changes without incurring extra costs.

Project Timeline showing the reduction of computation and the growth of costs as a project progresses.

Single panel design with fabrication details and instructions.

Closeup of panel design details.

Closeup of the inscribed "dot code" used to track the panel through the fabrication, shipping, and installation processes.

Fabrication Process

The panels attach to a steel space frame, which attaches to the steel superstructure surrounding the stadium; along with the roof, this makes up the canopy. The independently supported canopy (separate from the stadium bowl structure) covers the stadium, allowing for wind circulation, diffused lighting, and protection from the elements.

Custom tooling was designed by Zahner for creating the softened edges around the perforations.

Underside of the support structure that forms the SoFi Stadium canopy.

The triangular panels attach to a support system, which attaches to the steel structure surrounding the stadium.

Pre-fabricated mega panel being installed into place on-site.

Zahner worker on site for the construction of SoFi Stadium.

Underside of the support structure that forms the SoFi Stadium canopy.

PHOTO © NIC LEHOUX

Hayward Field Tower

December 18, 2020/in Exterior Architecture Education, Entertainment, Monument Eugene--Oregon SRG Partnership Silver L 2020 /by dsegard

Hayward Field at the University of Oregon has hosted numerous USA Olympic Track and Field Trials and NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships since its original construction in 1919. The stadium has had more “World’s Greatest Athlete” titles given to decathlon world record breakers than at any other venue.

The renovations from 2018-2020 included the addition of a 9-story tower at the northeast corner of the stadium. This landmark, designed by SRG, was inspired by the Olympic torch and pays tribute to the university’s legacy depicting five Oregon track and field icons. Using Zahner’s ImageWall® technology, the perforation pattern displays images of coach Bill Bowerman, and athletes, Steve Prefontaine, Raevyn Rogers, Ashton Eaton and Otis Davis.

Zahner engineered and fabricated ImageWall metal skin of Hayward Tower.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Zahner® engineered and fabricated 15,815 square feet of aluminum ImageWall panels in collaboration with SRG (Architects), Hoffman Construction (GC), AHM (Graphic designers) to clad the tower. Zahner’s ImageWall® team was contacted early in the design phase. Using our expertise, we assisted the design and construction team to predict and mitigate installation risks that resulted from the complex form of the tower.

Raevyn Rogers competed for the University of Oregon from 2015-2017, winning 9 individual titles and setting 3 collegiate records.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Steve Prefontaine was a star runner who won 35 out of 38 races at Hayward Field between 1970-1975.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Hayward Field Scoreboard

Portland, Oregon-based Firm 151 developed an innovative new scoreboard design for Hayward Field at the University of Oregon that perfectly complements the rest of this striking sports complex. The structure integrates two large LED displays within an organic loop of ImageWall perforated metal panels in clear anodized aluminum that follows the field’s curvature, also creating an overhead canopy for Powell Plaza beneath it.

With fabrication by Zahner and expert installation by McKinstry, this design serves as a functional display canvas as well as a sculptural monument welcoming fans to the stadium.

The 10-story Hayward Tower features an observation deck and multiple viewing areas.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Zahner ImageWall uses cross-seam perforation technology to create a seamless image across panels.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Zahner engineered and fabricated 15,815 square feet of aluminum ImageWall panels to clad the Hayward Tower.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Night view of the 10-story Hayward Field Tower.

Photo by Joel Conrad Bechtolt | ARKO © A Zahner Company

Argosy Casino

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Entertainment Lawrenceburg--Indiana BDMD Architects Red L, XL 2009 /by cmorris

Hollywood Casino & Hotel Lawrenceburg

Formerly the Argosy Casino in Indiana, the Hollywood Casino & Hotel Lawrenceburg was designed by BDMD Architects.

Zahner provided the engineering, fabrication, and installation of the building envelope, interconnecting bridge, and decorative interior elements. Thousands of unique metal panels cover approximately 43,400 square feet of visible exterior surface. An elevated walkway, designed to replicate the region’s historic structural steel trestle bridges, is clad in a painted aluminum metal system by Zahner. Interior panels, decorative ceiling rings, and faux duct hangers were completed to the same exacting standards as exterior elements.

Related Project

Treasure Island

Each of the wings were finished with a different alloy of stainless steel, to create a color distinction between the two. The east wing was finished using a brushed stainless steel surface. The west wing with PVD coated stainless steel panels for a copper hue.

Red metal custom cupola turrets in Lawrenceburg

Decorative metalwork at the bridge connection

Decorative custom corbel and gusset detail

Treasure Island

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Entertainment Las Vegas--Nevada YWS Architects Brown, Gold, Silver M 2005 /by cmorris

Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas

Designed by YWS Architects of Las Vegas, Nevada, Zahner provided the engineering and fabrication of two large winged stainless steel elements at the northeast side entry of the casino. These ‘wings’ are constructed of steel tubing and aluminum ZEPPS Components, and were clad with an aluminum sheet sub-surface and then finished with stainless steel skins.

The project uses Ti-Stainless or PVD Coated Stainless, a high-performance surface that can be used to achieve gold, copper, bronze, and brass tones in stainless steel. The material is now available to the architectural community, and has a longer lifespan than similar metals such as anodized aluminum.

Related Surface

Treasure Island

Building the Treasure Island Winged Entrance

The project was an early use of the ZEPPS Process for building complex curvilinear forms. Each of the forms was defined digitally and manufactured at Zahner in Kansas City. The forms were each clad using flat-seam panels.

ZEPPS™ Panel understructure for Treasure Island wings.

View of Treasure Island's pipe understructure.

The Treasure Island panels arrive at the job site in Las Vegas.

View of Treasure Island after Aluminum sub-surface has been secured.

The panels are packed onto delivery trucks to ship to Las Vegas.

Treasure Island in CAD, showing the square pipe understructure.

The ZEPPS™ Panels are installed on the Treasure Island entrance.

View of Treasure Island after substantial completion.

Each wing is approximately 32′ tall. The units were constructed in Kansas City and transported to Las Vegas for erection. Zahner has produced multiple structures and surfaces in Las Vegas.