Art & Sculpture

Birds in Flight

December 1, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Art Restoration, Sculpture Kansas City Jac T. Bowen Green /by cmorris

Birds in Flight Sculpture Restoration

Birds in Flight, by Jac T. Bowen, is a static sculpture formed from steel and copper-alloy plates. Located at the entrance to the Wornall Homestead, the artwork serves as a welcome to the well-known Kansas City neighborhood. Twenty years after its installation, the home owners’ association began noticing signs of deterioration and contacted Zahner to assist.

The Zahner team fabricated a new framework to replace the original steel understructure. Instead of using the existing (and corrosive) steel pipe, Zahner manufactured new structural components in stainless steel, eliminating the possibility of deterioration. The new structure was re-clad in its original, freshly cleaned copper-alloy plates.

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Diagnosing Sculptural Repair for the Jac T. Bowen Sculpture

Galvanic corrosion, which occurs when two or more dissimilar metals encounter one another, is a common cause of metal deterioration.

Birds in Flight exhibited extensive galvanic corrosion and weathering. Over time, the hammered copper plates reacted with the painted steel support structure causing widespread rust. Although the steel structure was painted, scratches within the paint coating affected the electrochemical coupling, accelerating corrosion and weakening the steel. The weakened structure began to sag and lose its shape in reaction to wind force, gravity, and occasional snow and ice loads.

Repairing and Restoring the Sculpture

Once the cause of deterioration was identified, Zahner carefully de-installed the sculpture, transporting it to the Zahner shop.

Once there, each part was carefully disassembled, cleaned, and repaired, if required. Working from photographs, Zahner artisans reassembled the existing and newly created components, remaining true to the artist’s original intent.

Original copper and steel parts for the <i>Birds in Flight</i> sculpture.

New stainless steel pipes for the Jac T. Bowen sculpture.

Zahner welds the new stainless steel armature for the Jac T. Bowen sculpture.

The Chrysalis

November 17, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Performance Center, Public Art, Sculpture Columbia--Maryland Living Design Lab, Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Marc Fornes Green L 2017 /by cmorris

The Chrysalis Amphitheatre at Symphony Woods park

The Chrysalis is a multi-purpose pavilion, sculpture, and performance center designed by Marc Fornes with Living Design Lab. Zahner manufactured and installed the exterior structure and skin system.

The Chrysalis is made of tubular steel knit together to form a structure that houses a pavilion and stage for performances. It broke ground in September 2015 and was completed and opened to the public April 22, 2017.

With its name, The Chrysalis pays homage to the larval transitionary stage of a butterfly. With its form, The Chrysalis references the low-lying cypress tree seen in the eastern United States marshland. Its enormous roots provide the structural capability for a sweeping array of performances and events. As a building, the venue will attract larger productions while also providing an intimate space for smaller gatherings.

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Film of The Chrysalis at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

The Chrysalis at Merriweather Park in Symphony Woods.

Marc Fornes’ design for The Chrysalis was brought to life by a team which architects of record Living Design Lab and landscape designer Mahan Rykiel. included Whiting Turner, ARUP, Walters Group, and Zahner.

Located in the city of Columbia in Maryland, the sculptural work is nestled in the Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. The new construction is placed adjacent to the Merriweather Post Pavilion, a performance center in Symphony Woods Park.

Aerial photo of The Chrysalis in Columbia, Maryland.

Detail of the painted aluminum shingles and structure of The Chrysalis.

Detail of the painted aluminum shingles at grade.

Stage of The Chrysalis in Columbia, Maryland.

Rear stairway at The Chrysalis in Columbia, Maryland.

Detail of the structural aluminum and curved steel pipe.

Engraved design and construction credits at The Chrysalis in Columbia, Maryland.

East elevation of The Chrysalis in Columbia, Maryland.

The Chrysalis nearing completion in Columbia, Maryland.

3D buildup of components for The Chrysalis.

Structural system for The Chrysalis during construction.

Nerman Museum

November 4, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Interior Architecture Furniture, Kinetic Art, Museum Overland Park--Kansas Gould Evans Associates, Kyu Sung Woo Architects Leo Villareal Silver S 2007 /by cmorris

Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

For the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Zahner worked with Kyu Sung Woo Architects to create interior architectural metalwork and design elements, as well as a unique permanent art installation by Leo Villareal entitled Microcosm.

The scope of work included a perforated metal ceiling and interior facade for the building’s atrium; stainless steel interior panels for the building’s entrances; custom stainless steel service desk; and the stainless steel and LED kinetic art display for the building’s Southeast entrance.

Zahner worked with both the artist and the architect to bring these various metal details to life.

“

One of the Museum’s most iconic works,”

Bruce HartmanExecutive Director of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art..at

Microcosm at the Nerman Museum

In 2006, while the new building was in design development, Johnson County Community College commissioned a major, site-specific installation by Leo Villareal for the cantilever of the museum’s entrance. “The resulting piece, Microcosm, is now one of the museum’s most iconic works,” stated Bruce Hartman, executive director of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. “Leo Villareal’s survey exhibition will be a dazzling and extraordinary experience for our entire community.”

Looping animation of the Nerman Museum kinetic light display by artist Leo Villareal.

The moving lights at the Nerman Museum

Learn more about the artwork Microcosm at the Nerman Museum in Overland Park, Kansas.

Zahner worked with the artist to develop the exterior soffit and lighting. Under the guidance of Villareal, Zahner engineering technicians installed the LED light system as part of the stainless steel ceiling. The artwork is installed at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas.

“He not only gives viewers the sensory thrill of his ever-changing displays of light: he also creates a participatory social space that is fascinatingly both relaxed and spectacular.” — Susan Krane Oshman, Executive Director of the San Jose Museum of Art.

Interior metalwork for the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.

Photo of the kinetic light and soffit system developed for the Nerman Museum of ContemporaryArt.

Graphic showing the perforated ceiling system for the Graphic showing the perforated ceiling system for the Nerman Museum of Art.

Atrium for the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.

Detail of the perforated metal angle panels

Detail of the argyle shadows cast by folded metal with perforations.

Photos of the kinetic light and soffit system developed for the Nerman Museum of Art.

Custom stainless steel reception desk for the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

Detail of the stainless steel reception desk for the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

Winged Refuge

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Government, Memorial, Sculpture Colorado Springs--Colorado John Lajba Silver M, S 2011 /by cmorris

Winged Refuge at the Colorado Springs Air Force Academy

Artist John Lajba came to Zahner with a machined cast-bronze model in-hand, which was used to accurately define the art fabrication of the commissioned monument to the United States Air Force.

Winged Refuge was manufactured using a semi-mirror stainless steel surface. The connection edges include both TIG-welded corners, as well as broken edges with Radius Reduction for the sharpest possible corner and edge connections. The two sculptures were fabricated in the Zahner shop, wrapped in blue-plastic netto, and shipped to the job site where each sculpture bolted into a raised stone section. The stone and concrete contractors then completed the rest of the ground surface.

Related System

Radius Reduction™

Radius Reduction™ provides a distinct alternative to traditional brake-formed metal panels, resulting in a crisp, origami-like metal edge on architectural applications.

Winged Refuge Sculpture at the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, by artist John Lajba.

Photograph of John Lajba with his Winged Refuge Sculpture Model.

Hope Tower at UNMC

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Education, Monument, Sculpture Omaha--Nebraska James Carpenter Design Associates Gold, Yellow L, M 2010 /by cmorris

Tower at University of Nebraska Medical Center

The Tower at UNMC is a James Carpenter Design Associates project. The project’s design team was led by Richard Kress. The campus art feature stands at 120 feet. A private donation led by Ruth and Bill Scott brought this iconic campus feature to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The tower serves provides a beacon for students, serving as both a navigational tool and an artistic centerpiece. Zahner provided the ti-coated stainless steel panels, perforated and prepped for installation onto the architect’s engineered frame. These panels were engineered and produced at Zahner at the Kansas City plant.

Related Surface

Ti-Stainless Steel

Ti-Stainless is a stainless steel sheet metal with with titanium alloy in its coating. There are several methods to achieve color on stainless steel. From the chemical bath process of Interference Stainless Steel to electroplating with tinting agents. Ti-Stainless is one of the most effective methods to achieve a unique tone or color on stainless is through titanium and other alloys applied to the surface of the stainless steel.

Perforated panels on Hope Tower at UNMC at dusk.

Gold-colored ti-coated stainless steel used on Hope Tower at UNMC.

Detail of the steel structure and perforated ti-coated stainless steel.

The design features hundreds of triangular perforated 16ga titanium-coated stainless steel panels which attach to an open structure. The perforations effectively create a visually lightweight aesthetic.

The tower was designed to reflect the beautiful effects that occur in the Nebraska sky. It combines stainless steel and natural light to embody UNMC’s scientific character and the transient qualities of Nebraska’s skies. If it’s a bright sunny day, it will appear to shimmer. At dusk, it will reflect the variety of colors that are in the sky.

Installers place the triangular curving panels at UNMC in Nebraska.

Detail of the perforated triangular panels used on Hope Tower at UNMC.

The project was built in the course of a year, and completed in 2010. This is the second project that Zahner has completed for the architects and artists at James Carpenter Design Associates, the first being the Silver Towers Courtyard in New York City. The designers at James Carpenter provide a unique outlook on the play of light on surfaces, an effect which is best perceived in person.

Suzanne Roberts Theatre

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Performance Center, Sculpture Philadelphia--Pennsylvania Kieran Timberlake Gold, Red, Violet M 2007 /by cmorris

The Philadelphia Theatre Company’s dynamic Marquee signage

Completed in 2007, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre was designed by KieranTimberlake and features signage manufactured by Zahner.

Named for the former actress, playwright, and director, Suzanne Roberts Theatre is part of the initiative to enhance Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The building’s new marquee signage provides a striking statement about the quality of the arts program while maintaining the existing building and providing cover as an entrance soffit.

Related Project

Kieran Timberlake Office Stair

For the firm’s 63,000 ft² office, Zahner created a custom floating stairway. Connecting the entrance lobby and lab area with the office and meeting spaces, the painted red steel stairway is a feat of form and function.

Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia.

KieranTimberlake contracted Zahner to provide engineering and fabrication for the dynamic shape of the facade signage. Working through an intitial Design Assist phase, the project was developed for digital fabrication.

To produce the sculptural form, the marquee was engineered and fabricated using ZEPPS Technology, the Zahner system for building complex, curving sculptural forms. The technology enables fast installation, installed in just a few assemblies. Each assembly is made up of structural aluminum fins and ribs which are prefabricated in the Zahner facility offsite. These assemblies were then clad in a number of sheet metal skinned surfaces. KieranTimberlake worked with Zahner to select a iridescent stainless steel surface which provides the sign’s unique coloring.

Detail of the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia.

CAD Diagrams showing individual Zahner assembly parts

ZEPPS structure for Suzanne Roberts Theatre prior to cladding

ZEPPS structure, clad in stainless steel skin with adhesive protective layer

Two assemblies made using ZEPPS in the Zahner yard prior to shipment to Philadelphia

Simons Center

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Interior Architecture Education, Kinetic Art, LEED Long Island--New York Perkins Eastman / ABI Chuck Hoberman Silver S 2009 /by cmorris

Simons Center for Geometry & Physics at Stony Brook

Simons Center is new building on the Stony Brook campus which features a glass and metal kinetic art wall manufactured by Zahner. Designed by the architects at Perkins Eastman, the new facility brings a world-class mathematics and physical sciences building to the Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York. The building’s most intriguing feature is the animated stainless steel kinetic surface.

The kinetic panel system first began early development in 2008, when Zahner began working on a series of projects with the renowned kinetic artist and designer, Chuck Hoberman. Hoberman foresaw a future where kinetic surfaces could respond to environmental changes (such as temperature, moisture, and light) by opening or closing an aperture on the surface of the building itself. Today these systems are now possible, and the new Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook provides an early prototype.

Perfectly Perforated

Over the early 1990's, patterned usage of perforated metal began to appear. At the time, the pattern were limited by programming. It wasn't until the early two-thousands, when Herzog & de Meuron designed the de Young Museum, that perforated metal would truly enter into its own.

Several patterns designed by Hoberman Associates are featured on the interior of the new Stony Brook Facility, serving as both the building’s artistic centerpiece as well as a functional shading system. The floor-to-ceiling metal surface is made by layering four panels manufactured in perforated stainless steel. Three of the layers are motorized to open and close based on temperature requirements.

Each of the motorized panels revolve around one another on an engineered track defined by the designed components. The visual effect is like that of a flower, blossoming into a burst of patterns – hexagons, circles, squares and triangles. At one point in the cycle, the perforated patterns all are aligned, allowing the maximum open space. At the other end of the cycle, the pattern becomes an opaque mesh.

The kinetic surface spans 124 square meters and imbues the building with the functional capacity to dynamically change its opacity and sculpt the quality of light within.

St. Teresa’s Lace

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Education Kansas City Gould Evans Associates White M 2011 /by cmorris

Windmoor Center and Chapel of St. Joseph St. Teresa’s Academy

Designed by Gould Evans and Associates, The Windmoor Center and Chapel of St. Joseph at St. Teresa’s Academy is a 10,000-square-foot building that houses four high-tech classrooms that transform into a single event space for banquets and the new 150-seat chapel.

The building’s distinctive facade shrouds the outside of the structure and evokes the school’s namesake, St. Teresa, the patron saint of Lacemakers. The building serves as the gateway to the campus. A survey of students and faculty identified a need for a contemplative space with natural light.

Related Project

Church of the Resurrection

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY. Founded in 1990, the Church of the Resurrection has grown into the largest United Methodist Church in the U.S. with 18,000 members. Seeking to expand and remodel its existing facility on a 76-acre site, the church is adding an acoustically versatile sanctuary seating 3,500 and converting the existing auditorium into a multi-purpose room.

Zahner was brought in early in the planning process for the new building. Gould Evans hired Zahner to design-engineer and build the facade, working through a Design Assist phase to develop the unique screen wall system.

Lace patterns cut into plate aluminum and rolled for the curving facade at St. Teresa's Academy.

Water-jet cut aluminum plates with lace-pattern.

Windmoor Chapel at St. Teresa's Academy.

Detail, aluminum plates with lace-pattern.

Perforated metal with curved form rolled and fabricated by Zahner.

Students and faculty from St. Teresa's preview the mockup at Zahner.

Windmoor Center at St. Teresa's Academy.

San Diego Central Library

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Library San Diego--California Luce et Studio Silver S 2014 /by cmorris

San Diego Central Library Donor Features

Signage, artworks, and architectural features designed by Luce et Studio are featured throughout the new nine-story San Diego Central Library in downtown San Diego. The features include an illuminated mast which spans four floors on the building’s North exterior, a massive-scale replica of an orchestral bow on the exterior of the ninth floor, and custom signage to celebrate the donor spaces throughout the library.

Donor Recognition

Throughout the building’s nine stories and exterior spaces are various signifiers, art elements, and architectural features which created to recognize the generous donations made by the philanthropic community in San Diego. The Central Library’s funding is unusual for a civic building, because forty percent of the costs were covered through private fund raising, including the operational costs of running the library. The private support means that the library was built with no new taxes, bonds, or moneys from the city’s general fund.

Related System

Signage

Signage and wayfinding design has transformed over the years from a purely utilitarian and informational, into art and design. Finding ways to make signage both useful and aesthetic has been a goal of the design-engineering and fabrication at Zahner for many years.

The San Diego Central Public Library at night.

Detail of the Mast at San Diego Central Public Library.

The Mast arrives in prefabricated sections at the site for the San Diego Central Library.

The Mast at San Diego Central Library

Luce et Studio’s design for The Mast for San Diego’s downtown Public Library was designed as a 70′ tall aluminum column, whose diameter ranges from 8′ at its top and bottom, and 12′ at its median.

The Mast is constructed in aluminum with varying perforations which run up around its length. Inside of the mast is an interior LED lighting system, which provides a beacon of star-studded lights which illuminates the facade throughout the evening hours. The mast was manufactured by Zahner in Kansas City, and installed by a local team in San Diego.

The Violin Bow at San Diego Central Library

One of the donors recognized by the Museum is the late Helen Price whose continued philanthropic giving to the museum was recognized by a 30‘ scale orchestral bow to celebrate the San Diego figure’s love for the symphony.

The bow is made using stainless steel and structural cable. Both the bow and the mast were manufactured by Zahner with design support from Wallace Engineering.

Fabricators at Zahner manufacture the signage and donor recognition for the SDCL Violin Bow.

Local installers place the violin bow and donor recognition for the Helen Price Reading Room at SDCL.

The Helen Price Reading Room violin bow artwork, by Luce et Studio at SDCL.

Detail of the head plate for the finished violin bow artwork at San Diego Central Library.

Detail of the Helen Price Reading Room violin bow artwork, by Luce et Studio at SDCL.

Joan & Irwin Jacobs Common

At the building’s South entrance are multiple signage elements for the San Diego Library Joan & Irwin Jacobs Common, recognizing the philanthropist team who donated $20 million towards the library’s operational costs.

The technique used to create the building’s southern pedestrian level signage is a signature style developed by Luce et Studio on an unrealized project for Hotel James (pictured below). The signage concept was developed by Jennifer Luce to create a third dimension for the cut-out letter shapes. Zahner manufactures a groove in each of the letters, which allows the letter to then be folded out. The concept was first created years prior, and is featured prominently as a notable signage display for the San Diego Central Library.

Custom signage concept designed by Luce et Studio for an unrealized Hotel James. The letters, laser cut from stainless steel, become three dimensional louvers, connected by a small tab.

San Diego Central Library signage with custom ornamental detailing.

Joan ? Irwin Jacobs Common donor plaque and signage for San Diego Central Library.

Joan and Irwin Jacobs Common donor plaque and signage for San Diego Central Library.

Library Bar Code Signage

One of the themes that moves throughout the entirety of the library is a bar code motif, extruding from the letter forms of various donor plaques and signage elements on both the interior and exterior surfaces of the library. The extruded letter forms also break planes and wrap around columns, walls, and concrete boundaries.

The thick metals used in the custom signage include stainless steel and bronze, and included areas that are painted, as well as areas that let the metal surface shine through, much of which uses Zahner’s Angel Hair mechanical non-directional surface treatment.

Donald C. & Elizabeth M Dickinson Popular Library ornamental donor signage for SDPL Central Library.

Exploration Floor signage recognizing the donation of Joy & Ed Frieman .

Custom donor signage for the San Diego Central Library.

Custom donor signage for the Pauline Foster Family Teen Center at San Diego Central Library.

Custom signage for the San Diego Central Library.

Joan ? Irwin Jacobs Common signage donor recognition for the San Diego Central Library .

Shiley Special Events Suite

One of the final donors donors for the new library, Darlene Shiley placed $1.2 million towards the library’s operational fund, and her donation is honored with a rooftop events suite. The entrance to the space is clad in interference stainless steel, perforated using a custom pattern. The Zahner system used to lay out the decorative metal screen panels is based on the ImageWall/ZIRA system, which also provides for a muted seam where the perforations continue across the joint’s reveal.

Royals Crown

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Arena & Stadium, Flagship Kansas City Populous Gold L /by cmorris

Royals Crown at Kauffman Stadium

The new Royals Crown at the Royals Ballpark was designed by Populous in two stages for the Kauffman Stadium. The golden structure was designed to crown the new vertical screen at the stadium, one of the largest screens of its kind in the world.

Zahner was responsible for engineering, fabricating, and installing the Kauffman Stadium Crown using gold interference-coated stainless steel. The metal skin of the interference coating is nearly iridescent, and gives the surface an additional bright sparkle.

This stainless steel also features a machine-indented surface. Imperceptible from a distance, this fine-bumped surface reduces the oil-canned appearance common among thin-gauged metal. Each of the spheres at the peaks of the crown are outfitted with hundreds of LED lights that light up for various effects and illuminate the night sky.

Related Project

Kauffman Stadium

The new structure at the Royals stadium features two sections which use selective perforations in stainless steel to create the image of the Royals logo on the surface of the metal. This perforated surface wraps the entire building, yielding a mesh facade which provides light, air control, and a visually intriguing artistic aesthetic.

Zahner has produced several projects using the interference-coated metal surface, including Contemporary Jewish Museum which has a dark blue interference coating and a cross-fire brushed pattern. Interference stainless steel was also used on the The Experience Music Project, The Meyer Fletcher Residence, and the Neiman Marcus in Natick, Masssachusetts.

Building the Kauffman Crown

The shop photos and CAD images above show the substructure used to build each of the spheres. These were produced using the ZEPPS Process, a system which uses an extruded aluminum substructure to assist in the creation of curving shapes and forms. The ZEPPS Process was developed to simplify the construction of curves on complex curvilinear buildings such as those designed by Frank Gehry and Randall Stout. The physical components used in this process can also be seen on the surface of the Zahner Headquarters building in Kansas City, which intentionally was designed to leave this substructure exposed.

The video below was produced by The Royals to show the way in which Zahner was involved in the production of the Royals Crown a massive Stainless Steel Crown which sits atop the new digital scoreboard and video screen.

The first stage of the Crown was completed in 2008. In 2010, Zahner added a reverse section to the Kauffman Stadium Crown, so that the substructural components would not be visible from the I-70 Highway which runs to the North of the Stadium. Zahner was also responsible for producing the perforated stainless steel Royal Logo facade at Kauffman Stadium. This section wraps around the sides of the stadium, and provides an additional visual aesthetic to the Royals Ballpark.