Art & Sculpture

Guggenheim Hermitage Museum

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Interior Architecture Museum Las Vegas--Nevada OMA, REX Architecture Brown M 2002 /by cmorris

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum was designed by Rem Koolhaus and Joshua Prince-Ramus of OMA as a center for Impressionist Art.

Zahner developed a preweathered patina on weathering steel for the gallery walls. The materials was used to create five-thousand square feet of wall space for the historic artworks. This preweathered steel material was used throughout the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum.

Today the weathering steel material is known as Solanum Steel, and uses a steel alloy which has replaced COR-Ten in popular usage. Many areas of the gallery were clad in this material, and served as a unique tone to back the acclaimed artworks of the nineteenth century.

Related Surface

Guggenheim Hermitage Museum

Three of the walls clad in Zahner’s Solanum Steel were engineered to rotate, allowing curators to change the size and proportion of the four intermediary spaces within seconds. The wood floor and ceiling were produced using a finished maple surface.

A museum installer places a custom-magnet wall connection to hang a painting.

The Solanum Steel surface is a durable steel surface whose iron content enables magnetic properties. For this reason, the gallery opted for magnetic connections to the artworks, which meant that artworks could be easily installed and de-installed with minimal effort and clean-up. All of the paintings were hung from custom-made magnets, able to withstand several hundred pounds of vertical load.

The museum closed its doors in 2008 and was re-opened as an automobile museum. Zahner has since worked with OMA and REX (Ramus) on projects such as the Wyly Theatre in Dallas.

Cerner Headquarters

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Flagship, Workplace Kansas City Gould Evans Associates Silver M, S 2005 /by cmorris

Signage for Cerner Headquarters Vision Center Forum Portals

The Cerner Corporation World Headquarters is designed by Gould Evans and features Zahner-manfufactured signage systems. Zahner produced this uniquely perforated stainless steel sculpture and sign for the Cerner Corporation in North Kansas City.

Two sculptural navigational displays were built: a small corner entrance sign adjacent to the building’s main entrance, and a large signage system visible from the nearby highway. This larger sign features an illuminated Cerner logo mounted on the perforated stainless steel screen wall.

Each of the displays were fabricated by Zahner using ZIRA, a patented technology developed by Zahner creating perforated imagery. The architects and client designed a non-repeating pattern of 1’s and 0’s, binary code in a non-repeating pattern. Zahner developed a process to rapidly punch the numbers using multiple dies.

Detail of the perforated metal signage system at Cerner Headquarters.

Cerner signage wall at the Cerner World Headquarters.

Detail of the perforated metal system used for Cerner Headquarters.

Detail of the Cerner World Headquarters signage wall.

The larger of the two displays, visible from the end of 210 Highway in North Kansas City, was produced with lighting systems embedded in the aluminum and stainless steel framework. Pictured above and below are photos of the signage at night, and during the day. As cars drive by, it appears to flash and animate due to the lights parallactic relationship with the perforations.

The complete system for the 61′ long sign structure comprises 72 panels supported vertically by stainless steel structural fins of varying depth and shape. Each panel is constructed from 18-gauge stainless steel, with a perforation pattern generated from a random sequence of binary code.

The display closest to the building features a DNA strand within the sign, visible as an orange tube. The structure was built with 1/4″ aluminum fins, attached to square tubes which create the sign’s profile. The face of the fins were installed with 14 gauge Angel Hair Stainless steel panels.

Additional metal signage at Cerner Headquarters.

Fabricating the Cerner Signs

The sculptural sign was custom perforated from stainless steel plates using binary code to create the pattern. The surface is an array of 1’s and 0’s randomly placed across the plates of stainless steel.

Below are photos from the Zahner shop in Kansas City, where the material for each display was formed. Each panel was perforated using dies custom-made for the project. Together with the automated punches allowed the fabricators on the shop floor to quickly assemble components after being produced on the computer-controlled punch.

Backlit perforated metal system at Cerner Headquarters.

Cerner signage during fabrication at Zahner .

Bartle Sky Stations

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Monument, Public Art, Sculpture Kansas City R.M. Fisher L, XL 1994 /by cmorris

Bartle Hall Sky Stations

Located in downtown Kansas City, artist R.M. Fischer worked with Zahner to produce the stainless steel and aluminum sculptures which rest upon massive pylons at the intersection of three major highways. After completion in 1994, these four sculptures quickly became icons synonymous with Kansas City’s downtown cityscape.

These sculptures are inspired by 1930s Art Deco style, which can be seen throughout the Municipal Auditorium’s chandeliers and decorative designs at Bartle Hall. The tube frames which form the bases are 18’x40′ in size. The concrete pylons that the sculptures sit atop are 300′ tall. Zahner employed fusion welding, a technique with nuclear plant specifications using aluminum and stainless steel with a #4 Satin finish.

Installation was accomplished by lowering the sculptures from a helicopter, a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane specifically engineered for heavy lifting.

Zahner played a pivotal role in the entire production of the piece, assisting the artist with budgeting, scheduling, and fabricating,and delivering. This completion of this total solution monumental artwork set the stage for Zahner’s art fabrication initiative; providing a process to produce artworks of various scales and of metal materials on an artist’s budget.

Zahner installers secure each of the Bartle Hall Sky Stations.

Panoramic of the Bartle Hall Sky Stations in the Kansas City Skyline.

Interior Artworks

In addition to massive artworks on top of the Bartle Hall, Zahner also completed many of the 48 interior hanging works in the facility for the artist R. M. Fischer. Among the many artworks are a giant clock, and many light fixtures which illuminate the lobbies, pedestrian passageways, and conference center. Not only has Fischer’s art become one of the most talked-about public commissions, but also one of the most recognizable.

Interior artwork, also by R.M. Fischer, at Bartle Hall.

Baldessari Facade

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Parking Structure Miami--Florida TimHaahs John Baldessari Silver L 2015 /by cmorris

City View Garage, Miami Design District

Part of a sweeping development of the Miami Design District envisioned by Craig Robins of Dacra, the City View Garage features three unique visions on its facade, each design-engineered and manufactured by Zahner.

Between Leong Leong’s shimmering titanium-coated stainless steel facade, and IwamotoScott’s undulating generative aluminum facade, lies a permanent John Baldessari art installation-as-facade. In certain light, this massive canvas of stainless steel reveals a vivid rendering, created by circular perforations.

Baldessari’s vision was created using ImageWall, a Zahner patented process, which translated the artist’s imagery into a perforated panel system. The patented process was first developed by Zahner engineers for the de Young Museum as a means of visualizing imagery within the facade of a building. The automated system creates machine files for manufacturing functional, decorative metal sheets with patterned openings.

Parking garage facade designed by artist John Baldessari using ImageWall and Angel Hair Stainless Steel.

Imagery Decision

Baldessari’s original image portrays three figures enjoying games around a swimming pool and is part of the ‘Post-Studio’ conceptual art movement. Baldessari selected the image from his extensive collection of found production stills. Like much of the artist’s work, Fun One features a second element—Fun Two, located around the corner of the building, depicts a similar image of a woman balancing on a beach ball.

Facade for Miami Design District City View Garage.

Photo © A. Zahner Co.

featuring Baldessari's artwork between the Leong Leong Facade and the IwamotoScott facade.

The design team views the mockup for Miami City View Garage for the first time.

Photo © A. Zahner Co.

Facade for Miami Design District City View Garage.

Photo © A. Zahner Co.

Facade for Miami Design District City View Garage.

Photo © A. Zahner Co.

Parking garage facade designed by artist John Baldessari using ImageWall and Angel Hair Stainless Steel.

Art Wall at Doha

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Education, Sculpture Asia, Doha--Qatar, International, Middle East Hendrix + Studio, Legorreta + Legorreta Jan Hendrix White M 2010 /by cmorris

Art Wall at HBKU Doha University – Student Center

Completed in the Summer of 2010, Helix is a project designed by artist Jan Hendrix with architectural firm Legoretta & Legoretta of Mexico. Zahner engineered and manufactured the painted aluminum panels and substructure in Kansas City and shipped the completed pieces to Doha, Qatar, where local installers placed the large metal plates on both the interior and exterior frameworks.

The project involves hundreds of massive water jet cut and painted aluminum panels, and includes a 40′ high tower in the center courtyard. The pattern cut into the panels replicates the drawings of Jan Hendrix.

Related Project

Hendrix Mexico Sculpture

Completed in 2013, the latest Jan Hendrix sculpture was commissioned by a private collector as a permanent installation on the client's property. The human-scale sculpture includes a landscaped lighting system designed to accentuate the polished aluminum surface.

Designed to Build

Jan Hendrix worked closely with the Zahner Design Assist team to develop the project for production. The artist provided to Zahner both a digital model as well as multiple physical models as the design progressed.

The project required close attention to each panel’s relation to one another, so that the artist’s lines would transition without breaks from panel to panel. This is called the ‘Parametric Relationship’ and it’s a key part of the ZIRA patented system developed by Zahner to translate images, drawings, and patterns into metal panel systems.

From left to right: Jan Hendrix, Zahner President CEO L. William Zahner, and Zahner Engineering Director Paul Martin

The completed project features the artist’s pattern on both the interior and exterior of the student center. Note how the lines transition smoothly across seams from plate to plate. Zahner engineers worked to transfer the artist’s drawings into metal, all while maintaining the system’s parametric relationship.

Each half-inch plate is 20 feet by 8 feet, and the material was water-jet cut on our system of the same size. To see how artists are collaborating with Zahner, including works by Jan Hendrix, visit Hands of the Artist.

Zahner worked with the artist, Jan Hendrix, to define his image digitally so that it could be water-jet cut and fabricated into a cohesive composition with smooth lines flowing across multiple panels.

The public artwork and courtyard is located in the outer edges of Northwest Doha, Qatar. The project was one of the first to be completed with Jan Hendrix, who has worked with Zahner engineers and fabricators on a number of projects. Learn more about producing similar surfaces in water jet-cut aluminum by Contacting Zahner.

Starlight Theater

October 21, 2010/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Historic, Performance Center Kansas City Gastinger Walker Harden Blue, Brown, Green, Red L 2000 /by cmorris

Starlight Theatre and Stagehouse in Kansas City

Zahner has been involved in a range of scopes for the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, ranging from the roof and cupola turrets, as well as the Donor’s Circle completed with artist Dierk Van Keppel.

Starlight Theatre has a rich history, which dates back to 1925, when a Romanian Queen visited Kansas City. The city’s Federation of Music worked to bring a musical showcase which raised nearly ten thousand dollars, which began the movement for an outdoor theatre space. In 1951, construction was completed.

Building the Stagehouse for Starlight Theatre

In the late 1990s, they theatre company recognized a need to fortify For the Theatre’s centennial, a new building was completed to improve that quality of productions which could be performed at Starlight. In 2000, Zahner was responsible for manufacturing the new roof system for the amphitheater. Named the Jeannette and Jerome Cohen Community Stage, the new stage also included a roof for Starlight theatre, and increased its technical capability, making it one of the largest roadhouses in the country.

Starlight Theatre in Kansas City.

Photo courtesy of America’s Roof.

Photos of Starlight Theatre during construction.

Photo A. Zahner Company.

In addition to producing their own shows, Starlight began presenting major national tours in 2000 so they could bring more recent and contemporary Broadway musicals to Kansas City as well as share their productions with indoor theaters around the country. This increased production versatility has continued to make Starlight Theatre a summer favorite for residents and visitors alike.

Detail of the metal ceiling system made for the Starlight Theatre Donor's Circle

Related Project

Starlight Donor’s Circle

Zahner engineers and artisans worked with Gastinger Walker Harden, with Bob Rohlf and the Starlight Theatre Association of Kansas City to engineer, fabricate, and install the artwork. The surface features glass cast by local Kansas City artist Dierk Van Keppel.

Zahner manufactured the roof, cupolas, and turret towers in raw unpatinated copper, also known as “red copper”. This material quickly went from the golden-orange tones above into a warm darker tone. This material will continue to patina, and one day develop into a green verdigris patina on the building’s roof.