Exterior Architecture

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California:

Situated on Los Angeles’ famous Miracle Mile, the newly renovated Petersen Automotive Museum has achieved an iconic status while creating open spaces which invite community engagement. The design encases the building in a red-painted corrugated aluminum rainscreen system which acts as the backdrop for a series of stainless steel structural ribbons. These scopes were engineered, manufactured, and installed by Zahner.

Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) in New York with the construction management by Matt Construction in Los Angeles, Zahner was brought onto the project early on in the planning and development process. Starting under a Zahner Assist (Design Assist) contract, the construction team developed a fabrication and installation strategy with the engineers at Zahner.

This is the second project completed by Zahner with KPF. The two teams worked together prior on the IBM Headquarters in Armonk, New York.

Related Project

IBM Headquarters

Nestled within a landscape of 450 wooded, rocky acres some 50 miles from Manhattan, the IBM World Headquarters exemplifies KPF’s demonstrated ability to respond to the natural context and produce an innovative work of architecture. Completed in 1997, the headquarters is the centerpiece of an existing corporate campus in this wooded setting with deep ravines slicing through the landscape.

Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Making the Petersen Automotive Museum

Design development for the Petersen Automotive Museum began in 2012. Principal Trent Tesch knew that the complex shapes would be best defined under a Design Assist contract with Zahner. Examining the forms gave the team an opportunity to approach their design with as much information as possible. Zahner Assist enabled KPF to bring the client into a conversation with Zahner.

Sharing models and preliminary drawings while the design was still conceptual allowed for conversations regarding costs and aesthetics to remain transparent, assisting the client during the decision making process.

The project made use of several Zahner technologies and methodologies: the ZEPPS Process for designing and manufacturing the building’s curved forms; the Angel Hair non-directional surfacing applied to each of the stainless steel skins attached to the curved forms; and Zahner Assist, Zahner’s method for developing complex projects into factory-produced realities. The project also includes an ImageWall custom perforated metal screen which continues the architect’s design, mimicking the stainless ribbons in a perforated metal graphic across the building’s parking structure. The Petersen Automotive Museum is the direct result of a design team confidently departing from convention.

Perforated metal screenwall by Zahner continues the Petersen Automotive Museum's sculptural motif.

Underneath the undulating ribbon facade of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

A perforated parking garage facade continues the stainless steel ribbon motif.

Detail of the facade of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Design Assist Mockup for the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Design Assist Mockup at dusk for the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The Mock Up as a Design Catalyst

As part of the Zahner Assist contract, we included a to-scale visual mockup. Mockups are included as part of this process in order to aid in design decision making and determine the best method for building any given form. The team selected the lower northeast corner of the building’s design to fabricate as a mockup section. This empowered the design team to determine how the ribbons would wrap around the corner, an integral aspect of the building’s design.

The mockup process provided Zahner crucial insight into how to best develop the red-painted structural steel armatures which are used throughout the project. The mockup also helped the design team establish the ideal color for the painted corrugated aluminum surface.

Zahner installers hang a ZEPPS Ribbon Assembly at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Zahner fabricators create the ZEPPS Ribbon assemblies for the Petersen Automotive Museum.

3D Model of a single ZEPPS Assembly for the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Zahner field installers at the construction site for the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Creating the new Petersen Automotive Museum facade

The existing building, purchased by the Petersen Automotive Museum in 1994, was rectilinear and fairly straightforward in form. It was originally a department store. Six years after the store closed, museum founder Robert Petersen chose the site to house his automotive museum. Since the Museum is nearly devoid of windows, the site was ideal for safely housing Mr. Petersen’s collection without harmful exposure to sunlight.

Because the existing building contained very little glass and was box-like in form, it acted as a blank canvas for the design team. ZEPPS, the Zahner system for developing sculptural forms, was used to build curving stainless steel ‘ribbons’ which wrap the building, giving it a feeling of rapid motion. The result looks similar to the aerodynamic flow diagrams drawn in wind tunnel tests by automotive designers.

Using ZEPPS to Create Dual-Curving Forms

To build complex dual curving forms with the lightest structural loads, Zahner uses the ZEPPS process. ZEPPS stands for Zahner Engineered Profiled Panel Systems, and comprises Zahner’s approach to building complex, curvilinear forms. The crux of the system is the paring down of a complex design into manageable parts for manufacturing.

Using an architect’s 3D model, Zahner’s engineers examine geometry with a manufacturing mindset. Each curve is analyzed and developed into a series of patented aluminum structural components. These components are pre-assembled at the shop and compose the structural form for each ZEPPS Asssembly. Using aluminum extrusions rather than steel allows for a lighter load on the structure of the façade, and also allows for more economical fabrication methods.

The final step in creating with ZEPPS is to clad it in surface material. For the Petersen Automotive Museum, Zahner’s Angel Hair Stainless Steel surface was selected. After the structure is built, each ZEPPS is clad in the desired metal, and loaded onto a truck for field install. By breaking dual curves into units, ZEPPS creates precision within the manufacturing process, and allows for much quicker field installation.

Detail of the Petersen Automotive Museum's Angel Hair Stainless steel.

View of Wilshire Blvd during the construction of the Petersen.

Screenwall at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Underneath the Roof of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Structural Steel

A new structural steel exoskeleton was needed to carry the loads from the red corrugated rainscreen as well as the cantilevered stainless steel ribbons which arch over the rooftop to provide shading for a private event space.

Working with the designers’ 3D models, Zahner’s team of engineers developed a series of tree-like forms in structural steel to support the ZEPPS Ribbon assemblies. The structural steel skeleton was inspired by hot rod manifolds to serve the dual purpose of providing aesthetic cohesiveness as well as functional support for cantilevered elements of the design. The structural ‘trees’ support the ribbons that flow over the roof area, as well as the Fairfax Ave ground level ribbons.

The ZEPPS ribbons required custom curved structural steel within each unit. Zahner mapped out each curved radius using the 3D model, allowing for fabrication in the shop to be handled quickly and precisely.

Custom Corrugated Aluminum

Painted aluminum acts as the backdrop for the stainless steel ZEPPS forms, echoing the concept of a sports car in bright red intensity. The aluminum was completely custom, and unlike any standard corrugated pattern. The corrugated profile formed an exact 90 degree angle, versus the typical sine wave that is commonly seen in corrugated metals.

To accommodate for the custom nature of this design element, Zahner formed each of the corrugated panels in house, utilizing a custom die within the press brake.

ImageWall Screenwall for the Petersen Parking Enclosure

As a continuation of the stainless steel ribbons, the design team also selected a painted red aluminum ImageWall for the Museum’s Parking Garage. Using Zahner’s patented technology, ImageWall uses perforated holes to map an image across multiple panels. In this case, the image provides cohesiveness, and ties the parking garage in with the larger facade.

ImageWall Screenwall enclosing the Parking Structure of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Detail of the screenwall facade of the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Parking Structure Screenwall at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Pearl Marriott

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Hospitality, LEED Pacific Northwest, Portland--Oregon SERA Architects Gold, Yellow M 2014 /by cmorris

Pearl District Marriott Residence Inn

The Pearl District Marriott Residence Inn, designed by SERA Architects, is a project featuring a bumped and perforated screenwall supplied by Zahner. Named for its neighborhood, the Pearl District is a historic area of Portland. Local businesses liken the urban district’s buildings to oysters, whose hidden ‘pearls’ were the gallery and artists’ spaces contained within — hence the name.

The Pearl District Residence Inn boasts 223 guestrooms in its six story building. A series of custom perforated aluminum panels by Zahner provide privacy screens for the rooms and decorative shading along the front of the façade. These painted yellow screens also add an element of modernity to the surrounding historic warehouse structures, elevating the extended stay hotel from the typical guest experience.

Parametrically Designed Perforation and Embossing

When SERA Architects approached Zahner with their idea for the perforation pattern, it existed as a simple jpeg image of an evanescent starburst shape. Zahner’s team of design engineers used that image to create an algorithmic concept that mathematically defined each perforation. The process uses a customized ImageWall system to perforate imagery on the metal surface, and create subtle variation the building’s screen wall.

Pearl District Residence Inn Marriott in Portland, Oregon.

During the design phase, there was active communication between Zahner and SERA Architects regarding parameters and variables. This exchange of ideas was essential to reach the final design. In order to make the gradation blend in a more nuanced, subtle manner, dithering was applied during the engineering process. Zahner also worked with the designers to create a series of embossed and debossed bumps, which added texture as well as rigidity to the panels. This additional rigidity means that the metal could be specified at a thinner gauge, reducing the material cost for the client.

During this design engineering process, files were exchanged between Zahner and the architects, along with several different iterations of samples. Once the final design was determined, the files went from design engineering into production engineering.

Efficient Installation of Custom Perf Panels

The architects wanted to create seamless connection details with no visible fasteners and clean edges. The system used to achieve this is the Inverted Seam, a patented system developed for this purpose. In addition to the wall panels, Zahner provided vertical aluminum extrusions which provide the support structure. These vertical extrusions have slots so that the aluminum panels lower in and lock into place without any need for additional fasteners. This is a Drop & Lock connection.

Zahner’s locking panels require no additional hardware or attachment methods, making for a straightforward install and no visible fasteners. Each panel was also labeled with a unique code, corresponding to its location on the building. This streamlined process enabled the local installers to position and fasten the panels with ease, reducing the schedule for the client.

Patio de las Jacarandas

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Pergola, Public Art Aguascalientes--Mexico, Central Mexico, Mexico Arturo Revilla and Jose Luis Jimenez Garcia, Hendrix + Studio Jan Hendrix White L /by cmorris

Patio de las Jacarandas at Aguascalientes, Mexico

Patio de Las Jacarandas is a Jan Hendrix and Hendrix Studio-designed work of public art in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The project’s metal canopy was developed and fabricated by Zahner in water-jet cut aluminum.

Situated at the historic Plaza de la Patria in Aguascalientes, the Patio de las Jacarandas is an architectural open-air canopy. Arturo Revilla and Jose Luis Jimenez Garcia served as the project’s architects, while Zahner’s scope on the project centered around the engineering and fabrication of the art canopy.

The system was engineered and tested by Zahner, and then manufactured and delivered to the jobsite where local installers erected the screen wall. The project was completed in 2015, and features a two-tiered canopy of water jet-cut aluminum plates. Both layers of cut-out metal are painted to create the white ¼” aluminum plate.

The Patio de las Jacarandas provides a place to gather in Aguascalientes.

The Jan Hendrix canopy mirrors the surrounding plant life at Aguascalientes.

Overhead view of the Aguascalientes project.

Canopy Filtered Shading with Diaphanous Light

Two layers of waterjet cut artwork make up the roof of the Aguascalientes canopy. The first layer, suspended on the bottom of the canopy, shows the overlapping branches of the jacaranda tree. The second layer of cutout leaves is installed 16” above the lower ceiling canopy.

These two layers are held apart from one another using tension cables. The distance between each layer gives the illusion of peering through tree branches. Intriguing shadows are also created, offering an immersive, shaded area for pedestrians in the city square to rest beneath.

The canopy’s two layers are designed to evoke the jacaranda tree at different seasons of the year. This motif was selected by the artist due to its prevalence in Aguascalientes. Numerous jacarandas are planted in parks and public areas across the City of Aguascalientes as well as throughout central Mexico. Their blooms are heralded as a symbol of the beginning of the spring season, blooming in February.

Patio de las Jacarandas in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Creating the Cut Plate Material

To accommodate the intricate lines, the artwork is fairly thin in some areas, ¼” aluminum plate was used to water jet-cut the desired pattern. Using plate material gives extra support for artwork, and keeps delicate lines from bending or becoming misshapen as the public interacts with the art.

Jan Hendrix supplied Zahner with models, sketches, and finished drawings of the artwork. Zahner team of design engineers translated the artwork into files for manufacturing and cutting the metal shapes out of the aluminum plate. After the cutting process was completed, the panels and structural components were painted white and sent to the job site in Mexico for installation.

Zahner fabricators pre-assemble the Hendrix-designed canopy in Kansas City.

Jan Hendrix model for the Patio de las Jacarandas canopy.

Unique Column Design for Patio de Las Jacarandas

At the north end of the patio canopy, Jan Hendrix’s design extends down from the upper canopy into the gathering space, in the form of a perforated column. Although the surface appears as though it encases a structural support, the column is hollow with no enclosed structural support.

While the canopy depicts the leaves and branches of the jacaranda tree, the column shows the profile of their famous blooms. In this manner, the patio shows the entire lifespan for the blooms of the jacaranda through all four seasons.

This concept is further reinforced by the planting of several new jacaranda trees at the center of the patio. Throughout the years as the Patio de las Jacarandas sees further community interaction, the trees will continue to grow new blossoms each spring, creating a more impressive show each year.

At the northern corner of the project, a plate aluminum column cuts through the canopy.

Related System

Column Cover

Custom column cover systems provide decorative and functional aspects to both interior and exterior architectural design. Column cover manufacturing has been a mainstay of A. Zahner Company's production for several decades, producing both custom and standard systems for designers all over the world.

The column system was assembled in three separate panels, which align together with such precision that the seams become nearly invisible. Panels on the upper canopy also translate the design without the visual appearance of seams.

To create this seamless look, Zahner examines the pattern’s parametric relationship, mapping out individual elements as they relate to the entire design. This way, lines and patterns can cross between various panels without being interrupted by ‘picture frame’ edges. This technology is used across the entire project, so that the construction methods do not become distracting to the artist’s design.

Opening gala event for the Patio de las Jacarandas in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Opening Ceremony for the Patio de las Jacarandas

The opening ceremony took place during the Summer of 2015, and was attended by The Governor of Aguascalientes, Carlos Lozano de la Torre and his wife Blanca Rivera Rio Flores. The two were influential in bringing the project to the State of Aguascalientes.

Jan Hendrix, pictured with Governor Carlos Lozano de la Torre and his wife Blanca Rivera Rio Flores at the opening.

Sunlight filters through the Jan Hendrix-designed canopy at Aguascalientes.

Ground level fountain accents the canopy design at Aguascalientes.

Perforated metal canopy casts shadows at Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Patio de las Jacarandas, Aguascalientes, Mexico.

After the project was completed, Jan Hendrix was honored at the opening ceremony at the Patio de las Jacarandas. As an artist of renown who has moved into the architectural world, Hendrix has translated his works on paper into physical manifestations for communities all over the world.

Zahner has completed over a dozen works for Jan Hendrix, which are located in city centers and private collections around the globe.

Oakley Headquarters

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Corporate, Flagship, Workplace Los Angeles--California Langdon Wilson, Oakley, One Icon Design Colin Baden L, XL /by cmorris

Oakley Headquarters & Technical Center

The project features a blackened steel interior metalwork throughout, a spun aluminum architectural motif exterior, and a terne-coated stainless steel roof. The custom fabricated metal cladding was created from cold rolled steel plates and cast steel ‘bolt heads’. The Zahner-applied blackened metal finish produced an artistic, aged steel appearance.

Designed by Oakley director of design Colin Baden with Langdon Wilson Architecture, the headquarters and technical center was completed in multiple scopes. The project first began in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Years later the company would come back for additional scope, producing the Oakley reception desk in the same aesthetic.

Related Project

Oakley Fifth Avenue

This wasn't Zahner's first collaboration with Oakley. In the late 1990's Zahner's engineered metal-fabricated systems were used the facade and interiors of the Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

Interior and reception desk at Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

Interior metal at Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

“

Friend of Ridley Scott, Oakley CEO Jim Jannard wanted to recreate the atmosphere of Blade Runner for his California office … The result is spectacular.

Strategies MagazineNone.

Oakley Headquarters desk and interior metalwork.

Zahner Fabricator assembles the sections of the Oakley HQ Desk.

Oakley Headquarters entrance during construction.

Oakley Headquarter entrance upon completion.

Oakley Fifth Avenue

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Flagship, Public Art, Storefront New York City Oakley Colin Baden Black, Blue-grey M 2015 /by cmorris

Oakley Fifth Avenue, New York City

Zahner worked with Oakley’s architectural team to create the new Oakley flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. The project’s scope included the development of a geometric facade with no visible fasteners, which could be installed on a 100-year-old building across one of the busiest streets in New York.

This wasn’t Zahner’s first collaboration with Oakley. In the late 1990’s Zahner’s engineered metal-fabricated systems were used the facade and interiors of the Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

For the Oakley Flagship at Fifth Avenue, the company’s unique ”Mad Science“ aesthetic shows through as a massive black geometric facade and canopy system for their latest retail experience.

Related Project

Oakley Headquarters

Details of Oakley Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Developing the Design for the Oakley Flagship on Fifth Ave

One of the design challenges for this project, was that the client didn’t want to show or see any fasteners on the surface of the system. Zahner engineers and fabricators rose to the challenge, providing a connectionless facade.

The aluminum skin used Radius Reduction technology to create the geometric forms. These angular forms were v-notched using a custom milling system developed by Zahner for making a v-groove on unique panels. On this system, each of the holes were cut, as well as the perimeter shape for the forms. Each panel had ten to fifteen skins in 3/16″ aluminum, with 3/4″ steel structure. The finished surface was painted with acrylic polyurethane coating system, spray-applied with Matthews System paint. The design has 8″ between the panels.

Architect's renderings of the Oakley Facade for Fifth Avenue Flagship.

The existing building is more than 100 years old, which created unique hurdles for attaching a heavy load. Zahner project team coordinated steel, and coordinated the site, for three months while developing the model. During this process, the design team discovered code changes providing additional challenges. The offset couldn’t go more than 18 inches off of the building. Some of the pieces were canopies, so there were limitations on how far off the building it could go.

As part of the project’s Design Assist phase I, a mockup was made of the design. This mockup was displayed in Kansas City for the clients, which provided valuable feedback for the fabrication of the final product.

Mockup at Zahner in Kansas City for the Oakley Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Aluminum profiles with notches cut for clips.

Making the most efficient installation possible.

The large elements were to be hoisted on one of the busiest avenues in Manhattan. So providing The design was essentially three sections: the steel structure, the aluminum clip, and then the aluminum skin. The clip had all the intelligence. As such it is a very smart object. The connection between steel and aluminum facade, is a clip connection.

There is no mechanical connection operation required in the field. The skin drove the geometry, and the structure followed the skin, and then clip was the intermediate. Zahner made notches in the steel, and small cut-outs in the skin for the clip system. There were 100’s of clip types, and 1000’s of clips in total. Each panel had a spreadsheet, and there were columns in the spreadsheet that had. Zahner engineers call this process powercopies. A powercopy is a reusable parametric modeled component. The end result is a face with no face fasteners. Invisible plug welds were used on the front, and rivets on the back.

Zahner strung conduit for the sign and lighting. The signs were placed on the sculptural form before being shipped out. On-site, the final wiring was simply making a connection. The project was installed on site in a matter of days.

Installers lift the Oakley panel on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Nissan Styling Studio

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Automotive Farmington Hills--Michigan Luce et Studio Silver M 2005 /by cmorris

Nissan Styling Studio and Technology Center

Nissan Design America commissioned Luce et Studio to design an elegant courtyard for the Nissan Design Group, where the company’s design team could privately showcase its new technologies and concept cars. Zahner worked with partners Wallace Engineering and Turner Construction to produce the courtyard for the campus.

Completed in 2005, the Nissan Styling Studio features a double layered perforated metal skin which has an offset spiral, 30 feet into the sky. The perforated screen allows light to enter while preventing viewers from peering in from the outside. This was a key aspect of the design, because the courtyard was used to display concept cars that weren’t yet available to the public. The oval shaped space at the Farmington Hills Facility is known as ‘The Egg,’ an exterior courtyard where final prototypes could be viewed in natural daylight.

Nissan Styling Studio and Technology Center.

Nissan Studio, generating a unique architectural moire at Dusk.

Photograph of the Nissan Egg during a heavy snow.

Interior metalwork for the Nissan Design Studio in Michigan.

Developing the Moiré Design as an Architectural Feature

As part of the project’s design development, Zahner produced a mockup for the architects at Luce et Studio. The mockup was manufactured and displayed at the Zahner HQ in Kansas City.

Nissan Styling Studio mockup at Zahner Headquarters in Kansas City.

Nike Scottsdale

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Flagship, Retail & Commerce Scottsdsale--Arizona TVA Architects Blue-grey M 2013 /by cmorris

Nike Scottsdale, Arizona — Concept Store

In early 2013, Zahner began working with Nike to produce a series of concept and flagship stores for several cities in North America, starting with an innovative store in Scottsdale, Arizona. The new stores, designed by TVA Architects in Portland, represent a shift for Nike towards a new immersive branded store.

The design build process for this project is among the fastest that Zahner has been a part of to date. The entire design, fabrication, and installation process was completed within the span of a single month at a cost below what the client had estimated.

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.

The Nike store in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Note the water misters used to cool visitors).

Detail view of the Nike store in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Sideview of the Nike flagship store in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Detail of the metal panel system used for Nike Scottsdale.

Meeting the Architect’s Vision

When the Nike/TVA design team first approached Zahner, they had already produced a fiberboard model of the desired surface and envisioned the facade as a durable architectural metal panel. Nike’s design emulated a pattern found on the soles of their shoes. They could reproduce the surface in rubber and plastics, but didn’t have a way of fabricating the surface in metal.

The architect's model, used to prototype the metal surface.

The model was sent to Zahner’s Design Assist Group, a team of engineers, shop artisans, and designers. The Design Assist Group serves as Zahner’s think tank for approaching complex and unique designs. The team worked quickly to determine what systems could work and developed a solution that made creative use of several existing technologies in the Zahner factory.

The resulting product was an embossed, perforated, and folded surface – a highly intricate and completely custom metal facade.

The Zahner-prototyped mockup, produced in aluminum.

View of the historic and current Nike logos on the Scottsdale store.

Improving the quality, reducing the cost.

Zahner’s design team begins with an idea that seems complex or unfeasible, and they simplify the process to reduce the unknown and eliminate the unnecessary. The result is an intelligently engineered product that saves time and cost for the client.

The installation process was also simplified by Zahner. Each panel was unitized and fabricated as a simple Drop and Lock™ system, so that the installers could efficiently install the panels. Because the surface is being installed on additional stores, it made sense to unitize and engineer these panels to reduce the margin for error and make the best use of field time.

Consistency and streamlining the installation process make it feasible for Nike stores to implement these facades in various other locations, giving room for the project to expand along with the planning of the upcoming Nike stores. The first store opened in Scottsdale, Arizona (February 2013). Similar stores with Zahner facades are being implemented in two more locations: Atlanta, Georgia (June 2013) and Cleveland, Ohio. (August 2013).

Overall view of the Nike store in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Neiman Marcus

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Retail & Commerce Natick--Massachusetts Elkus Manfredi Charcoal, Gold, Orange, Silver L 2007 /by cmorris

Neiman Marcus Flagship Store by Elkus Manfredi

The Neiman Marcus in Natick, Massachusetts is the store’s Flagship property featuring a billowing facade designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects in Boston. The entire surface of the building is wrapped in a stainless steel curtain, a feature which flows throughout and into the building in the same style.

Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the facade’s undulations with perspective in mind. When travelers drive by, the structure appears animated and kinetic, an effect caused by the way the facade curves in and out. Zahner worked with the architects to design a curving facade panel system that is both aesthetically powerful as well as economically effective.

Related System

Neiman Marcus

Related Surface

Neiman Marcus

The skin is actually three different tones of colored stainless steel. Two of these tones were formed by a electro-chemical process which permanently changes the tone of stainless steel. Zahner has used this process for several other projects, including the 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 EMP Museum, The Meyer Fletcher Residence, and the Royals Crown at Kauffman Stadium.

In addition to providing the exterior scope, Zahner also manufactured interior metalwork for the department store interior entrance. This interior wall uses a similar subtle curvature made in a lightweight ZEPPS framework. This scope included the ceiling area, made in a stainless steel with standard polish.

The exterior scope included various metal details, including the soffit at the Neiman Marcus entrance and the throughout areas underneath the facade’s curtain. Providing these standard details for the facade and other areas is typical of Zahner scope. The company routinely handles interior and exterior standard metalwork on a variety of projects.

Related System

Soffit

Soffit systems engineered and manufactured by Zahner are the result of innovative architects, designers, and artists who challenged the norms of what to expect in the built environment. Working with Zahner to develop a custom metal soffit system begins with your design.

Designing the complex curtain system for the Neiman Marcus facade was made possible through Design Assist. Zahner worked with the architects at Elkus Manfredi to develop a design, mockup, and manufacturing process to efficiently fabricate, deliver, and install the exterior metal facade.

Building a dual-curved facade with pre-fabricated panels.

The building’s 570-foot-long undulating stainless steel façade, in tones of bronze, champagne and silver, “waves in and out and top to bottom almost as if someone was wearing a dress and walking,” said Elkus.

NASCAR Hall of Fame

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Charlotte--North Carolina Pei Cobb Freed Silver L, XL 2010 /by cmorris

NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina

A twisting stainless steel ribbon races around the perimeter of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. Zahner was brought into the project to build the structural form which wraps its facade. The building opened in May 2010, and it serves as a sprawling museum dedicated to racing and NASCAR history.

The building’s design was lead by architect Pei, Cobb, Freed. The firm envisioned a möbius strip-styled stainless steel roadway racing around the perimeter of the main building. The design of a möbius entails the concept of infinity, indicating a sort of infinite path for racing.

To create the building’s möbius required the design of a unique curvilinear shape. To produce this, Zahner engineers implemented the ZEPPS, the Zahner system for building unique architectural forms. Using ZEPPS enabled the architects to design and manufacture the building’s facade efficiently and within budget. It also enabled simple and straight-forward construction of an otherwise immensely complex shape.

The möbius is clad in Angel Hair stainless steel, a product developed by Zahner to reduce the glare and bright spots while providing a satin finish. Even in bright sunlight, the surface has significantly less glare than mill finishes on stainless steel.

Manufacturing the Unique Facade for NASCAR

The Museum went from design to completion in just over two years. The project’s expedient construction was due to good management by Turner BE&K, as well as a smooth design process.

The design and manufacture of the structural form of the stainless steel was provided by Zahner. Zahner engineers employed a Design Assist method to design the details of the ZEPPS forms.

These ZEPPS forms contain not only the shape and facade, but also electrical, lighting, insulation, and water-proofing. The intelligence of ZEPPS is twofold: you decrease the amount of rigid structural steel which doesn’t like to curve, and you automate aspects of the production of the aluminum forms. In the field, the construction crew receives numbered and pre-assembled parts.

The wall system that makes up the ribbon is constructed from aluminum panels that are approximately 8 foot in width. Wall heights vary with the tallest being in the region of 45 feet. By shipping these forms as preassembled units, the team was able to maximize efficiency in the shop, and maximize efficiency of installing the parts in the field.

“

“Zahner held to our budget, schedule, safety, and quality standards… The ribbon will indeed be the feature remembered by all who visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I highly recommend A. Zahner Company for any project which demands the qualities referenced above.”

Tom BarnettConstruction Manager at BE&K Turner Construction.at

A step-by-step process employed by Zahner included the method of splicing plates into specific dimensions and then joined together. Each panel is individually numbered, so construction knows exactly what spliced plate goes between designated panels.