Interior Architecture

Columbus Museum of Art

Margaret M. Walter Wing at the Columbus Museum of Art

The new Margaret M. Walter Wing of the Columbus Museum of Art is a contemporary work of architecture featuring both interior and exterior custom-patinated copper sheets manufactured by Zahner.

In 2013, the Columbus Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted in favor of beginning construction on a new expansion project which would enable the Museum to bring global exhibitions to the residents of Columbus, Ohio. The museum reached out to DesignGroup principal Michael Bongiorno whose design team, including Keoni Fleming, Annie Neumer, and Joseph Mayer, developed a strategy for the museum’s expansion. The expansion’s centerpiece, the Margaret M. Walter Wing, adds 50,000 square feet to the total square footage of the Museum’s available gallery space, and is expected to reach a LEED Silver certification.

Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio.

Columbus Museum of Art, East facade, glass, and limestone.

Columbus Museum of Art, detail of the custom copper soffit.

Columbus Museum of Art, detail of the custom copper flashing and metalwork.

The architects worked with their client to develop a design which would pair the Museum’s rich history with its promising future. The designers achieved this balance in many ways, including aesthetics. The design of the building’s form is contemporary, featuring many modern architectural touches, while its surface is an antiqued copper, a rich material which would normally require decades of weathering to achieve.

Developing the Architectural Copper Panels with Custom Patina

Zahner has worked with patinated copper and copper-alloys since the company’s establishment in 1897, but it was only a recent advancement by Zahner’s research and development team that allowed the firm to match naturally aged copper.

Typically, architectural copper panels are installed as raw or ‘red’ copper sheets, and while this color will quickly morph from reflective reflective pinks and reds to a matte brown surface, it will still take another few decades before the metal fully patinates into the blues and greens.

An example of this slow patination process is the de Young Museum in California, which Zahner manufactured and installed in 2003-2005 as unpatinated copper panel system. Ten years later, the surface is now starting to show signs of green along the panel seams, but the overall tone is still a deep matte burnt umber tone. It is likely another ten to twenty years before the de Young will take on a green hue.

For the new CMA building, Zahner sped up the process. Zahner engineers manufactured pre-weathered custom blue-green copper using a rapid patina process. A process that normally takes twenty to thirty years was achieved in the span of a few weeks.

Zahner fabricated the building’s custom flashing and standing seam roof and supplied the pre-patinated copper sheets for the copper wall panels. Keith Panel Systems (KPS) engineered and fabricated the wall panels on their KPS System ‘A’ which provides a compartmentalized and pressure-equalized rainscreen. Phinney Industrial Roofing coordinated the work with KPS and successfully completed the installation as the sub-contractor to Corna Kokosing Construction.

Columbus Museum of Art, view from the main entrance.

Columbus Museum of Art, detail of the custom metalwork.

Clyde Frazier NYC

August 15, 2016/in Interior Architecture Restaurant New York City Morphosis Black, Blue, Blue-grey, Brown, Charcoal, Gold, Green, Grey, Indigo, Light blue, Magenta, Orange, Red, Silver, Violet, White, Yellow M 2012 /by cmorris

Clyde Frazier’s Wine & Dine in New York City

Clyde Frazier’s Wine & Dine is a new construction high-end sports bar and eatery designed by Morphosis. The space features a Zahner-manufactured ceiling, made using generative design and automated fabrication.

Designed by Morphosis for NBA Champion and former New York Knicks Player Walt Clyde Frazier, this New York City restaurant expands a full city block in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. A swarm of suit jackets dominates the central corridor of Clyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine, a 10,000 square foot experience which mixes American and Asian cuisines.

Zahner provided the ceiling architectural feature. This ceiling is made up of custom cut and folded aluminum plates, 544 in total. The aluminum plates are printed from photographs of Mr. Frazier’s suit jackets. These parts are segmented into six unique shapes, where are placed at intervals of increasing distance. This interval placement creates the illusion that every part is unique.

Clyde Frazier's Wine & Dine in New York City.

The colors in the model categorize the panels according to breaks and sizes. Between the differing anchor placements, prints, panel sizes, and panel shapes, all 544 aluminum panels ended up being unique.

Even more complex were the ribs which held them in place. Because the panels were anchored at different angles, every drill hole had to be custom placed. Thus, each of the 69 ribs had 6 segments for a total of 463 segments, each with 3 unique faces.

3D model for Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine.

“The transformative feature in the room, however, is suspended from the ceiling, where a 170-foot-long assemblage of colorful, patterned, flat and folded aluminum fins floats over the dining area, bar, and lounge. Morphosis found the stripes, plaids, and prints for this polychromatic sculptural reef in Frazier’s closets.

The architects photographed their contents and, working with Zahner’s metal fabricators, digitally printed images for a film adhesive applied to 544 aluminum panels of six shapes. The palette varies from blue to brown-gold to charcoal, with red painted undersides enhancing the gestalt. ‘It’s mesmerizing,’ says Frazier.” — Suzanne Stephens, Architectural Record.

Five threaded rods support each rib. The central columns do not hold the weight of the panels.

Aluminum fabricated-metal forms with custom printed and mounted graphics.

Installation process at Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine

Installation of the printed aluminum fabrications.

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.

Arkansas House

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Residential Northwest Arkansas Marlon Blackwell Architects Brown, Orange, Red M 2004 /by cmorris

Private Residence in Northwest Arkansas

This major home renovation in Northwestern Arkansas by architect Marlon Blackwell Architects is clad in an accelerated weathering steel facade system manufactured by Zahner.

The residential project’s interior wood and metal surfaces act as an interior liner to the building’s rough-to-the-touch Solanum Steel exterior architectural monitors. Flooring of rift-sawn cherry and walnut also act to form an interior liner. Taut and highly crafted, this refined surface acts as an interior liner to the exterior monitors clad in weathering steel shingles.

The architect’s challenge for the project was to reassemble a fire-damaged home while introducing possibilities for the transformation of the house’s spatial character. The design was defined in three weeks and the details were settled after construction began. The architect could work only in areas damaged by the fire, leaving the rest untouched for insurance purposes.

Related Surface

Arkansas House

Details of the Solanum Steel exterior cladding on the Arkansas House.

The Solanum Steel surface was used to clad the window seals.

Detail of the Solanum Steel facade against the windows.

Detail of the Arkansas House interior with detail of the Solanum Steel feature wall.

Art Gallery of Alberta

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Museum, Renovation Canada, Edmonton--Alberta, International Randall Stout Architects Blue-grey, Grey, Silver, White L 2010 /by cmorris

Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada

The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is a Canadian Museum in downtown Edmonton which features a Zahner-manufactured curvilinear canopy and building envelope system. The building was designed by Randall Stout Architects with local firm HIP Architects in Edmonton.

Zahner’s scope included a massive ribbon of stainless steel which wraps around and through the building. Known as ‘The Borealis’, this curvilinear form evokes the Northern Lights, a frequent phenomenon of the Edmonton night sky. The borealis snakes through the gallery’s interior and emerges above the building to form the roof’s canopy, and then drops again to serve as a “snow cone,’ collecting snow and ice.

The sleek curving borealis is paneled in a stainless steel skin system developed by Zahner. The applied non-directional surface treatment of the metal gives the building its muted glow, reducing and nearly eliminating any harsh glare from the sun.

Outside view of the Art Gallery of Alberta Deck.

The curving borealis winds through the AGA Cafe.

The ‘borealis’ is engineered using ZEPPS technology, a system developed by Zahner to simplify the construction of complex structures and facades. For a curvilinear form that wraps around and within the building, an intelligent structural system was required to handle the curves and handle all structural loads. These fully pre-assembled megapanels were delivered to the site so that the local installers could easily install the pre-fabricated panels.

The building also features a variation on the Hunter Zinc preweathered patina on zinc. This surface is used throughout the interior and exterior on flat and geometric surfaces. It is similar in appearance to slate or limestone.

Preweathered Zinc Patina used on the interior and exterior wall faces.

Flatseam preweathered zinc panels on the Art Gallery of Alberta

Making the Art Gallery of Alberta

Zahner is one of the few organizations in the world that has a dedicated team for handling design-engineering processes. Design Assist divided the project and translated the architects’ intent into engineered subsections and parts which the draftsmen and project engineers can then rapidly push to the fabrication facility.

Design Assist produced several scale mockups of both the flat-lock zinc siding as well as the curvilinear Angel Hair stainless steel surface. These mockups give a sense of the upcoming quality, as well as aid in identifying potential problems and develop essential solutions.

Zahner design-engineered, fabricated, delivered the components of the Art Gallery of Alberta for intelligent installation by the Canadian installers. This process was made possible by intensive design consulting sessions early in the planning process, facilitated by Zahner Design Assist.

Design Assist | BIM to Build

As the construction world continues to move towards digital and cloud computing, Zahner fully integrates into Building Information Modeling (BIM) frameworks, so that all participants are aware every stage of construction.

The structure for the Art Gallery of Alberta was divided into several complex components, and to keep the entire project organized required a strong BIM foundation. Drawings from the architect were digitally defined and refined into a working model which served to involve every aspect of its construction.

This makes complex components, such as the architectural metal wing flying through the window, possible (see below). Coordinating multiple trades is one of the big strengths of BIM. It also plays a large role in condensing the construction down to its essentials.

Construction of the AGA in Edmonton, Canada.

6060 NCX Lobby

April 1, 2016/in Interior Architecture Dallas--Texas Merriman Anderson Architects 2016 /by dsegard

Dallas, Texas

Abstract elevator lobby ceiling in clear anodized aluminum.

Backlit ImageWall ceiling in NCX 6060 Interior Lobby.

Photography by Annie Devine

Closeup of ImageWall ceiling in NCX 6060 Interior Lobby near Elevators

Photography by Annie Devine

Closeup of ImageWall ceiling in NCX 6060 Interior Lobby.

Photography by Annie Devine

Closeup of ImageWall ceiling with Cross-Seam Perf

Photography by Annie Devine

A man walks below an ImageWall ceiling in NCX 6060 Interior Lobby

Photography by Annie Devine

Woman enters an elevator below an ImageWall ceiling.

Photography by Annie Devine

Twitter Headquarters

November 10, 2015/in Interior Architecture Corporate San Francisco Bay Bohlin Cywinski Jackson S 2015 /by cmorris

San Francisco, California

Screens and wall panels for corporate office space.

Screens and wall panels in painted aluminum for the Twitter corporate office in San Francisco.

Sentry Insurance

November 5, 2015/in Interior Architecture Corporate Stevens Point--Wisconsin Potter Lawson S 2015 /by Winifred Wright

Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Wall and partition screens made with ImageWall in Dirty Penny™ Copper.

Photography by Sentry Insurance

Wall and partition screens made with ImageWall in Dirty Penny™ Copper.

Photography by Sentry Insurance

Wall and partition screens made with ImageWall in Dirty Penny™ Copper.

Photography by Sentry Insurance

Wall and partition screens made with ImageWall in Dirty Penny™ Copper.

Photography by Sentry Insurance

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.