Brown | Zahner

911 Memorial Overland Park

Remember, Educate, and Honor

The 911 Memorial at Overland Park, installed at the entrance to the city’s Fire Training Center, reminds first responders of the ultimate sacrifice their service may demand. The memorial was designed by SFS Architecture and includes artifacts and custom-fabricated bronze and steel artworks provided by Zahner.

A 14-foot, 2.5 ton steel beam from ground zero stands at the memorial’s center. Four bronze panels to beam’s West tell the story of the four downed flights, and a bronze memorial listing the names of those who perished on September 11th sits to the East. A weeping wall fountain, representing survivors, stands to the North while granite tiles pulled from the World Trade Center after the attacks pave the South entrance.

The memorial’s three-fold mission is to remember the victims, educate visitors, and honor the heroism by those who served on September 11th, 2001.

Memorial shows the original I-Beams from the World Trade Center in NYC

The Memorial’s History

In 2009, Overland Park firefighter Trevor Miller and Captain Paul Bishoff submitted an application to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey for a piece of steel from the fallen World Trade Center towers. After learning of the application’s acceptance, more than a dozen companies and individuals volunteered time and resources to build the 9/11 Memorial.

Quill

December 30, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Private Art, Sculpture Fayette--Iowa Steven Woodward Blue, Brown, Green M 1995 /by cmorris

Quill Artwork in Fayette, Iowa

Quill is a Steven Woodward artwork which was commissioned by Upper Iowa University and features Zahner art fabrication services. The 15-foot-wide sculpture was crafted in stainless steel, copper and aluminum. The artwork was inspired by the devastating tornado that hit campus in 1971, altering much of the terrain. As such, the artwork’s form takes on that of a cyclone, and is patinated to complement the nearby campus Green Goddess statue.

Quill is the second sculptural collaboration between Zahner and Woodward. The first collaboration, Books of Knowledge, is located at the University of Minnesota.

Related Project

Book Forms

Woodward worked closely with A. Zahner Company to manufacture the two massive metal book sculptures from copper, stainless steel, and weathering steel.

Ball State Artworks

December 30, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Sculpture Muncie--Indiana Kevin Klinger Brown, Orange M 2006 /by cmorris

Ball State University Student Artworks

Ball State University students created a series of custom artworks which were each manufactured by Zahner in Kansas City. Professor Kevin Klinger’s immersive design studio at Ball State University in Indiana gives students first-hand experience in translating digital designs into permanent installations. The students worked directly with A. Zahner Company, learning about the collaborative process used by architecture firms working with custom manufacturers.

Related Project

reBarn

As part of the designer's intent, Zahner developed a series of etched patterns into the aluminum plate. In all, five water-jet aluminum plates were cut for the outer shell and over 350 aluminum joints were cut which align the sculptures form underneath the surface.

The students used generative processes to design perforation and folding patterns, which were applied to a sculptural ribbons of weathering steel and stainless steel. The sculptures were installed in two locations: one at the Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana; and the other at the Indianapolis Art Center campus. In addition to these two projects, which are pictured below, a third project was completed with the students at Ball State: the reBarn project made in wood and aluminum.

Ball State artwork at the Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana.

Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana

Design students were able to observe the weathering steel patina develop into the protective layer of oxidation, preventing the steel from further corrosion. The second installation, at the Indianapolis Art Center, used black interference stainless steel in addition to the weather steel forms:

Diagram of the installation at Indianapolis Art Center.

Installation at the Indianapolis Art Center.

Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial

December 9, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Memorial, Sculpture Columbus--Ohio Studio Libeskind Brown, Red M 2014 /by cmorris

The Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial

This Ohio Holocaust and Liberators is a Daniel Libeskind-designed memorial which was manufactured and built by Zahner. The memorial was conceived to serve the millions who lost their lives in the Holocaust and the American soldiers who liberated those in concentration camps. The design by Studio Daniel Libeskind provides a space of contemplation, a place where ideas and values cut across generations, ethnic identity, and creed.

Approaching from the Statehouse, the visitor walks on a limestone walkway between inclined, graduated stone walls and two stone benches towards a pair of large 18-ft-high bronze panels. Embossed with a story told by a survivor of Auschwitz, the panels are also irregularly angled at their inner edges. The planes meet in the center, the jagged edges forming a cutout in the shape of a six-pointed star.

“The bronze book achieves an incredible sense of dynamism as each surface twists and turns, leaving no two surfaces parallel… In many ways, this project comes as much from Libeskind’s heart as from his hand.” — Architect’s Newspaper

The Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial is a welcome place for reflection on public ground. Upon one of its stone walls, this line honoring the camp liberators is engraved: “If you save one life, it is as if you saved the world.”

Fabricators at Zahner place panels on the Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial

Detail of the mockup for the Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial

Detail of the metalwork prior to patination for the Detail of the mockup for the Ohio Statehouse Holocaust Memorial

Detail of the finished Memorial at the Ohio Statehouse

The Ohio Memorial after dusk on the lawn of the Ohio Statehouse

The memorial nears completion at the Ohio Statehouse

Kieran Timberlake Office Stair

November 9, 2016/in Interior Architecture Workplace Philadelphia--Pennsylvania Kieran Timberlake Brown, Red M 2016 /by cmorris

custom floating steel stairway

Founded in 1984, KieranTimberlake brings together the talent of nearly 100 professionals of diverse backgrounds and experience in a practice that is recognized worldwide.

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.

Zahner manufactured the design using the Radius Reduction system to create a crisp, folded-edge along the center of the stairway ramp. Radius Reduction uses custom automation to produce deep grooves along the backside of metal. This precision cut allows for crisply folded edges, even in thick metal, and can be used to produce a range of geometric designs with highly accurate precision.

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.

The design includes a clever handrail extension, meeting ADA requirements.

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Staircase Systems

Zahner-manufactured custom staircase systems offer architects, designers, and artists more tools to push boundaries in the built environment with unique designs and innovative forms.

Second floor offices, showing the red-painted stairwell panels manufactured by Zahner.

15 Renwick

October 11, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Residential New York City ODA-Architecture Brown, Orange, Red M 2015 /by cmorris

15 Renwick Residential Development in Manhattan

Zahner provided exterior copper panels pre-patinated with a Dirty Penny finish.

15 Renwick is a 31-unit building, designed by ODA-Architecture, featuring a unique mix of 2- and 3-bedroom residences, three townhomes with private yards and four penthouse duplexes.

Capitol Federal Hall

September 16, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education Lawrence--Kansas Gastinger Walker Harden, Gensler Brown L 2016 /by cmorris

Capitol Federal Hall Building at the University of Kansas

Capitol Federal Hall is a new building on the University of Kansas (KU) campus designed by Gensler, with custom architecture features made by Zahner. The building boasts four stories and an extra 166,500 square feet of space for students. It is the largest privately funded building on KU’s campus.

The building features various exterior and interior metalwork, design-engineered and manufactured by Zahner. The project was completed in 2015. Zahner worked with architects Gensler and Gastinger Walker, under the construction management of JE Dunn.

Zahner manufactured a variety of the project’s interior metalwork, including the awards wall, interior wall panels and the perforated metal for its feature staircase. This includes all of the stringer adornment, soffits, fascia, balusters and guardrails. Exterior metalwork includes the metal balconies, wall panels, and exterior outcroppings. Both the interior and exterior are clad in Solanum Steel, a rustic patina developed on weathering steel.

Related Surface

Capitol Federal Hall

Interior Perforated Guardrail System

Capitol Federal Hall uses Solanum Steel for the exterior cladding, as well as perforating some of the guardrail panels. Zahner treated all interior panels with a matte sealant that maintained the surface quality of the steel, while preventing the patina from rubbing off onto people’s hands or clothing. Perforations were completed on the raw steel, then weathered afterwards to prevent any damage during the perforating process. Adding the finish post-fabrication also ensured that the inside of the holes maintained the same finish as the front of the panels.

Because the panels could be viewed on both sides, it was necessary to treat both the front and back with the Solanum finish. To accommodate for this, as well as the voids left from the holes, a thicker plate material was used.

Related System

Guardrail

Custom guardrail systems are a critical component of providing a design which is both safe and friendly for unique architectural environments. Zahner works with designers to provide bespoke handrail and guardrail systems for their projects.

Unique balcony design using Solanum Steel

Capitol Federal Hall at the University of Kansas

Detail of the Solanum Steel Balcony at Capitol Federal Hall

40 Bond Street

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Residential New York City Handel Architects, Herzog & de Meuron Brown, Green M 2007 /by cmorris

40 Bond Street in New York City

Designed by Herzog & de Meuron with Handel Architects, 40 Bond Street is an Ian Schrager luxury residence located in the NoHo District of Manhattan. Zahner provided the building’s cladding in pre-patinated copper and mirror polish stainless steel.

The building is the first residential project in the United States designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. The residence is also the firm’s first building in New York City. The copper and stainless steel were formed as bell-shapes which adorn the facade of the building. The reflective stainless steel sits behind a layer of cast glass, creating an intriguing light effect behind the facade’s glass exterior.

Since its completion in 2007, the building 40 Bond Street has become an important architectural icon in New York City. The building has influenced the current generation of architectural developments, influencing the design of luxury residences across the city.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Viewed from certain angles, the curved glass reflects the stainless steel underneath, making them nearly as reflective as chrome. From other points of view, the glass reads simply as glass, which, because of its unconventional application, is enough to stop passersby in their tracks. “We wanted the building to look like it was shrink-wrapped in glass,” according to Ashesh Saheba of Handel Architects in an interview in Metals in Construction.

The elevation of the rear facade the facade of the front. However, instead of the stainless steel and glass, the north facade uses blackened copper. The custom copper rear facade matches the bell-shaped mullion shapes of the glass front.

Over the decades, copper will slowly evolve, developing a green patina, a protective oxidization layer which hardens on the surface. In this sense, the building will eventually come to match the tonality of the front facade, unifying aesthetics over the years.

PATINATED COPPER ON THE 40 BOND STREET'S NORTH ELEVATION.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Patinated copper on the building's north elevation.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

200 Eleventh

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Highrise New York City Selldorf Architects Brown, Silver L 2010 /by cmorris

200 Eleventh Avenue in Chelsea

The 19-story building is supported by a 3-story plinth which serves as a base for the 16 stories above it. This base’s material palette and massing (terracotta cladding and blackened steel window frames) is in harmony with the surrounding industrial buildings, and also serves to set the tone for the less subtle forms on the tower.

The tower’s design sensibility builds on the aesthetics of the neighboring areas. Architect Annabelle Selldorf pointed out in an Arch Record interview that “The streetscape is already starting to get lost among glass high-rises.” Instead of designing a building which challenges the neighborhood’s character, the architect developed a style which enhances the surrounding architectural style with an update.

The architects wanted to create a new kind of living experience by allowing residents in the high-rise to park outside their front doors on their floor. Residents access the car elevator through a driveway at the base of the building. Each car has an electronic pass that opens the elevator and automatically directs the elevator to the appropriate floor. Residents then proceed to their floor and park in their private garage.

The 19-floor residential tower at 200 Eleventh Avenue

Ribbon-like quality of the stainless steel forms at 200 Eleventh Avenue.

Detail of the 200 Eleventh Ave stainless steel facade.

Creating Integrated Architecture with Design Assist

The details of these stainless steel forms were roughly defined during the planning process, so that the finer details could be solidified with Zahner’s Design Assist team. This meant that the design would be fully defined for fabrication in the Zahner plant, and that the details would integrate tightly into the Selldorf design plan.

This kind of collaborative building process is key to the development of smart connections and high-end metalwork. Zahner worked closely with the architects at Selldorf to match their intent while operating within the constraints of the project’s stainless steel construction.

The mockup for the stainless steel metalwork at the Zahner factory in Kansas City.

Zahner welder Kerry Butler with the 200 Eleventh mockup at the Kansas City factory.

Animation shows the design iterations of the stainless steel connection detail.

The 3-frame animation shows the design assist process for the curving form connection, from the original 3D model to the final unitized system that Zahner would produce. The mockup that was produced at the Zahner fabrication facility features this final design connection that was used on the 200 Eleventh Residences. This highly crafted connection is finished with the Angel Hair texture on stainless steel.

Waipolu Gallery

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Museum, Residential Hawaii, Oahu--Hawaii Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Blue, Brown, Indigo, Red M 2009 /by cmorris

Waipolu Gallery and Studio

The Waipolu Gallery, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, was designed by Peter Bohlin of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ). Built to house a privately-owned collection of post-World War II painting and sculpture, the structure offers a stunning setting for appreciating art.

Zahner fabricated the custom façade finished in Dirty Penny copper. The patinated surface will continue to evolve over time, much like the aging of the sculptures displayed within.

In 2010, Waipolu Gallery received the North American Copper in Architecture award in addition to several design awards for the work of BCJ architects.

Detail of the custom patina on copper panels for the Waipolu Gallery.

Panoramic photo of the Waipolu Gallery and Studio during construction

“The biggest challenge was to make this a great place – to be brilliant to the art for this client, in this place. I thrive on the challenge and the opportunity to make a great building and an extraordinary place. One of the great pleasures in architecture is to be able to reflect people with places and then — how to make things – how to shape them.”
— Peter Bohlin

The gallery’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean to the south and Diamond Head to the northeast afford views from the building itself, shown above (during construction).

Detail of the copper window framing for Waipolu Gallery during construction

Photo of the Waipolu Gallery facade during construction

Detail of the interior metalwork, fabricated by Zahner for the Waipolu Gallery.

“Malleability of the material was important due to the fact that the installation was occurring at a great distance from the fabrication shop and some shaping in the field was necessary,” said the project architect, Campie Ellis. “We also liked the idea that the building’s coloring would change over time, creating an evolving work or sculpture.”