Brown | Zahner

Trinity River

Trinity River Audubon Center

Designed by New Mexico-based architectural firm Antoine Predock PC, the new project is connected to one of the largest inner-city forests in the United States. The Building serves as an exhibit hall for both the interior and exterior natural phenomena.

Completed in 2008, the project uses a precursor to Solanum Steel, a surface Zahner designed for long-term durable exterior steel surfaces. Zahner was the producer and installer of the weathering steel wall panels used on the exterior facade.

The is the first LEED-Certified building constructed by the Parks and Recreation Department of Dallas, Texas. It includes a vegetated roof, rainwater collection systems, recycled construction materials and energy eficient systems.

Covered area at the Trinity River Audubon Center.

Zahner is a long-time fabricator and collaborator for Predock Architecture, having provided the engineered facades for the Museum of Science and Industry in Florida, the Hoag Rawling Museum in Colorado, the Tacoma Museum of Art in Washington, and the El Paso Federal Courthouse in Texas.

South entrance for the Trinity River Audubon Center.

Detail of the Trinity River Audubon Center in Dallas, Texas

Detail of the South entrance to the Trinity River Audubon Center.

Aerial photograph of the Trinity River Audubon site.

Treasure Island

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Entertainment Las Vegas--Nevada YWS Architects Brown, Gold, Silver M 2005 /by cmorris

Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas

Designed by YWS Architects of Las Vegas, Nevada, Zahner provided the engineering and fabrication of two large winged stainless steel elements at the northeast side entry of the casino. These ‘wings’ are constructed of steel tubing and aluminum ZEPPS Components, and were clad with an aluminum sheet sub-surface and then finished with stainless steel skins.

Each of the wings were finished with a different alloy of stainless steel, to create a color distinction between the two. The east wing was finished using a brushed stainless steel surface. The west wing with PVD coated stainless steel panels for a copper hue.

The project uses Ti-Stainless or PVD Coated Stainless, a high-performance surface that can be used to achieve gold, copper, bronze, and brass tones in stainless steel. The material is now available to the architectural community, and has a longer lifespan than similar metals such as anodized aluminum.

Related Surface

Treasure Island

Building the Treasure Island Winged Entrance

The project was an early use of the ZEPPS Process for building complex curvilinear forms. Each of the forms was defined digitally and manufactured at Zahner in Kansas City. The forms were each clad using flat-seam panels.

ZEPPS™ Panel understructure for Treasure Island wings.

View of Treasure Island's pipe understructure.

The Treasure Island panels arrive at the job site in Las Vegas.

View of Treasure Island after Aluminum sub-surface has been secured.

The panels are packed onto delivery trucks to ship to Las Vegas.

Treasure Island in CAD, showing the square pipe understructure.

The ZEPPS™ Panels are installed on the Treasure Island entrance.

View of Treasure Island after substantial completion.

Each wing is approximately 32′ tall. The units were constructed in Kansas City and transported to Las Vegas for erection. Zahner has produced multiple structures and surfaces in Las Vegas.

Taubman Museum

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Museum Roanoke--Virginia Randall Stout Architects Brown L 2008 /by cmorris

Taubman Museum in Roanoke, Virginia

The City of Roanoke, Virginia is situated in a famously mountainous landscape. Situated at the the southern end of Shenandoah Valley, with Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians, its location is not where one would think to find a contemporary museum. However, this was the objective, to develop a museum as part of a comprehensive plan to invigorate the city.

Designed by Randall Stout Architects, the building includes a range of metal components manufactured and installed by Zahner engineers and artisans. Zahner was responsible for engineering, fabrication, and installation of the exterior secondary structure and facade. Zahner also provided interior metal surfaces for the project.

The building’s earth-toned exterior is a custom-patina product that Zahner refined for the Museum. Roano Zinc is a zinc plate surface with a custom patina. The preweathered surface provides a stable, matte surface, which stands the test of time against weathering. This preweathered zinc metalwork is used on both the exterior and interior surfaces. The surface of the lightly reflective metal is stainless steel with Angel Hair, a Zahner-patented mechanical finish on stainless steel.

The project’s secondary structure used to create the complex angles and curves used ZEPPS, a system developed by Zahner for constructing unique shapes. The system was used to design and build the complex forms used in the project. ZEPPS simplified the construction process, ensuring a smooth delivery for the building’s unique forms.

Spaceport America

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Airport, Museum New Mexico Foster & Partners, SMPC Architects Brown L 2011 /by cmorris

New Mexico Spaceport Authority Building

Spaceport America is the first private spaceport in the world. Located in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, the new terminal to the stars was designed by Foster + Parners with architectural and engineering services by URS team. The Terminal Hangar Facility is itself a hangar for aircraft, and it provides a space for both the visitors and space tourists, as well as the spaceships themselves.

Zahner was selected as the supplier and installer of the outer Solanum Steel panels which guide visitors into the building. The material is suited both in color and in performance for the New Mexico landscape surrounding the structure. The organic shape of the building rises out of the golden desert as a functional spaceport for the center of international space tourism.

Detail of the eggplant-toned Solanum surface at the entrance to Spaceport America.

Building Spaceport America

Zahner produced the Solanum steel gates which unveil the planes within as well as the tapered entrance as visitors first approach the Spaceport. The exterior’s pre-weathered steel facade panels were installed by Zahner field operators on various aspects of the building envelope.

In addition to fabricating and installing the custom exterior panel system, Zahner was brought on as a consulting partner to explore different artistic possibilities for both the interior and exterior metalwork. The team explored a variety of surface options with the design team.

Spaceport America nears completion in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

View of the massive Solanum-clad doors on the Spaceport America.

Photograph of the header panels before installation on Spaceport America.

Detail of the Solanum surface at the hangar.

Related Surface

Spaceport America

The project is commissioned by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) and Virgin Galactic, the company forging the future of space travel for individual citizens. Designed to have minimal carbon impact and meeting many energy requirements, the project is designed to achieve LEED Platinum accreditation.

The low-lying shape of the spaceport benefits from thermal mass, buffering the building from extreme heat and colds common in the New Mexico landscape, as well as catching the westerly winds for ventilation. Natural light enters via skylights, and the glazed east wall provides a platform for viewing the runway.

Detail of the Solanum weathering steel-clad gate system.

McMurtry Building

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education Stanford--California Bora Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro Brown, Orange L 2015 /by cmorris

McMurtry Building for the Department of Art and Art History

A work of architecture which both matches the surrounding aesthetics and yet stands out as an icon of its own, the McMurtry Building is a unique architectural project in Stanford, California. The structure features Zahner craftsmanship in both its custom patinated zinc facade and the courtyard’s grand stairway.

The McMurtry Building was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro whose design team worked with executive designers Boora Architects to bring this 100,000-square-foot project to fruition. The building was named for donors Burt & Deedee McMurtry who contributed over a third of the building’s costs. The campus building brings studio art, design, art history, film, and media studies together under a zinc roof.

Zahner’s scope required a unique warm-toned brown patinated zinc, which would encompass the roof, facades, soffit, and other areas of the building. Zahner developed this preweathered patina on zinc in multiple variations as part of the Design Assist process.

During the development of details, three final ‘color’ options were presented in mockup form. The architect then narrowed the selection down to the finalized stable patina option. The chosen patina has a rich brown hue, interspersed with variegated grey and umber. The tone defines the McMurtry Building.

McMurtry Building in Stanford, California, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

McMurtry Building interior gathering area for students.

About the McMurtry Building’s Design

The building’s design includes stacking cantilevered forms, broken by a sloping diagonal on both the east and west sides. This balanced criss-crossing of elements divides the various disciplines within its space.

In a speech delivered at the McMurtry Building groundbreaking, principal-in-charge Charles Renfro expounded on the building’s unique design approach. He describes how the two interwoven ‘strands’ influence the building’s form. The strands divide as well as unite the building’s two wings. At one end, classrooms serve as a clean learning space, and at the other, artist studios provide a work area. The strands come together the building’s rooftop communal space, and again the spaces are united at the ground floor library for art and architecture.

The strand of the southern wing is clad in preweathered zinc. Zahner performed the design-engineering and manufacture of the zinc aspects of the McMurtry Building. Zahner also performed the installation of zinc panels and metalwork, working to ensure a high-quality product for the architect and client.

McMurtry Building for the Department of Art and Art History.

Detail of the Zinc panels on-site at the McMurtry Building in California.

Detail of the custom zinc ceiling corner and facade for the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

The soffit area is detailed with a preweatehred custom zinc with custom panel-patterns.

Detail of the cantilevered facade with custom-patinated zinc metalwork, on the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Creating a custom roof and facade with Design Assist

Before making the actual facade and roof panels, Zahner was selected to design-engineer the exterior cladding systems. Hiring Zahner through a separate Design Assist contract, the architects were able to solidify the design details before building the actual project.

As part of the Design Assist contract, Zahner also provided multiple mockups for the zinc rain screen. The final mockup was installed just North of the actual McMurtry Building on the University campus. This mockup focused on many of the most difficult and complex aspects of the facade, soffit, and roof. By creating a mockup, the entire project team was able to predict and better develop the final product.

The McMurtry mockup was installed on-site in Stanford, California.

Patina technicians in the Zahner Dallas facility create the custom patina on zinc.

The building's cantilevered form highlights the rooftop area's custom patina on zinc.

Detailed of the corner where the zinc facade meets the zinc soffit.

Custom zinc ceiling soffits and staircase at the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

The McMurtry Building's cantilevered forms (zinc panels across the top).

Detail of the custom zinc interior atrium staircase at the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Custom zinc ceiling soffit for the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Detail of the zinc ceiling soffit and recessed lighting.

Detailed metalwork uses Zahner's preweathered custom zinc patina.

West side of the McMurtry Building, detail of the copper-toned patina on zinc.

Detail of the east utility area. The zinc provides an alternative to cor-ten weathering steel.

Cafe on the east side of the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Utility area of the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Detail of the corner edge of the zinc facade and soffit.

Zinc roof with a custom patina, McMurtry Building in California.

The McMurtry project is among several projects featuring Zahner manufacturing at the University campus. Zahner also worked on the WRNS-designed Hoover Garage which is located just a few minutes from the the McMurtry Building.

Kansas City Zoo

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Zoo Kansas City BNIM Brown M 1995 /by cmorris

The Deramus Education Pavilion at the Kansas City Zoo

Designed by BNIM, the Deramus Education Pavilion was created to symbolize the Kansas City Zoo and provide a preparatory experience for every zoo visitor. Zahner provided the custom copper standing seam and bold batten roof panels. These featured built-in gutters which were formed to create a unique geometry on the surface.

The roof systems throughout the project were installed as raw sheet, and will be allowed to naturally age. Over the years, the project has developed a dark brown patina, and after a few decades, will develop a deep green-blue patina.

The copper sheets were developed as standing seam and bold batten roof panels. These were designed with custom built-in gutters formed to cap the roof’s unique geometry.

Related System

Canopy

Custom canopies fabricated with Zahner engineering benefit from high-quality craft and attention to detail. Zahner engineers work with designers and contractors to develop integrated systems which meet a range of desired aesthetics, from historic restorations and filigree to contemporary geometric forms.

Aerial imagery of the Deramus entrance pavilion at the Kansas City Zoo.

The design of the building integrates many sustainable strategies. The building plan takes advantage of the site’s solar orientation. Operable windows are a part of the building’s envelope on the south, east, and west facades, allowing for natural cross ventilation to occur when appropriate. A highly energy-efficient HVAC system was sought, and several energy efficiency measures were employed in the design to minimize the energy used throughout the building. Extensive use of natural daylighting is incorporated into the envelope of the building.

A few examples of the materials used in the building design are as follows: structure made completely of salvaged or sustainably managed wood products, a copper roof that is comprised of 80% post-consumer waste copper and ‘waste’ marble floors (that is, floors made from marble that has been rejected for other purposes).

Irving Convention Center

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Convention Center, LEED, Parking Structure Dallas--Texas, Irving--Texas, Las Colinas--Texas Beck Group, RMJM Architecture, RMJM Hillier, Studio Hillier Brown, Gold XL 2010 /by cmorris

The Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas

Completed in June of 2010, the project is designed by RMJM + Hillier. The convention center is located in Las Colinas, a master-planned community within the city of Irving, which is itself situated halfway between sister cities Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

The project features a Zahner-engineered and produced copper curtain-wall. The entire surface of the project is custom perforated and bumped with a pattern unique to the building. The surface integrates the ZIRA Process for generating the embossed and punched surface.

The surface was installed as mill-finish copper, which means that the raw ‘red’ copper surface will go through a long process of patination. Within weeks of installation, the project had already begun to darken in areas, and within a year, the whole building had a deep bluish brown patina. This natural process is a result of the temperature, moisture, and pollution in the air, which causes the material to at first darken, and eventually change to greens and blues many years from now.

Achieving LEED Status

In 2013, the Irving Convention Center was awarded LEED Silver status for the built design’s sustainable development. Zahner played a role in ensuring the building’s construction would meet requirements:

From an operational standpoint, the “stacked” building gains efficiencies with its heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, translating into a more energy-efficient structure. The vertical plan also meant a smaller footprint of land was needed.
The copper exterior is more than just a design element. The no-maintenance material translates into lower costs for the center, eliminating the need for painting every few years to maintain its appearance.
Perforations in the copper skin also provide an important role for energy efficiency, providing built-in shade while using the natural currents of the wind to create a cushion of cooling air between it and the building, decreasing the need for air-conditioning while in essence, shading itself.
The trusses of the massive 4000-ton steel structure were designed so that they could be sourced domestically; much of the steel came from recycled sources nearby in North Texas and Oklahoma.

Knowing that the pattern would overlap with itself in certain areas, the architects at RMJM Hillier experimented within the bounds of possible perforations to see how two layers of the same material would interact with each other. The result is a smart pattern not unlike the results of moire patterns.

Moire patterns from overlapping perforated metal.

Quatrefoil moire pattern appears in the double-layered perforated metal.

The surfaces above show details of the pattern used and how the frequentoverlaps throughout the project will result in clever patterning. The project was completed in early 2011.

The design is also unique in that at first glance, the material seems impossible. From a medium distance, the metal surface seems to float in space, because the circular shapes are pieced together via slight ‘bridges’ or connecting sections of copper. The effect is that from a near distance, the copper circular sections of the perforation appear to float.

Gulf Islands

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Residential Vancouver BC AA Robins Brown, Orange, Red M 2012 /by cmorris

Gulf Islands Residence, Pacific Northwest

With jutting lines of burnt umber flying across the horizon, this remote single-family house is situated in rocky southern shores of the Pacific Ocean near Vancouver, British Colombia. Tony Robins of AA Robins Architect took on this 6,500 sq ft cladded challenge as lead architect and gave this hidden gem a contemporary style reminiscent of the modern sculptor Alexander Calder.

The exterior and interior cladding of the home is done primarily with A. Zahner Company’s trademarked patina, Solanum Steel weathering steel. This pre-weathered steel surface provides a vibrant and warm color to complement the surrounding blue ocean and sky. Comparative to raw weathering steel, Solanum Steel offers a stable surface which reduces runoff from the natural patina on its surface.

Related Surface

Gulf Islands

The Solanum Steel exterior of the Gulf Islands Residence appears bright umber in the afternoon light.

Photo of the interior Solanum Steel application. Light flows through the perforations on metal's surface.

Zahner engineered a CAD layout of the panels on the Gulf Islands Residence.

Fabricating the Weathered Steel Facade

The only way to reach this island is by taking a ferry directly from Vancouver, traveling through the narrow passage separating Mayne Island and Galiano Island. Because traveling to the house is an adventure of itself, the structural modules that make up the house had to be prefabricated, shipped over by ferry, and driven up the site on 23 trucks. Zahner provided the Solanum Steel pre-weathered sheets to local fabricators.

The design has many interior elements that bring the modern edge inside such as skylights framed with red steel beams, giant glass walls, and high windows hidden by the perforated Solanum Steel surface. The high windows are hidden so the rock-shaped perforations can cast light onto the adjacent wall adding a playful pattern to the room throughout the day. This same perforated pattern can be seen with the powder-coated aluminum on the edge of the infinity pool that is equipped with a waterslide.

This residence at Gulf Islands evokes the ebb and flow of its surrounding landscape. To learn more about Zahner’s custom patinas, see the surfaces page of the website, or contact Zahner about developing a custom patina to fit the needs of your project.

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.

Freedom Center

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Cincinnati--Ohio Blackburn Architects, Bora Architects Brown L 2004 /by cmorris

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

A new copper and stone building rises in downtown Cincinnati, an icon in its own right in the midst of other grand architectural works such as Libeskind’s Ascent at Roebling’s Bridge and Zaha Hadid’s Rosenthal Center.

The Freedom Center features copper flat seam wall panels and associated flashings. The material was installed as raw copper panels and allowed to age naturally. This authentic process meant that the bright red copper quickly developed a dark reddish-brown patina, which will mature into its final form of light blues and greens. The museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Museum, which means that the Freedom Center has access to the immense stored collection of The Smithsonian.

The architectural team for the Freedom Center was designed by BORA with Blackburn Architects. Design of the new building began in 1998, broke ground in 2002, and was completed in 2004.

Related Surface

Freedom Center

Upward view of the Freedom Center copper panels which have patinated to a dark red-brown.

Detail of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Photograph of the curving paths which cut through Freedom Center.

The location of the project is just north of the Ohio river, a significant location noted by Brian Libby in the Metropolis Mag:

‘When escaped slaves made their way north to freedom along the Underground Railroad, the Ohio River was a place to celebrate a bit before continuing on. Ohio law banned slavery, but superseding federal law allowed whites to re-capture slaves that had crossed the river and return them to Southern slave owners. As a result, most slaves using the Railroad continued further north.’

The notion of continuing on can be seen in the design of the building, as curving paths cut through the north/south axis of the building, further emphasizing the continued movement for freedom and social rights.

Copper panels will continue to weather at Freedom Center.

installation of raw copper panels at Freedom Center.

Resources and Press

“It takes courage to place a monument to racial harmony and diversity at the doorstep to your city. We had the nerve to do that.” — New York Times, Bruce Webber, August 01, 2004.

“One of my big concerns was that we’d be overshadowed by the stadiums,” says Freedom Center CEO Ed Rigaut. “But the museum really stands tall. I’ve even heard a few people comment that, in a way, we dwarf the stadiums.” — Metropolis Magazine, October 1, 2004.

”I see a museum not as a place that limits our vision, but one that enhances our vision. Museums have traditionally not taken a transformative role, but that’s changing. The Freedom Center, like our museum, can ask itself, ‘Why did we build this?’ Not just to look back, but to shape a different present and future.” — Cincinnati Enquirer, Krista Ramsey, August 1, 2004.

”It’s a learning center whose high-tech, interactive displays allow visitors to witness ongoing struggles for freedom worldwide.” — Town & Country, Annette Weisman, November, 2004.