Silver | Zahner

Treasure Island

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.

The Modern

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Dallas--Texas, Forth Worth--Texas Kendall Heaton Associates, Tadao Ando Silver L 2002 /by cmorris

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando as a new building for the city’s growing collection of contemporary art. Zahner provided its custom aluminum facade.

The new arthouse contains over 2,600 works of art, with a wide range of artworks by artists such as Chuck Close, Anselm Kiefer, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, and Andy Warhol. The Museum is located adjacent to the Kimbell Art Museum designed by Louis I. Kahn, and near the Amon Carter Museum, designed by Philip Johnson. The previous location for the MAMF collection was housed in a small nondescript building also nearby.

Zahner was responsible for engineering, fabricating, and installing the aluminum facade. Heavy plates of aluminum are a signature style of the architect Tadao Ando, and the surface is used throughout the building.

The facade design used was a Zahner patented Inverted Seam wall panel serving as a pressure equalized rainscreen. The natural aluminum surface was bead-blasted and clear anodized in a custom. The aluminum panels were specially cast to achieve a highly consistent anodized finish. The 5mm thick plates are five feet and width by as long as 25′ in length.

View of the aluminum panels reflected on the north face of the Modern

Inverted Seam® metal system for metal facades

Custom metal details where aluminum wall panels meet concrete slab

The reflected image of The Modern Art Museum at dusk.

View of the Modern with Deborah Butterfield bronze horse sculpture

Detail of the aluminum surface at the main entrance of The Modern

Aluminum soffit canopy and wall panels at The Modern

Roxy Paine sculpture in front of the Fort Worth Modern

Museum of Glass

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Pacific Northwest, Tacoma--Washington Arthur Erickson, Nick Milkovich Architects, Thomas Cook Reed Reinvald Black, Silver L 2002 /by cmorris

Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington

Designed by Arthur Erickson, the Museum of Glass is dedicated to Dale Chihuly, renowned contemporary glass artist and local of Tacoma, Washington. A bridge connects the museum to downtown all the way across a freeway, displaying thousands of Dale Chihuly works along the way.

Zahner produced the metalwork for the glass bridge as well as the massive cone which can be identified throughout the downtown area. The cone was manufactured in stainless steel diamond panel system which was attached to a ZEPPS structural framework, each made by Zahner.

Related Project

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Zahner served as both the sole contractor and manufacturer in the production of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. This construction included all structural steel, glazing and cladding elements as well as fiber optics and vacuum HVAC system within the cases.

Arthur Erickson chose to leave the understructure of the ZEPPS assemblies exposed, allowing viewers to enjoy the structure which makes the exterior surface possible. Inside this cone, viewers can also watch live glass blowers producing hot glass pieces. The room reaches 90 feet and has two furnaces reaching temperatures of 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Detail of the diamond panel system used on the Museum of Glass

Detail of the reveals between diamond panels on the Museum of Glass

Interior of the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

The project was a major Design Assist effort, meaning that the architects consulted early on with Zahner, and laid the groundwork for designing an intelligent system to produce the complex geometries efficiently.

Each of the panels are made using 22ga stainless steel with an Angel Hair finish. Each row of diamond panels is a unique height and width, decreasing in size as the elevation rises.

Upward view from inside the cone during the construction of Museum of Glass. The left side of this picture, photographed during construction, shows the final surface of the exposed panels. The right side of the photograph shows the the sky filtered through the unfinished understructure of the cone.

How the Architectural Cone was Manufactured

Zahner has manufactured a number of works of architecture featuring cone-shaped elements. The conical design of the Museum of Glass project was manufactured using ZEPPS, a Zahner system for developing complex structures. ZEPPS provides a way to build not only euclidian shapes such as these, but also a method for making non-euclidian geometries.

For Museum of Glass, the architect’s design modeled digitally, and broken down using ZEPPS into layers and sections. This includes both the sheet metal cladding for the exterior rainscreen, as well as larger semi-rectangular assemblies with pre-attached waterproofing membrane.

Next, both the larger ZEPPS assemblies as well as the smaller stainless steel shingles were manufactured at Zahner in Kansas City. These parts were delivered to the Tacoma jobsite. The large ZEPPS assemblies provide the smooth curvature of the surface, and tie into the linear structural steel forms using cold-connections. Then the stainless steel skin is clad across the smooth surface of the cone.

A single ZEPPS assembly is lifted into place on the Museum of Glass

Aerial photo of the Museum of Glass during the final cladding of stainless steel across the surface

Simons Center

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Interior Architecture Education, Kinetic Art, LEED Long Island--New York Perkins Eastman / ABI Chuck Hoberman Silver S 2009 /by cmorris

Simons Center for Geometry & Physics at Stony Brook

Simons Center is new building on the Stony Brook campus which features a glass and metal kinetic art wall manufactured by Zahner. Designed by the architects at Perkins Eastman, the new facility brings a world-class mathematics and physical sciences building to the Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York. The building’s most intriguing feature is the animated stainless steel kinetic surface.

The kinetic panel system first began early development in 2008, when Zahner began working on a series of projects with the renowned kinetic artist and designer, Chuck Hoberman. Hoberman foresaw a future where kinetic surfaces could respond to environmental changes (such as temperature, moisture, and light) by opening or closing an aperture on the surface of the building itself. Today these systems are now possible, and the new Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook provides an early prototype.

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.

Several patterns designed by Hoberman Associates are featured on the interior of the new Stony Brook Facility, serving as both the building’s artistic centerpiece as well as a functional shading system. The floor-to-ceiling metal surface is made by layering four panels manufactured in perforated stainless steel. Three of the layers are motorized to open and close based on temperature requirements.

Each of the motorized panels revolve around one another on an engineered track defined by the designed components. The visual effect is like that of a flower, blossoming into a burst of patterns – hexagons, circles, squares and triangles. At one point in the cycle, the perforated patterns all are aligned, allowing the maximum open space. At the other end of the cycle, the pattern becomes an opaque mesh.

The kinetic surface spans 124 square meters and imbues the building with the functional capacity to dynamically change its opacity and sculpt the quality of light within.

Standard Parking

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure Kansas City George Butler Architects Grey, Silver L 2001 /by cmorris

Standard Parking Garage at 11th & Oak

Designed by George Butler Architects for the Power & Light District of Downtown Kansas City, this is a parking structure’s facade was constructed using stainless steel as well as perforated aluminum surface to allow airflow for an otherwise congested space.

The aluminum screen wall was engineered, custom perforated, and installed as an facade panel system. The system also has uses for unusual panel sizes and unique details, as was the case with Standard Parking. Each of the panels was installed using an the Inverted Seam dry-joint system for integrated walls. The cornice and bold stainless steel fins were engineered, fabricated and installed to digitally defined coordinates.

Four massive stainless steel-clad fins rise at the building's center.

Standard Parking Garage at 11th and Oak.

Standard Parking Garage During Construction.

Interior staircase details at Standard Parking Garage in Kansas City.

West elevation of Standard Parking Garage in Kansas City.

Detail of the Angel Hair® surface used on the stainless steel fins.

Detail of the stainless steel fins with Angel Hair® Stainless Steel.

Interior mullion attachment for the perforated metal aluminum panels.

Building the Standard Parking Garage

Zahner developed the design for Standard Parking Garage using drop and lock details to enable quick and simple installation. Each of the panels locks into anchored connections on the concrete structure. This enabled a rapid schedule for the project’s facade.

The above photographs were more than a decade after the project’s completion. Stainless steel is often chosen over aluminum due to its high-performance sheen which never dulls and requires no maintenance. Aluminum is more porous, and over time it begins to dull, but this is not yet the case with Standard Parking Garage screen-wall.

Silver Towers

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Highrise, Residential New York City James Carpenter Design Associates Silver L /by cmorris

Silver Towers Courtyard Trellis in New York

Silver Towers is a development in New York City which features Zahner manufactured perforated metal and glass systems. The courtyard, plinth and rooftop terrace design by James Carpenter Design Associates, brings an artistic approach to both the facade as well as the landscape for the residential project.

Between the two high-rise towers is a six floor plinth, the interior courtyard of which features a 75 foot light wall. Various metal and glass light fixtures which feature the artist’s pattern.

Zahner was hired by the architect to design, engineer, and fabricate these metal and glass systems. Each of the fixtures features a perforated metal floral pattern designed by the architect, contained within a glass and stainless steel lightbox.

Also known as River Place II, the project features two 57 floor twin towers and is located in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan Island. The project was developed by Larry Silverstein and completed in 2009.

Perforated panels on Hope Tower at UNMC at dusk.

Related Project

Hope Tower at UNMC

The tower serves provides a beacon for students, serving as both a navigational tool and an artistic centerpiece. Zahner provided the ti-coated stainless steel panels, perforated and prepped for installation onto the architect's engineered frame. These panels were engineered and produced at Zahner at the Kansas City plant.

Silver Towers light fixtures and metalwork.

Silver Towers Mockup at the Zahner shop.

Silver Towers Mockup with lighting system

Above is a photograph of the towers during the day. Zahner produced some metalwork at the building’s top, similar in pattern and effect to those in the building’s courtyard. This rooftop courtyard has not yet been photographed.

Silver Towers is the first project that Zahner has provided metalwork for James Carpenter Design Associates. Recently, Zahner also completed a spiraling 120 foot tower in Nebraska for the architectural firm.

SFMTA Ticket Kiosks

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Transportation San Francisco Bay Lundberg Design Silver M, S 2011 /by cmorris

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Ticket Kiosks

The SFMTA Ticket Kiosks are a series of ticketing booths in San Francisco for accessing the cable car envisioned by Lundberg Design. Zahner manufactured the custom perforated metal components for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. The designers wanted to wrap the top of the booth with imagery of the historic cable cars.

This effect was elegantly achieved by perforating the surface of stainless steel to create the light and dark tonal values of the original photographs. To achieve the mosaic-perforated imagery, ZIRA patented technology was used (designers can now create similar designs using ImageWall to generate custom perf).

Related System

SFMTA Ticket Kiosks

This technology enabled a smooth translation of the designer’s imagery to metal while also also ensuring panel-to-panel relational accuracy. This is crucial on a project such as this: The imagery is divided into a series of panels and wrapped around the sides of the small structure, so it was important that the perforations on each panel lined up with the next panel.

The photos above are from the Cable Car line are located where Powell meets Market in San Francisco. The second kiosk is located at Presidio Avenue and Geary Blvd, pictured below. Above is an image of the completed panels in the Zahner shop prior to shipping to San Francisco. Blue protective film protects the stainless surface from finger prints and dirt prior to installation.

Video and stills courtesy Ryan Hughes of Lundberg Design. Hughes managed the project from the early design phases to the project’s completion, working closely with Zahner engineers and fabricators throughout the process.

September 11 Museum

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Memorial, Museum New York City Handel Architects, Snøhetta Silver L 2014 /by cmorris

National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion

The National September 11 Memorial Museum resides in the space between where the Twin Towers once stood in New York City. Designed by Snøhetta with Handel, Zahner manufactured the custom facade skin for the building. The architects worked with Zahner engineers and designers in the Design Assist team to develop the facade system. Zahner unitized the metal systems in Kansas City and then shipped everything to the job site for installation.

Related Project

911 Memorial Overland Park

911 Museum with waterfall at the WTC Memorial.

Striating stainless steel panel system used on the 911 Museum facade.

South facade for the National September 11th Museum.

Developing the 911 Museum Metal Facade

The panels were tested for wind loads and water permeability at a special facility. The panelization method used for the project required welding studs to the reverse of each panel. Zahner-trained fabricators welded the hardware at ideal penetration so that the stud-welds wouldn’t show on the face of the metal panels.

The surface of the metal shell alternates between GB-60 polish and a No. 4 polish on stainless steel. The No. 4 polish has greater reflectivity along a linear grain, while the GB-60 surface scatters light for a more diffused look. This alternation repeats itself as a motif in not only the stainless steel facade, but also across the fenestration surface.

Detail of the 911 Museum facade in New York City.

Zahner's NS11 mockups were tested for high moisture and winds.

Zahner fabricator installs studs on the backs of NS11 Panels.

National September 11 Museum during construction

Detail of the National September 11 Museum stainless steel surface

San Diego Central Library

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Library San Diego--California Luce et Studio Silver S 2014 /by cmorris

San Diego Central Library Donor Features

Signage, artworks, and architectural features designed by Luce et Studio are featured throughout the new nine-story San Diego Central Library in downtown San Diego. The features include an illuminated mast which spans four floors on the building’s North exterior, a massive-scale replica of an orchestral bow on the exterior of the ninth floor, and custom signage to celebrate the donor spaces throughout the library.

Donor Recognition

Throughout the building’s nine stories and exterior spaces are various signifiers, art elements, and architectural features which created to recognize the generous donations made by the philanthropic community in San Diego. The Central Library’s funding is unusual for a civic building, because forty percent of the costs were covered through private fund raising, including the operational costs of running the library. The private support means that the library was built with no new taxes, bonds, or moneys from the city’s general fund.

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Signage

Signage and wayfinding design has transformed over the years from a purely utilitarian and informational, into art and design. Finding ways to make signage both useful and aesthetic has been a goal of the design-engineering and fabrication at Zahner for many years.

The San Diego Central Public Library at night.

Detail of the Mast at San Diego Central Public Library.

The Mast arrives in prefabricated sections at the site for the San Diego Central Library.

The Mast at San Diego Central Library

Luce et Studio’s design for The Mast for San Diego’s downtown Public Library was designed as a 70′ tall aluminum column, whose diameter ranges from 8′ at its top and bottom, and 12′ at its median.

The Mast is constructed in aluminum with varying perforations which run up around its length. Inside of the mast is an interior LED lighting system, which provides a beacon of star-studded lights which illuminates the facade throughout the evening hours. The mast was manufactured by Zahner in Kansas City, and installed by a local team in San Diego.

The Violin Bow at San Diego Central Library

One of the donors recognized by the Museum is the late Helen Price whose continued philanthropic giving to the museum was recognized by a 30‘ scale orchestral bow to celebrate the San Diego figure’s love for the symphony.

The bow is made using stainless steel and structural cable. Both the bow and the mast were manufactured by Zahner with design support from Wallace Engineering.

Fabricators at Zahner manufacture the signage and donor recognition for the SDCL Violin Bow.

Local installers place the violin bow and donor recognition for the Helen Price Reading Room at SDCL.

The Helen Price Reading Room violin bow artwork, by Luce et Studio at SDCL.

Detail of the head plate for the finished violin bow artwork at San Diego Central Library.

Detail of the Helen Price Reading Room violin bow artwork, by Luce et Studio at SDCL.

Joan & Irwin Jacobs Common

At the building’s South entrance are multiple signage elements for the San Diego Library Joan & Irwin Jacobs Common, recognizing the philanthropist team who donated $20 million towards the library’s operational costs.

The technique used to create the building’s southern pedestrian level signage is a signature style developed by Luce et Studio on an unrealized project for Hotel James (pictured below). The signage concept was developed by Jennifer Luce to create a third dimension for the cut-out letter shapes. Zahner manufactures a groove in each of the letters, which allows the letter to then be folded out. The concept was first created years prior, and is featured prominently as a notable signage display for the San Diego Central Library.

Custom signage concept designed by Luce et Studio for an unrealized Hotel James. The letters, laser cut from stainless steel, become three dimensional louvers, connected by a small tab.

San Diego Central Library signage with custom ornamental detailing.

Joan ? Irwin Jacobs Common donor plaque and signage for San Diego Central Library.

Joan and Irwin Jacobs Common donor plaque and signage for San Diego Central Library.

Library Bar Code Signage

One of the themes that moves throughout the entirety of the library is a bar code motif, extruding from the letter forms of various donor plaques and signage elements on both the interior and exterior surfaces of the library. The extruded letter forms also break planes and wrap around columns, walls, and concrete boundaries.

The thick metals used in the custom signage include stainless steel and bronze, and included areas that are painted, as well as areas that let the metal surface shine through, much of which uses Zahner’s Angel Hair mechanical non-directional surface treatment.

Donald C. & Elizabeth M Dickinson Popular Library ornamental donor signage for SDPL Central Library.

Exploration Floor signage recognizing the donation of Joy & Ed Frieman .

Custom donor signage for the San Diego Central Library.

Custom donor signage for the Pauline Foster Family Teen Center at San Diego Central Library.

Custom signage for the San Diego Central Library.

Joan ? Irwin Jacobs Common signage donor recognition for the San Diego Central Library .

Shiley Special Events Suite

One of the final donors donors for the new library, Darlene Shiley placed $1.2 million towards the library’s operational fund, and her donation is honored with a rooftop events suite. The entrance to the space is clad in interference stainless steel, perforated using a custom pattern. The Zahner system used to lay out the decorative metal screen panels is based on the ImageWall/ZIRA system, which also provides for a muted seam where the perforations continue across the joint’s reveal.

Regazzoni Sculpture

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Interior Architecture Education, Sculpture Asia, Doha--Qatar, International, Middle East Legorreta + Legorreta Ricardo Regazzoni Gold, Silver M /by cmorris

Ricardo Regazzoni Sculpture at Georgetown, Qatar

Forty reflective spiraling forms appear to float above the atrium at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Services in the capital city of Doha, Qatar. Completed in 2012, this project marks the fourth significant work produced by Zahner in Doha, and the second produced under the vision of architects Legorreta + Legorreta who designed the building for Georgetown University at Doha as well as the HBKU Doha University Student Center a few blocks away.

The artwork at the heart of Georgetown University was conceived by sculptor Ricardo Regazzoni, engineered by Zahner, fabricated in the Zahner shop, and installed by local installers in Doha under Zahner supervision. Each of the forms measures 38’ long, and the artwork fills an area of 82’ x 131’ over the open atrium.

Collaboration between Zahner and Regazzoni is a match of of kindred philosophies. While Regazzoni works to transform architectural columns and archways into artistic expression, Zahner works to bring architecture into the realm of art. This alignment of sensibilities between the artist and fabricator gave this project a strong sense of direction.

Regazzoni Sculpture at Georgetown University.

Upward view of individual hanging sculptures by Ricardo Regazzoni.

View from below a hanging sculpture at Georgetown Qatar, by Ricardo Regazzoni.

Design Assist for Art: The Regazzoni Sculpture

In late 1990s while working with Frank Gehry on the EMP Museum in Seattle, Zahner coined a term which has become the industry standard for building complex projects: Design Assist. The museum’s complexity required that Zahner work closely with Gehry’s office to develop the design. Design assist was first used to describe this process. Since then, design assist has become widely known as the most intelligent construction method for achieving efficient and cost-effective production of complex architectural projects. Along with frequent partner Metalabs, this process is now being applied to art.

The Regazzoni Sculpture details were developed by Zahner’s think tank of installers, engineers, and fabricators: the Design Assist team at Zahner. This group of engineers and consultants worked together with the artist to develop a system which could meet both the functional and visual standards. The team developed a mockup to test the drawings and construction processes.

Detail of the Regazzoni mockup, revealing its minimalist connections.

Rendering of the Regazzoni installation in CAD.

From Mockup to Installation: The Regazzoni Sculpture

Regazzoni’s undulating, diagonal forms were extremely intricate, requiring specialized engineering and attention to craft during every stage of their creation: from design, to fabrication, to installation. Working within Regazzoni’s vision, Zahner’s Design Assist team developed specialized details for the connections of each intricate geometric part.

Zahner began by producing a mockup of the artist’s design, providing a model that revealed the connections and provided a template for the components. The design features a weld-less connection system. It was important to eliminate welds so that the mirror-polished surface would be free of any discoloration from the welding process.

The resulting surface minimizes the appearance of fasteners, and weld discoloration. The headless pin system is almost indiscernible to the naked eye, and the connections prove to be every bit as strong as welded joints: each connection is capable of supporting 600 kilos, or five times the hanging sculpture’s weight.

Shipping the Regazzoni

Due to its complex geometry and elongated form, the Regazzoni was susceptible to bending during shipment and transportation. To accommodate for this risk, Zahner designed custom lifting rigs and crating to ensure that the piece arrived at the installation site in good condition. Below is an example of the crating, which was custom-built to efficiently and safely ship the pieces overseas to Doha, Qatar. Zahner is committed to the integrity of an artist’s vision, from the preliminary stages of design to shipment and the final days of installation.

Zahner shop personnel make measurements to align the Regazzoni sculpture.

Zahner shipment personnel package the forms in open crates for delivery.

The artist wanted a visual masterpiece with concealed connections, so that each form appears to be suspended by magic. Zahner’s biscuit extrusion is used to attach the metal tendrils to the ceiling.

Building Art & Architecture

Together with the Metalabs art services team, Zahner has completed over 70 public and private works of art for both established and emerging artists. Working with artists has expanded Zahner’s research and development team, which has in turn provided many innovative surfaces, processes, and techniques applicable to both art and architecture. Zahner’s team of engineers and fabricators have proven flexible to many kinds of projects, and have produced works of many scales. Get in touch with to learn about how Zahner can integrate into your project.