Dallas--Texas | Zahner

Pacific Plaza Park Pavilion

July 24, 2020/in Landscape Architecture Civic, Pergola, Urban Design Dallas--Texas HKS Line Silver M 2020 /by cmorris

The City of Dallas hired SWA Group to masterplan one of several site in Downtown Dallas since they are experts at understanding the benefits of urban heat island reduction. HKS Line was brought in to work in concert with them, developing geometries and patterns for an elegant open-air pavilion, which draws inspiration from the former railroads that transited through Dallas during the westward expansion.

Zahner was brought on board to provide Zahner Assist services, budgeting and ultimately engineering and fabrication of 323 unique perforated panels that make up the elliptical pavilion. For those conversant with Morse code, the perforated panels can tell a story. In addition to reducing the urban island heat, it also provides dappled light for casual visitors.

Pacific Park Pavilion

Photo by Ramsey Attia, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Pacific Park Pavilion

Photo by Ramsey Attia, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Pacific Park Pavilion

Photo by Ramsey Attia, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Pacific Park Pavilion

Photo by Ramsey Attia, ARKO | © A. Zahner Company

Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas

June 12, 2017/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Education Dallas--Texas Overland Partners Blue-grey, Indigo, Magenta, Violet M 2017 /by cmorris

Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center: The University of Texas at Dallas

Overland Partners designed the exterior for the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas to evoke the movement of a comet in homage to the school’s mascot. Zahner collaborated with the architect and contractor JE Dunn to develop a perforated system informed by orbital paths.

Exterior of Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center featuring Louvered ZIRA perforated panels.

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Metaphorically, this motif draws an analogy between comets, which move away from the sun but are ultimately pulled back by the gravitational force of the sun or a planet, and alumni, who graduate to pursue a new direction, but retain their attachment and loyalty to the university.

Overland PartnersArchitectat Overland Partners

Exterior of Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at night.

Perforated aluminum panels featuring the Zahner patented Louvered ZIRA™ technique wrap three sides of the building’s second story and the upper portion of the interior lobby. Circular perforated tabs in varying orientation create a pattern that captures and reflects light, creating the illusion of movement.

Detail: Zahner patented Louvered ZIRA perforated panels. Color-shifting paint by Valspar.

Each panel is coated in color-shifting paint by Valspar, lending an additional layer of ethereality to the building. The surface changes depending on one’s vantage point as well as with the varying light throughout the day. The panelized system uses the Zahner proprietary Drop & Lock™ system for easy and secure installation.

Interior aluminum panels featuring Zahner patented Louvered Zira technique.

The panel system adds interest to the building’s exte
rior and interior features while also providing shade for the building’s users. The Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center opened in September 2017 to facilitate active connections among the current student body and alumni through space for large and small-scale events.

Louvered Zira panels create shade for interior spaces.

Interior shadows cast from exterior panels

Cowboys Stadium

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Arena & Stadium Dallas--Texas HKS Silver XL 2009 /by cmorris

Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Designed by HKS, the Dallas Cowboys Stadium is among the largest in the world, seating 100,000 people. Zahner produced the stainless steel perimeter metalwork on the exterior and the interior of the stadium.

Due to the geometric complexities of these areas, HKS selected Zahner to produce the custom finished steel work. Zahner design-engineered the HKS entrance archway using ZEPPS, a system created for creating and manufacturing complex forms. Using the ZEPPS system allowed for fabricating structural sections that were easily installed.

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HKS’s spirit of cooperation in providing leadership, design innovation, delivery and execution to our project superseded even my high expectations and helped bring our dreams to life. AT&T Stadium has proven itself not only as a football stadium, but as a venue for other sports and large entertainment events. It has been an instant hit – recognizable worldwide.

Jerry JonesOwner, President and General Manager, Dallas Cowboys.at

Ticketing & Giftshop at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Detail of the stainless steel metalwork on the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Wyly Theater

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture LEED, Performance Center Dallas--Texas Kendall Heaton Associates, OMA, REX Architecture Silver L 2008 /by cmorris

Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre

Situated in the arts district of downtown Dallas, the critically acclaimed Wyly Theatre was designed by REX Architecture and Rem Koolhaas OMA. Heralded as one of the most intelligently conceived performance centers in the world, the Wyly is designed to accommodate traditional and experimental performances of music, dance, and cinema in a uniquely rigged space that rapidly transforms to meet various performance requirements.

Such a unique interior space called for a similarly unique exterior. Zahner provided the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of the extruded anodized aluminum facade.

Related Project

Winspear Opera House

Zahner produced the canopy which covers the Winspear as well as the Strauss Square and Sammons Park. These two venues offer outdoor performances and projected shows.

Detail of the perforated aluminum lighting system for Wyly Theatre.

Wyly Theatre by REX Architecture & Rem Koolhaus OMA

Designing the Facade for Wyly Theatre

The architects contracted Zahner in a Design Assist process to develop a solution for the building façade. The process enables both the design and fabrication teams to solidify a clear design concept, increasing efficiencies before moving to the fabrication phase.

The concept for the Wyly façade began with an idea that, through design iteration and charrette, culminated in taking the idea one step further. The result is an extruded aluminum façade that emulates the billowing fabric of a closed curtain. Perforations in key areas allow for elegant lighting of the building’s signage.

As part of the Design Assist process, a mockup is produced to further aid in downstream planning. The mockup serves a critical function in each project, often revealing previously unknown insights and methodologies for efficient fabrication and installation.

Winspear Opera House

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Performance Center Dallas--Texas Foster & Partners, Kendall Heaton Associates Grey, Red, Silver L 2009 /by cmorris

Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House

The Winspear Opera House is one of five venues comprising the new Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. Zahner worked on several of them. Zahner was also responsible for the Wyly Theatre, directly across the street from the Winspear Opera House.

Zahner produced the canopy which covers the Winspear as well as the Strauss Square and Sammons Park. These two venues offer outdoor performances and projected shows.

Designing the Canopy

Zahner worked closely with the architect to develop a high-quality engineered surface that is easily installed and provides long-term performance. The Winspear Opera House canopy was designed as a solar shade by the architects at Foster.

Photograph of the Winspear Opera House at night in Dallas, Texas

The angles of the massive fins were determined by following the path of the sun. The design intent was to eliminate most of the direct sunlight on the Winspear Opera House and surrounding park, while increasing the ambient light underneath the canopy. Foster’s design creates a cooler microclimate around the building, and the canopy significantly reduces the energy requirements of the Winspear Opera House.

Winspear Opera House and Strauss Square outdoor performance space.

The Arts in all their many exciting forms are a bridge between people – Annette Strauss.

Detail of the Winspear Opera House aluminum canopy

Detail of the Winspear Opera House Canopy

The high-craft aluminum canopy has aircraft-grade connections and is engineered and fabricated with the highest design standards. The photographs show above show the artful design layout of the fins integrating into the canopy framework.

Interior Metalwork

In addition to producing the canopy which shades the entire campus of the Winspear, Zahner also engineered and fabricated the entrance desks in the theater’s lobby and atrium. These desks are produced using half-inch thick anodized aluminum.

Zahner fabricated three desks for the interior atrium, which serve as ticketing booths and winebars. Each of the desks feature high-quality connections that are completely hidden from plane view. The design is a slight curve which matches the general curvature of the interior layout.

The Winspear Opera House is adjacent to the Wyly Theatre in Dallas whose exterior surface was also engineered and produced by Zahner.

Trinity River

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Landscape Architecture LEED, Museum Dallas--Texas Antoine Predock Architect PC Brown L 2008 /by cmorris

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.

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

SMU Collins

August 15, 2016/in Interior Architecture Education Dallas--Texas Gensler Blue, Green M 2005 /by cmorris

SMU Collins Executive Center in Dallas, Texas

Designed by Gensler for Southern Methodist University, The Collins Executive Center is a part of the Cox school of business, and serves as a way to connect students with real-world business professionals and entrepreneurs.

Zahner provided the contractors with pre-patinated copper with artistic variation. For these interior panels, Zahner used Star Blue Copper, a custom patina on copper. Zahner developed the pre-weathered copper panels in the fabrication and patination facility in Kansas City, and delivered the panels to the installers in Dallas.

Related Surface

SMU Collins

Custom copper patina on interior metal panels at the SMU Collins study room.

Detail of the artistic pre-patinated copper at SMU Collins.

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.

DFW Airport

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Airport, Transportation Dallas--Texas Corgan Associates, HKS, HNTB, HOK Silver XL 2005 /by cmorris

Dallas Fort Worth Airport, Terminal D

The new Terminal D at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport is the largest square-foot project completed to date using Zahner’s Inverted Seam roof and facade system. The new terminal was built to give international travelers a lasting positive impression of their arrival and departure from the United States.

The building envelope for this work includes approximately 500,000 square feet of surface covered with 11 acres of stainless steel cladding for the roof. Just over two miles of gutter and five miles of fascia panels adorn the roof. The entirety of the building envelope metal system was included in the scope for the Zahner team. Zahner worked with the architects at HNTB, Corgan Associates, and HKS, to complete this vast project.

Aerial photo of the DFW Airport Terminal D with Inverted Seam roof system.

Energy Efficiency

The Zahner Inverted Seam roof is part of the total low-energy solution for the project, reducing the cooling costs by more than 90 percent during peak electrical demand hours. The Terminal D development program includes design of the airport’s central thermal storage tank, a structure that utilizes less expensive electricity at night to create a store of ice to cool the terminal during daytime hours when rates are higher. The project was reviewed by the Clean Airport Initiative team of experts to evaluate incorporated features of sustainable design and to use it as a case study for upcoming guidelines for sustainable airport design.