Kansas City | Zahner

Zahner Headquarters

The North Dock Expansion at the Zahner Campus

Designed by Crawford Architects, the Zahner Headquarters façade features undulating ZEPPS assemblies. ZEPPS, the Zahner process used to create custom curving surfaces, are used in projects around the world. Typically, ZEPPS assemblies consist of structural aluminum fins and ribs which are then clad in stainless steel, zinc, or any other building skin material.

The design of the Zahner Headquarters, however, was inspired from examining the ZEPPS understructure; the assemblies were intentionally left exposed, revealing the beauty of the engineering behind what is usually covered over. Zahner engineered and produced the exterior façade, naming it ‘Cloud Wall,’ and subsequently developed an app for designers to easily create similar custom façade iterations online.

The billowing curtain wall features glass inset between each fin. Part of the Inverted Seam system, Zahner developed a patented Drop & Lock method for engineering and installing panelized dry-set glass. Installation is quick and easy via male and female connections.

With a nearly 40-foot high ceiling 10,000-square feet of added space, the expansion allows Union Sheet Metal Workers to easily fabricate large-scale ZEPPS and other assemblies.

A crane is used to hoist each panel into place.

Zahner Installers install the glass panels.

Zahner Headquarters viewed from the North.

Zahner Headquarters viewed from the East.

Photograph of the Cloud Wall during construction.

Zahner employees have a safety lunch in the shop prior to the Cloudwall Installation.

Photograph of the shop interior during the production of MIC.

Learn more about the Zahner Headquarters Expansion

Green Building & Design Magazine Crawford Architects June 2012.
Architect Magazine Zahner Cloud Wall September 2011.
Archdaily Zahner Factory Expansion September 2011.
Zahner Product: GlassFin™ Curtainwall
Zahner Product: Drop & Lock™ Metal Panel Systems

Winds of Aphrodite

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure, Transportation Kansas City Crawford Architects Suikang Zhao Grey, Silver L 2008 /by cmorris

Bartle Hall Convention Center Loading Dock Remodel

Working with artist Suikang Zhao, Crawford Architects led a redesign of the Bartle Hall Loading Dock to provide both a face-lift and a functionality-lift. The new design features an expanded aluminum screen wall developed by Zahner, offering a uniquely artistic first-impression of downtown Kansas City. The project aluminum screen skin connects to a galvanized steel superstructure, and as night falls, thousands of computer-color-controlled LEDS light up the mesh screen.

Working collaboratively with Crawford Architects, I designed art that is integrated into architect and the north and west facade of the screen-covered loading dock. The basic design idea is about soften monolithic monstrous design of 70’s into tangible / feminine touch as if a piece of giant fabric flying from sky and happen to catch up the corner of the Convention Center. Layers of steel meshes creates changing moment of mystical appearance depending on weather and time of day, and is lit up by computer-color-controlled LED light in the evening.

Completed in 2008, the project required the transformation of a 70’s brutalist structure into a softened and tangible work, as if it were a giant strip of fabric flying from the sky which happened to catch the corners of the convention center. Because of the way that downtown Kansas City highways are organized, when visitors first exited the highway, they would see the Bartle Hall Convention Center’s loading docks, replete with overflowing dumpsters and big trucks unloading for the upcoming show.

Dusk photograph of the Winds of Aphrodite artwork on Bartle Hall Loading Dock.

Moire patterns on the expanded aluminum facade and artwork at Bartle Hall

Light filters through the Winds of Aphrodite's aluminum surface on Bartle Hall Loading Dock.

The formed expanded aluminum surface allows light to filter into the Bartle Hall Loading Dock.

The corner of the Bartle Hall Loading Dock renovation.

The other part of the problem was that it was hard for the large trucks to enter the space because the original space wasn’t well thought-out. Architects at Crawford re-designed the framework and brought in Chinese artist Suikang Zhao to bring a flowing perforated aluminum screen, produced, fabricated, and installed by Zahner. Zahner was also integral in the Design Assist Process, where the artists, architects and Zahner engineering directors and designers work to maximize and refine the end design.

Drawing of the semi-truck pathways taken at Bartle Hall's loading dock.

The result of all this preparation is a new Bartle Hall Convention Center that works. The triangular screens appear as sails flowing in the wind, allowing light to enter and disguising the view of the docks. The previously underused loading docks are now used by every big truck that unloads at Bartle Hall.

The architects’ redesign of the Bartle Hall Loading Dock included looking at the paths that a truck takes, making it more efficient for semi-trucks to pull in, unload, and depart from the loading bay.

Winds of Aphrodite by Suikang Zhao and Crawford Architects.

Entrance to the Bartle Hall Loading Dock in Kansas City.

Zahner installers during the renovation of the Bartle Hall Loading Dock.

Winner: 2008 Kansas City Capstone Award

The William T. Kemper Painting Studios

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education, Renovation Kansas City Gastinger Walker Harden Black, Gold, Grey M 2006 /by cmorris

William T. Kemper Painting Studios

The 34,000 square foot William T. Kemper Painting Studios is a renovation to the existing building used by the painting department at KCAI for over thirty years.

The new building was designed by Gastinger Walker Harden, features unique patterning and rich customizations throughout the project. Diamond-shaped preweathered grey zinc panels adorn the building’s south elevation. A utility fence, perforated and undulated, wraps the crown of the building. Over the building’s north entrance, a custom embossed indentation provides a historic technique to achieve a modern aesthetic.

The building is clad in a variety of metal surfaces developed by Zahner — copper, zinc, and aluminum adorn the building in near equal parts. The copper was installed as a raw “red” sheet with the intention that it would weather over time and eventually become green. This process will take 10 to 20 years typically.

In addition to using prestige metals these custom surface adjustments are designed to smoothly transition around edges. The copper facade has a creased hatch edge emboss which continues parametrically, even where it breaks for gaps in various slots and windows. To achieve this parametric quality, the entire building’s facade was digitally defined. This enabled Zahner engineers to control corners, wrapping the custom emboss patterns around corners and under the soffits. Each piece of metal has its designated destination before it’s even manufactured. The building is also clad in a preweathered zinc facade. These diamond-shaped panels are fabricated with a custom recessed flat-seam system.

Corner detail of the zinc facade on the Dodge Painting Building at KCAI

South elevation of the dodge building's preweathered zinc facade

East elevation of the Dodge Building's copper facade, shortly after installation

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.

St. Teresa’s Lace

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Education Kansas City Gould Evans Associates White M 2011 /by cmorris

Windmoor Center and Chapel of St. Joseph St. Teresa’s Academy

Designed by Gould Evans and Associates, The Windmoor Center and Chapel of St. Joseph at St. Teresa’s Academy is a 10,000-square-foot building that houses four high-tech classrooms that transform into a single event space for banquets and the new 150-seat chapel.

The building’s distinctive facade shrouds the outside of the structure and evokes the school’s namesake, St. Teresa, the patron saint of Lacemakers. The building serves as the gateway to the campus. A survey of students and faculty identified a need for a contemplative space with natural light.

Related Project

Church of the Resurrection

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY. Founded in 1990, the Church of the Resurrection has grown into the largest United Methodist Church in the U.S. with 18,000 members. Seeking to expand and remodel its existing facility on a 76-acre site, the church is adding an acoustically versatile sanctuary seating 3,500 and converting the existing auditorium into a multi-purpose room.

Zahner was brought in early in the planning process for the new building. Gould Evans hired Zahner to design-engineer and build the facade, working through a Design Assist phase to develop the unique screen wall system.

Lace patterns cut into plate aluminum and rolled for the curving facade at St. Teresa's Academy.

Water-jet cut aluminum plates with lace-pattern.

Windmoor Chapel at St. Teresa's Academy.

Detail, aluminum plates with lace-pattern.

Perforated metal with curved form rolled and fabricated by Zahner.

Students and faculty from St. Teresa's preview the mockup at Zahner.

Windmoor Center at St. Teresa's Academy.

Royals Crown

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Arena & Stadium, Flagship Kansas City Populous Gold L /by cmorris

Royals Crown at Kauffman Stadium

The new Royals Crown at the Royals Ballpark was designed by Populous in two stages for the Kauffman Stadium. The golden structure was designed to crown the new vertical screen at the stadium, one of the largest screens of its kind in the world.

Zahner was responsible for engineering, fabricating, and installing the Kauffman Stadium Crown using gold interference-coated stainless steel. The metal skin of the interference coating is nearly iridescent, and gives the surface an additional bright sparkle.

This stainless steel also features a machine-indented surface. Imperceptible from a distance, this fine-bumped surface reduces the oil-canned appearance common among thin-gauged metal. Each of the spheres at the peaks of the crown are outfitted with hundreds of LED lights that light up for various effects and illuminate the night sky.

Related Project

Kauffman Stadium

The new structure at the Royals stadium features two sections which use selective perforations in stainless steel to create the image of the Royals logo on the surface of the metal. This perforated surface wraps the entire building, yielding a mesh facade which provides light, air control, and a visually intriguing artistic aesthetic.

Zahner has produced several projects using the interference-coated metal surface, including Contemporary Jewish Museum which has a dark blue interference coating and a cross-fire brushed pattern. Interference stainless steel was also used on the The Experience Music Project, The Meyer Fletcher Residence, and the Neiman Marcus in Natick, Masssachusetts.

Building the Kauffman Crown

The shop photos and CAD images above show the substructure used to build each of the spheres. These were produced using the ZEPPS Process, a system which uses an extruded aluminum substructure to assist in the creation of curving shapes and forms. The ZEPPS Process was developed to simplify the construction of curves on complex curvilinear buildings such as those designed by Frank Gehry and Randall Stout. The physical components used in this process can also be seen on the surface of the Zahner Headquarters building in Kansas City, which intentionally was designed to leave this substructure exposed.

The video below was produced by The Royals to show the way in which Zahner was involved in the production of the Royals Crown a massive Stainless Steel Crown which sits atop the new digital scoreboard and video screen.

The first stage of the Crown was completed in 2008. In 2010, Zahner added a reverse section to the Kauffman Stadium Crown, so that the substructural components would not be visible from the I-70 Highway which runs to the North of the Stadium. Zahner was also responsible for producing the perforated stainless steel Royal Logo facade at Kauffman Stadium. This section wraps around the sides of the stadium, and provides an additional visual aesthetic to the Royals Ballpark.

Power & Light Bridge

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Bridge Kansas City Helix Black, Blue-grey M 2008 /by cmorris

The Kansas City Power & Light Bridge

While most bridges serve pedestrians or automobiles, the Kansas City Power & Light Bridge provides an electricity conduit. Designed by Helix Architecture + Design, the bridge is a utilitarian truss structure is clad with a perforated blackened zinc skin.

The 165 foot-long utility structure bridges the gap over the interstate highway, connecting the Crossroads Art District with the Power & Light Entertainment District, two of Kansas City’s hubs for arts & entertainment.

Zahner was responsible to the owner, the architect, and the general contractor to design, fabricate, and install an enclosure based upon the drawings, documents, and patterns provided by the architects.

Perforation types and patterns were developed through iterative design with the architect. The architect’s images and aesthetics were maintained during the process by using ZIRA, a patented system developed by Zahner. The patented program was used to translate the architect’s drawings into a series of bumps and perforations, the physical pixels which compose the bridge’s surface imagery.

At dusk, a rolling LED light system fills the bridge with pulsing lights, lasting throughout the evening. This surface interplay with light serves as a metaphor for the bridge’s functional purpose, transporting electricity. The architects at Helix were inspired by the physics of three-phase electrical power whose sine waves are represented by the emitting light through perforations on the cladding. The form of the bridge itself becomes a third sine wave, giving the skin undulations and shadows.

In addition to perforation, the zinc cladding was bumped and dimpled to provide texture and rigidity. These indentations occur at varying depths, representing a field of electrons through which electricity moves.

The exterior system uses Inverted Seam technology, a patented panel system which smoothly connects the 375 unique panels with minimal visible horizontal and vertical joints. The scalloped metal shapes add further visual interest to the solution and the overall composition is further enhanced by its illumination at night.

One Sun / 34 Moons

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Museum, Public Art, Sculpture Kansas City Steven Holl Architects Walter de Maria Gold M, S 2002 /by cmorris

Walter de Maria’s One Sun, 34 Moons Sculpture

In 2001, Zahner was enlisted to work on the master plan for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The building, designed by Steven Holl Architects, is a massive expansion, and Zahner provided various metalwork throughout the new construction and played a role in the renovations to its existing historic building.

In addition to the architectural features, a large scale site-specific artwork by Walter de Maria was commissioned by the Museum. Zahner was brought on as fabricator for the installation by the famed land artist. The work, entitled One Sun / 34 Moons, is made up of thirty-four ‘Moons’ which are realized as illuminated glass fixtures scattered throughout the installation.

These ‘Moons’ are installed at the bottom of a large reflecting pool in front of the museum’s northern staircase. At the artwork’s center is a golden ‘Sun’ fabricated by Zahner in stainless steel, surfaced with gilded bronze.

One Sun / 34 Moons, by Walter de Maria, 2002.

The artwork is a collaboration in several ways. The artwork features a gilded bronze leaf application developed by Walter de Maria partners American Burnish in New York. The vision of Steven Holl can be seen in how the ‘Moons’ provide natural lighting for the parking garage underneath. Zahner’s expertise can be seen as both the massive engineered form as well as the long-term performance of the architectural metal as art.

For the artwork, Walter de Maria wanted a golden color that would appear bright in almost any light, direction, or shadow. Zahner’s team worked with the artist on various color options, and the textured gilded bronze surface was selected as the best option to meet these constraints.

In creating the form of the ‘Sun’, Zahner was able to apply engineering and fabrication expertise as well as an unparalleled understanding of metallurgy.

Selecting and specifying the construction materials for performance and durability required careful consideration of the engineered details, galvanic corrosion, and pH levels for the reflecting pool and water feature design to prevent moisture from deteriorating the surface.

Steven Holl & the Use of Light: 34 Moons

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Walter de Maria’s sculpture is the way that it integrates into the greater architectural vision of Steven Holl & Chris McVoy. Each of the ’34 Moons’ are actually part of a skylight design used to provide natural light to the parking structure below the surface of the park.

The light temperature of the neon illumination matches that of the moon; the architects’ use of both natural and electric light innovates and plays perfectly into Walter de Maria’s vision of the moon in an almost literal sense.

Photograph of the Walter de Maria artwork at dusk.

Detail of the gilded leaf, Nelson-Atkins, Kansas City.

Oculus

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Sculpture Kansas City Reilly Hoffman Charcoal, Gold, Green S 2008 /by cmorris

Oculus Sculpture, KCAI Competition

Every other year, Zahner produces one or more artworks in conjunction with the Kansas City Art Institute’s Biennial Auction for Student Scholarships. In the 2007 year, artist Reilly Hoffman won the competition with a sculpture entitled, ‘Oculus’. Zahner manufactured the base form in aluminum, and water jet cut the parts for the sculpture. Hoffman then crafted copper and steel with his signature torch-carving techniques.

The design of the artwork is based on a smaller version of the artwork. The artwork’s concept is a sphere which has been cut into slices. Two of the slices are intertwined in a kiss. The sculpture’s exterior appearance is a rough steel, while its inner areas are clad in copper.

Although diminutive when compared to buildings, the sculpture is still quite large compared to the human scale. The large size required the use of a substructure to apply the metal surface.

To create the sculpture in its large form required making changes to the how the artwork is manufactured. Zahner engineers in the Design Assist team proposed using ZEPPS, the Zahner system developed for building curves. Using the this system enabled the team to make a light aluminum understructure to which the metal surface was attached.

This use of ZEPPS for manufacturing objects such as this one is somewhat atypical. The system is more commonly used to produce the large curved walls for uniquely shaped buildings. In situations where a rapid-installation process is required, or for installations at higher elevations, ZEPPS provides an efficient way to design, engineer, and install such unique forms.

The cad rendering above shows the effect of copper hammered through the mild steel plate. The mild steel has perforations in the side which allow for sections of the copper to show through, see below.

The project used three metals: a aluminum for its structure, copper for its core, and carbon-steel. The back and the inner sections of the sculpture are finished with the Star Blue patina on hammered copper. The sides of the sculpture are finished with water jet cut mild steel, backed by a sheet of sealed red copper, also hammered. The effect is a highly detailed and sculptural piece, which is now in a private collection.

KCPD Headquarters

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Government, Highrise, LEED Kansas City Helix Blue-grey L 2015 /by cmorris

Kansas City Police Department HQ RENOVATION & EXPANSION

KCPD Headquarters’ renovation and expansion was led by Helix Architecture and features Zahner fabrication and design assist exploration. The existing building, which hadn’t been renovated since opening in 1938, features both a new tower expansion as well as historical restoration and renovation to the original building interior and exterior spaces.

The Kansas City Police Headquarters renovation marks a shift in how police departments can use architecture to shift perception and engagement in the community. The building update provides a modernized facility for KCPD employees, as well as a first floor community atrium for citizens to engage in the Police Department’s Headquarters.

Zahner’s scope on the project included both interior and exterior cassette panels in pre-weathered zinc. The panel layout positions the zinc skins diagonally skyward, and its unique diamond shape emphasizes the vertical nature of the space, providing the new addition with a sense of fortitude.

THE DE YOUNG MUSEUM IN SAN FRANCISCO. ZAHNER OWNED THE ENTIRE EXTERIOR COPPER SKIN AND GLAZING.

Related System

Embossing

Zahner's unique history of metal embossing for bumped and dimpled metal surfaces has been used over the years to create unique approaches to metal panel systems. Create deep textures in metal surfaces with your designs.

Photograph of the KCPD Community room during the opening ceremony for the renovated police headquarters.

Detail of the punched and custom-embossed zinc exterior facade at KCPD Headquarters.

Interior space with custom zinc feature wall at KCPD Headquarters.

Rooftop terrace at Kansas City Police Department Headquarters.

Keeping with the KCPD’s desire to increase community interaction, extensive improvements were also made to the first floor where visitors enter the space. Here a community room serves as a space for meetings and public engagement.

The interior spaces continue the embossed zinc cladding, providing a backdrop for art by Rob Ley of Urbana, and giving cohesion between the addition and the existing historic building. The interior panels also serve the dual purpose of providing noise mitigation at the entrance of the space.

Creating a Custom-Embossed and Perforated Zinc Panel

Rather than adding patina to the sheets, Helix designers were interested exploring various possibilities with machined surfaces. The exterior panels located on the tower expansion feature a racetrack-shaped obround bump which is repeatedly embossed into the metal surface. This texturing of the metal adds rigidity to the panels to prevent wavering in the metal panels. When assembled in unison, the repetition of these shapes emulates the warp and weft of the officers’ cloth uniforms.

The unique panel system was tested in two mockups at Zahner, each of which provided valuable insight into how to provide the complex geometries of the zinc system.

Zinc panel siding mockups are displayed at Zahner for architectural analysis.

Interior zinc wall during installation at KCPD Headquarters.

Rendering of the renovation provided to the KCPD Headquarters.

Designing Custom Perforated Panels using Zinc

The existing entrance for the project is largely composed of non-absorptive materials such as glass and tile. This meant that finding a solution to mitigate noise in the community entrance was of utmost importance. The designers at Helix worked with Zahner to develop a series of micro perforations and sound-absorptive backing on the panels.

The perforations allow noise to enter, while acoustic material nestled within the panel absorbs noise. The perforated surface of the zinc further prevents echo and reverberation of sound from coming back out of the panels. Zahner provided the entire custom perforated panel as one unit, with the acoustic backing already within each panel and ready for installation.

Detail of the punched and custom-embossed zinc acoustic panels at KCPD Headquarters.

The building facade has an appearance of armored cladding.

Interior and exterior zinc metalwork at the Kansas City Police Department Headquarters.

Managing the Building’s Historic and Green Construction

In order to accommodate the police department’s need for continued use of the space, the general contractor, JE Dunn, divided the project into several phases. Special consideration was also taken towards historic pieces, such as marble in the restroom. Historically significant materials were refurbished and reused in other areas of the building.

This eco-friendly design decision is also echoed in Helix’s desire to use zinc panels. The zinc was sourced from Jarden Zinc, who also provides coin blanks to mints from around the world (including the blanks used to make the US penny). The leftover material from the coinage is melted down to produce sheets. All zinc used for the KCPD Headquarters is 100% recyclable and environmentally friendly. The project is anticipated to receive a LEED Gold certification.