Mexico | Zahner

Artesia

May 12, 2017/in Art & Sculpture, Landscape Architecture Residential Mexico, Mexico City Hendrix + Studio, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos Jan Hendrix M 2014 /by cmorris

Artesia Campos Eliseos

Artesia is a luxury residential complex in Mexico City which runs along the Campos Eliseos boulevard in Polanco. The residence’s ground levels feature permanent artworks by Jan Hendrix which were manufactured by Zahner. Working with Hendrix+Studio, the team developed a concept which fits into the overall architectural vision by Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos.

The artwork by Hendrix is a permanent art installation made up of a series of massive perforated columns. Each column is made using mirror-polish aluminum, perforated to exacting standards based on the illustrated drawings by Hendrix+Studio. The aluminum plates were perforated using a mill process and connected using with custom-joinery. The forms are further polished to achieve a uniform mirror finish.

Related Project

Patio de las Jacarandas

Patio de Las Jacarandas is a Jan Hendrix and Hendrix Studio-designed work of public art in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The project's metal canopy was developed and fabricated by Zahner in water-jet cut aluminum.

Detail of the aluminum forms at the Artesia residential complex.

Perforated aluminum columns adorn the entrance of Artesia.

Zahner fabrication of the perforated aluminum column forms in Kansas City.

Patio de las Jacarandas

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Pergola, Public Art Aguascalientes--Mexico, Central Mexico, Mexico Arturo Revilla and Jose Luis Jimenez Garcia, Hendrix + Studio Jan Hendrix White L /by cmorris

Patio de las Jacarandas at Aguascalientes, Mexico

Patio de Las Jacarandas is a Jan Hendrix and Hendrix Studio-designed work of public art in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The project’s metal canopy was developed and fabricated by Zahner in water-jet cut aluminum.

Situated at the historic Plaza de la Patria in Aguascalientes, the Patio de las Jacarandas is an architectural open-air canopy. Arturo Revilla and Jose Luis Jimenez Garcia served as the project’s architects, while Zahner’s scope on the project centered around the engineering and fabrication of the art canopy.

The system was engineered and tested by Zahner, and then manufactured and delivered to the jobsite where local installers erected the screen wall. The project was completed in 2015, and features a two-tiered canopy of water jet-cut aluminum plates. Both layers of cut-out metal are painted to create the white ¼” aluminum plate.

The Patio de las Jacarandas provides a place to gather in Aguascalientes.

The Jan Hendrix canopy mirrors the surrounding plant life at Aguascalientes.

Overhead view of the Aguascalientes project.

Canopy Filtered Shading with Diaphanous Light

Two layers of waterjet cut artwork make up the roof of the Aguascalientes canopy. The first layer, suspended on the bottom of the canopy, shows the overlapping branches of the jacaranda tree. The second layer of cutout leaves is installed 16” above the lower ceiling canopy.

These two layers are held apart from one another using tension cables. The distance between each layer gives the illusion of peering through tree branches. Intriguing shadows are also created, offering an immersive, shaded area for pedestrians in the city square to rest beneath.

The canopy’s two layers are designed to evoke the jacaranda tree at different seasons of the year. This motif was selected by the artist due to its prevalence in Aguascalientes. Numerous jacarandas are planted in parks and public areas across the City of Aguascalientes as well as throughout central Mexico. Their blooms are heralded as a symbol of the beginning of the spring season, blooming in February.

Patio de las Jacarandas in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Creating the Cut Plate Material

To accommodate the intricate lines, the artwork is fairly thin in some areas, ¼” aluminum plate was used to water jet-cut the desired pattern. Using plate material gives extra support for artwork, and keeps delicate lines from bending or becoming misshapen as the public interacts with the art.

Jan Hendrix supplied Zahner with models, sketches, and finished drawings of the artwork. Zahner team of design engineers translated the artwork into files for manufacturing and cutting the metal shapes out of the aluminum plate. After the cutting process was completed, the panels and structural components were painted white and sent to the job site in Mexico for installation.

Zahner fabricators pre-assemble the Hendrix-designed canopy in Kansas City.

Jan Hendrix model for the Patio de las Jacarandas canopy.

Unique Column Design for Patio de Las Jacarandas

At the north end of the patio canopy, Jan Hendrix’s design extends down from the upper canopy into the gathering space, in the form of a perforated column. Although the surface appears as though it encases a structural support, the column is hollow with no enclosed structural support.

While the canopy depicts the leaves and branches of the jacaranda tree, the column shows the profile of their famous blooms. In this manner, the patio shows the entire lifespan for the blooms of the jacaranda through all four seasons.

This concept is further reinforced by the planting of several new jacaranda trees at the center of the patio. Throughout the years as the Patio de las Jacarandas sees further community interaction, the trees will continue to grow new blossoms each spring, creating a more impressive show each year.

At the northern corner of the project, a plate aluminum column cuts through the canopy.

Related System

Column Cover

Custom column cover systems provide decorative and functional aspects to both interior and exterior architectural design. Column cover manufacturing has been a mainstay of A. Zahner Company's production for several decades, producing both custom and standard systems for designers all over the world.

The column system was assembled in three separate panels, which align together with such precision that the seams become nearly invisible. Panels on the upper canopy also translate the design without the visual appearance of seams.

To create this seamless look, Zahner examines the pattern’s parametric relationship, mapping out individual elements as they relate to the entire design. This way, lines and patterns can cross between various panels without being interrupted by ‘picture frame’ edges. This technology is used across the entire project, so that the construction methods do not become distracting to the artist’s design.

Opening gala event for the Patio de las Jacarandas in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Opening Ceremony for the Patio de las Jacarandas

The opening ceremony took place during the Summer of 2015, and was attended by The Governor of Aguascalientes, Carlos Lozano de la Torre and his wife Blanca Rivera Rio Flores. The two were influential in bringing the project to the State of Aguascalientes.

Jan Hendrix, pictured with Governor Carlos Lozano de la Torre and his wife Blanca Rivera Rio Flores at the opening.

Sunlight filters through the Jan Hendrix-designed canopy at Aguascalientes.

Ground level fountain accents the canopy design at Aguascalientes.

Perforated metal canopy casts shadows at Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Patio de las Jacarandas, Aguascalientes, Mexico.

After the project was completed, Jan Hendrix was honored at the opening ceremony at the Patio de las Jacarandas. As an artist of renown who has moved into the architectural world, Hendrix has translated his works on paper into physical manifestations for communities all over the world.

Zahner has completed over a dozen works for Jan Hendrix, which are located in city centers and private collections around the globe.

Liverpool Mexico

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Flagship, Retail & Commerce International, Mexico, Mexico City Rojkind Arquitectos L, XL 2011 /by cmorris

Liverpool Interlomas Flagship Department Store in Mexico City

Liverpool Interlomas Department Store is a commercial mall development designed by Rojkind Arquitectos with a Zahner-engineered and fabricated facade system. The new Liverpool Flagship Store is part of the Paseo Interlomas Mall located in the Interlomas neighborhood of Huixquilucan a suburb of Mexico City.

Zahner was selected by Rojkind Arquitectos to design the Liverpool Interlomas Facade because of Zahner’s proven ability to design and produce complex curvilinear forms. The process was efficient, on-time, and under budget, which is a result of the BIM-informed digital manufacturing process.

“

Even though we had never collaborated with them, Zahner’s credentials and experience clearly indicated that they were the ideal candidate for this project.

The design and fabrication process we went through has been one of the most rewarding collaborations we have had in recent years.

Gerardo Salinas, AIAPartner at.atcategory

Liverpool Interlomas in Mexico City, designed by Rojkind Arquitectos.

DESIGNING THE LIVERPOOL INTERLOMAS FACADE

The architecture firm Rojkind Arquitectos won the competition to design the flagship store for Liverpool in Mexico City. Designed and built in just over a year’s time, the project’s fast-paced process was made possible by digital construction processes and having all contractors and fabricators on-board with the Building Information Model (BIM).

In early 2011, Architect Michel Rojkind and his design team met at the Zahner Headquarters in Kansas City. There they worked to define the details with the Liverpool clients, the installation contractor, the structural engineer, the lighting consultant, and Zahner’s own Design Assist Group. The teams worked together to design-engineer an integrated model, and then agreed on a section of that model to be built as a mockup.

The flagship store was produced to rebrand the chain with a contemporary image for its Mexico City shoppers, in the same way that other flagship stores such as the Neiman Marcus in Natick Massachusetts re-established their contemporary presence using architectural forms.

Related Project

Neiman Marcus

Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the facade's undulations with perspective in mind. When travelers drive by, the structure appears animated and kinetic, an effect caused by the way the facade curves in and out. Zahner worked with the architects to design a curving facade panel system that is both aesthetically powerful as well as economically effective.

Rojkind and the Design Team meet at Zahner.

Exploded details of the Liverpool Interlomas ZEPPS Integration.

Liverpool Interlomas full section and skin details.

Detail of the mockup for Liverpool Mexico

Within a matter of weeks, a fully-functional mockup was produced and installed on the Zahner mock-up tower, pictured above. The mockup is a crucial stage of the design process, revealing issues to work out in the final iteration, and helping Zahner engineers and fabricators foresee the more difficult aspects of an upcoming project.

The mockup also assisted other contractors on the job. The installer in Mexico City was able to use the mockup to gain an understanding of how best to assemble and install the final components. Zahner worked with the entire design and ownership team to optimize the fabrication and shipping sequences for efficiency so as to meet the demands of the aggressive construction schedule.

Liverpool Mockup on the Zahner Mockup Tower.

Zahner artisans fabricate the Liverpool ZEPPS Components.

This facade functioned as a design-build project, defined by the Design Assist Group at Zahner. This means that Zahner owned the design of the anchoring and worked with the structural engineer on an integrated design. Using the Design Assist Group also means that from the very onset of the project’s planning stages, a team of intelligent designers and engineers at Zahner were defining the details which would ensure a smooth production and installation process.

After producing the mockup in January 2011, the team made subtle revisions to the project’s 3D model. The Liverpool project then quickly went to operations and fabrication. Code-named Project 7, The Liverpool Project was a fast-paced design, build, and supervised install. In less than a year the project went from drawings and renderings to completion, in November of 2011.

Building with ZEPPS

The Design Assist Group at Zahner used the ZEPPS Process to engineer and produce the massive panels which attach to the building’s structure and provide the uniform surface for the Angel Hair Stainless steel skinned surface.

The ZEPPS Assemblies were fabricated and assembled as complete panels in the Zahner Shop in Kansas City, where they were shipped on trucks to the job site in Mexico City. Building the exterior facade with ZEPPS drastically reduces the construction time because the panels simply bolt to existing connections on the steel structure.

Liverpool Installation and Construction.

Installers meet at the Liverpool Interlomas.

Liverpool Flagship Store nears completion.

The project features a diffused Angel Hair stainless steel material for its exterior an interior cladding. In select areas, the project also features Zahner’s GB-60 Process for bead-blasting stainless steel, and a number of bumped and embossed surfaces can be seen throughout both the interior and exterior surfaces.

Interior metalwork for the Interlomas Store.

Hendrix Mexico Sculpture

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Public Art, Sculpture International, Mexico, Mexico City Hendrix + Studio Jan Hendrix S 2013 /by cmorris

Jan Hendrix Mexico Sculpture for Private Collection

Produced using milled plate-aluminum, this sculpture is a permanent installation in Central Mexico, one of several projects by artist Jan Hendrix produced by Zahner. Mr. Hendrix has worked with Zahner on numerous occasions for projects in the United States, Mexico, and Qatar.

Completed in 2013, the latest Jan Hendrix sculpture was commissioned by a private collector as a permanent installation on the client’s property. The human-scale sculpture includes a landscaped lighting system designed to accentuate the polished aluminum surface.

The material is a plate aluminum, polished to a near-mirror finish. The artist desired a highly reflective aesthetic for the surface. Many of the artist’s thick-cut metal designs were manufactured by Zahner using water jet cutting which gives the metal surface a matte edge. For this project, the artist desired a reflective edge. Zahner worked with the artist to develop a milling technique which prevented the need for additional buffing and polishing of the aluminum surface.

Milling the aluminum also gave the artist flexibility for how the cuts were removed from the material. Zahner worked collaboratively with Jan Hendrix through several different iterations, discovering that a special mill tip and machine speed gave the best finish. The softened edge makes the piece more approachable and touchable as a consideration of the artwork’s street-level presence. The final cut features a rounded bevel and a polished edge which gives the milled aluminum surface an aesthetic of liquid metal. Upon the artwork’s completion, Jan Hendrix mentioned that the chosen finish gave the work a jewelry-like effect, stating that the piece looked as though it was cut from pure silver.