Highland Park Community Center Signage

Highland Park Community Center of Minneapolis hired LSE Architects to create a design for its new addition. Zahner was brought into the project to provide the building’s artistic signage system. The goal of the project was to create a signage system which both state the title of the community center, and also relates to the surrounding community and region.

To meet this challenge, LSE Architects provided imagery of the meandering Mississippi River from a birds-eye view where it crosses the city. This landmark was overlapped with several sections of street layout for the city itself.

The custom image perf was made using ImageWall by Zahner, whose team worked with the designers to create its unique signage. The project used minimal fabrication with no brakes or further fabrication, each the perforated panels were face-fastened onto a steel subframe.

The design was made using 1/8” aluminum with an Angel Hair finish. The artwork spans approximately 12’ x 24’ and consists of twenty seamless panels. Zahner’s Angel Hair surface was developed to soften the high reflectivity of standard finishes of stainless steel making it a perfect choice for signage.

How to Create Image-based Perforation on Metal

The designers used an image graphic created using photo-editing tools to create their design. This was uploaded into the ImageWall software, which gave the designers control over the look and feel of the final product before setting up a purchase order.

ImageWall is based on the ZIRA patented technology (Zahner Interpretive Relational Algorithm). Working with the ImageWall team, designers can create translate their imagery into perforations, bumps, and unique cutouts that can then be embossed and perforated into a selected metal. The image is not restricted to text or shapes but can be photographs as well. ImageWall allows the customer to design and experiment with specifications while being given a real time estimate.