Stanford--California

Schwab Residential Center at Stanford Graduate School of Business

Zahner collaborated with Legorreta Arquitectos and artist Frida Escobedo to bring the Schwab Residential Center’s Davis Courtyard vision to life at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

In the Davis Courtyard, Zahner engineered and fabricated a Solanum® Steel wall inspired by the sound of striking a picket fence, designed to “sing” when interacted with. Working closely with Escobedo, Zahner developed a dynamic mechanism using weathering steel plates and tuned metal tubes to produce distinct notes. All surfaces were preweathered in Zahner’s Texas facility.

Zahner also created a striking custom entryway from a custom aluminum extrusion. This element was finished in a purple powder-coated paint. All elements were engineered, fabricated, and installed by Zahner, ensuring durability and artistic integrity.

Schwab Residential Center at Stanford Graduate School of Business

McMurtry Building

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education Stanford--California Bora Architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro Brown, Orange L 2015 /by cmorris

McMurtry Building for the Department of Art and Art History

A work of architecture which both matches the surrounding aesthetics and yet stands out as an icon of its own, the McMurtry Building is a unique architectural project in Stanford, California. The structure features Zahner craftsmanship in both its custom patinated zinc facade and the courtyard’s grand stairway.

The McMurtry Building was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro whose design team worked with executive designers Boora Architects to bring this 100,000-square-foot project to fruition. The building was named for donors Burt & Deedee McMurtry who contributed over a third of the building’s costs. The campus building brings studio art, design, art history, film, and media studies together under a zinc roof.

Zahner’s scope required a unique warm-toned brown patinated zinc, which would encompass the roof, facades, soffit, and other areas of the building. Zahner developed this preweathered patina on zinc in multiple variations as part of the Design Assist process.

During the development of details, three final ‘color’ options were presented in mockup form. The architect then narrowed the selection down to the finalized stable patina option. The chosen patina has a rich brown hue, interspersed with variegated grey and umber. The tone defines the McMurtry Building.

McMurtry Building in Stanford, California, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

McMurtry Building interior gathering area for students.

About the McMurtry Building’s Design

The building’s design includes stacking cantilevered forms, broken by a sloping diagonal on both the east and west sides. This balanced criss-crossing of elements divides the various disciplines within its space.

In a speech delivered at the McMurtry Building groundbreaking, principal-in-charge Charles Renfro expounded on the building’s unique design approach. He describes how the two interwoven ‘strands’ influence the building’s form. The strands divide as well as unite the building’s two wings. At one end, classrooms serve as a clean learning space, and at the other, artist studios provide a work area. The strands come together the building’s rooftop communal space, and again the spaces are united at the ground floor library for art and architecture.

The strand of the southern wing is clad in preweathered zinc. Zahner performed the design-engineering and manufacture of the zinc aspects of the McMurtry Building. Zahner also performed the installation of zinc panels and metalwork, working to ensure a high-quality product for the architect and client.

McMurtry Building for the Department of Art and Art History.

Detail of the Zinc panels on-site at the McMurtry Building in California.

Detail of the custom zinc ceiling corner and facade for the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

The soffit area is detailed with a preweatehred custom zinc with custom panel-patterns.

Detail of the cantilevered facade with custom-patinated zinc metalwork, on the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Creating a custom roof and facade with Design Assist

Before making the actual facade and roof panels, Zahner was selected to design-engineer the exterior cladding systems. Hiring Zahner through a separate Design Assist contract, the architects were able to solidify the design details before building the actual project.

As part of the Design Assist contract, Zahner also provided multiple mockups for the zinc rain screen. The final mockup was installed just North of the actual McMurtry Building on the University campus. This mockup focused on many of the most difficult and complex aspects of the facade, soffit, and roof. By creating a mockup, the entire project team was able to predict and better develop the final product.

The McMurtry mockup was installed on-site in Stanford, California.

Patina technicians in the Zahner Dallas facility create the custom patina on zinc.

The building's cantilevered form highlights the rooftop area's custom patina on zinc.

Detailed of the corner where the zinc facade meets the zinc soffit.

Custom zinc ceiling soffits and staircase at the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

The McMurtry Building's cantilevered forms (zinc panels across the top).

Detail of the custom zinc interior atrium staircase at the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Custom zinc ceiling soffit for the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Detail of the zinc ceiling soffit and recessed lighting.

Detailed metalwork uses Zahner's preweathered custom zinc patina.

West side of the McMurtry Building, detail of the copper-toned patina on zinc.

Detail of the east utility area. The zinc provides an alternative to cor-ten weathering steel.

Cafe on the east side of the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Utility area of the McMurtry Building in Stanford, California.

Detail of the corner edge of the zinc facade and soffit.

Zinc roof with a custom patina, McMurtry Building in California.

The McMurtry project is among several projects featuring Zahner manufacturing at the University campus. Zahner also worked on the WRNS-designed Hoover Garage which is located just a few minutes from the the McMurtry Building.

Hoover Garage

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure Stanford--California WRNS Studio Gold L 2014 /by cmorris

HOOVER GARAGE AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

In 2013, Zahner began working on a third project with WRNS Studio, the San Francisco architecture firm whose designs have played a transformative role on the parking garage typology.

The Hoover Garage parking structure is part of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics and was produced in association with Stanford University in California. The Hoover Parking Garage at Stanford University is a 1,100 stall garage which serves the Hoover Pavilion, a new medical office building for the University.

Hoover Garage is an open-air structure which uses a 3/16′ perforated and anodized aluminum surface. The back-side of the panels are cut and grooved at each corner of the panel to provide a more defined edge. The panels use a proprietary Drop & Lock panel technology, a feature of the Inverted Seam patent. This allows for flexible design and simple installation. Each panel is hung by inserts into the vertical extrusion.

Related Project

Mission Bay Parking

Located in the Mission Bay Block 27 of San Francisco, this design by WRNS Studio for Alexandria Real Estate, houses 1,420 parking spaces on seven elevated levels. The structure features a metal screen with perforated imagery of California's redwood forests. This facade was design-engineered by the Design Assist Group and produced by Zahner.

The perforated metal panel screen system at Stanford University Parking Garage.

The perforated metal panel's shadow creates a moire effect against the building's surface.

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.

Hoover Parking structure at dusk on the Stanford University Campus.

Developing the Design for the Hoover Garage

Zahner provided design assist as well as fabrication services to the general contractor Vance Brown Builders. While this was the first time Vance Brown and Zahner worked together, Zahner had a relationship with the architect as well as a well-known reputation for its successful track record on similar projects with WRNS Architects.

In addition to the perforated metal facade, Zahner also provided the vertical structure which allowed the design team to reduce the overall budget without changing the visual aesthetic.

In the original document, there was a vertical steel member between panels. The panels had a complex support system hanging off of the steel, so Zahner engineers introduced a custom extrusion that would reduce the redundancy. The architect selected the look of anodized aluminum extrusion Zahner provided over the painted steel.

Detail of the two-plane panel system used on the Stanford University Hoover Parking Structure.

Zahner designed, milled, and machined all of the connection points on the custom aluminum extrusions, which were provided to the steel contractor to install prior to installation of the Zahner perforated panels. This improved the aesthetic and durability without adding additional cost.

Owning the aluminum vertical structure also simplified the dual planes of the panel system. Zahner was able to reduce the parts for how the second plane of panels connects to the structure.

The perforated panel creates a moire effect against its shadow on the building's surface.

Stanford University Parking Garage during construction.

Construction photo of the perforated metal panel screen system at Stanford University Parking Garage.

The engineers at Zahner and the architects at the WRNS office enjoy an integrated relationship that continues to evolve and push the boundaries of what is possible to design and build with parking structures. Learn more about the WRNS designs for which Zahner has built systems, including the Alexandria Parking Structure, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, and the UCSF Parking Garage. See more projects completed by WRNS Studio with Zahner.