L | Zahner

Hope Tower at UNMC

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Education, Monument, Sculpture Omaha--Nebraska James Carpenter Design Associates Gold, Yellow L, M 2010 /by cmorris

Tower at University of Nebraska Medical Center

The Tower at UNMC is a James Carpenter Design Associates project. The project’s design team was led by Richard Kress. The campus art feature stands at 120 feet. A private donation led by Ruth and Bill Scott brought this iconic campus feature to the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The tower serves provides a beacon for students, serving as both a navigational tool and an artistic centerpiece. Zahner provided the ti-coated stainless steel panels, perforated and prepped for installation onto the architect’s engineered frame. These panels were engineered and produced at Zahner at the Kansas City plant.

Related Surface

Ti-Stainless Steel

Ti-Stainless is a stainless steel sheet metal with with titanium alloy in its coating. There are several methods to achieve color on stainless steel. From the chemical bath process of Interference Stainless Steel to electroplating with tinting agents. Ti-Stainless is one of the most effective methods to achieve a unique tone or color on stainless is through titanium and other alloys applied to the surface of the stainless steel.

Perforated panels on Hope Tower at UNMC at dusk.

Gold-colored ti-coated stainless steel used on Hope Tower at UNMC.

Detail of the steel structure and perforated ti-coated stainless steel.

The design features hundreds of triangular perforated 16ga titanium-coated stainless steel panels which attach to an open structure. The perforations effectively create a visually lightweight aesthetic.

The tower was designed to reflect the beautiful effects that occur in the Nebraska sky. It combines stainless steel and natural light to embody UNMC’s scientific character and the transient qualities of Nebraska’s skies. If it’s a bright sunny day, it will appear to shimmer. At dusk, it will reflect the variety of colors that are in the sky.

Installers place the triangular curving panels at UNMC in Nebraska.

Detail of the perforated triangular panels used on Hope Tower at UNMC.

The project was built in the course of a year, and completed in 2010. This is the second project that Zahner has completed for the architects and artists at James Carpenter Design Associates, the first being the Silver Towers Courtyard in New York City. The designers at James Carpenter provide a unique outlook on the play of light on surfaces, an effect which is best perceived in person.

UCSF Parking Structure

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure San Francisco Bay WRNS Studio Gold L 2012 /by cmorris

UCSF Mission Bay Medical Center Parking Structure

The new parking structure for the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) enhances the design aesthetic of both the UCSF Campus and the surrounding Mission Bay neighborhood. The ten-story parking facility was completed in September 2012 with WRNS Studio Architects and Rudolph & Sletten as a design build competition winner.

Like many of the facades Zahner has produced, the project’s budget was restrictive and required intelligent design maneuvering to meet the architects’ unique and compelling vision. The preset price per square foot was based on competition restrictions, so the elaborate design had to be streamlined to efficiently fabricate, ship, and install the facade. Zahner met this challenge without compromising the design.

Related Project

Contemporary Jewish Museum

3,028 sheets of blue iridescent cross-fire interference stainless steel clad the surface of the museum, which is formed in the shape modeled off of the Hebrew script for 'L'Chaim' which translates 'To Life'.

UCSF Mission Bay Medical Garage at dusk.

Details of the perforated surface of the UCSF Mission Bay Garage.

Facade Design for Parking System at UCSF

When WRNS first approached Zahner, the architects had recently completed the schematic design phase. They had not yet won the design build competition, and WRNS knew they would have a constrained budget to produce the exterior facade system for their design. They needed a facade supplier who could commit to the design and budget prior to contract.

There is increased risk to commit to a design and budget during a competition, but this approach was possible because of the two firm’s relationship built on trust. Prior to this project, Zahner had worked with WRNS Studio on two successful projects (Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Block 27 Parking Structure). Zahner agreed to sketch preliminary designs and worked out a design plan with the architects to meet their budget.

The unconventional design approach meant that Zahner was preselected for the project when WRNS won the design competition. By definition, Zahner became part of the architect’s team. There was no bidding process to determine the facade installers, and their winning entry was contingent on the supply and install by Zahner at the predetermined price per square foot.

The design solution for the UCSF Parking Garage

The architect’s design posed particular challenges in coordination with steel and installation of extruding vertical fins around the structure as well as the layout and coordination of perforated patterns. Zahner’s solution made use of a common part, an anodized aluminum louver blade which was placed at variating angles to achieve visual vibrancy.

Determining the angles required consideration of design aesthetic, functionality, and economy. The architects selected angles that would bounce the sun’s light the garage to provide natural lighting. The team determined that the design could achieve a sophisticated look requiring the use of only five repeating panels throughout the structure.

Photograph of the storage facility, which shows the 4,400 fins used for UCSF.

Drawing shows the five repeating assemblies for the UCSF Parking Garage.

Crated panels for the UCSF Mission Bay Medical Garage.

UCSF Mission Bay Medical Garage in Construction.

These five unique but repeating panels were optimized by the Zahner Assist team for production and installation. Zahner was able to automate the changing angle of the blades using CNC production, resulting in a series of 8′ bays. This collaborative approach with WRNS Studio influenced the design’s functionality as it evolved, steering the engineering towards greater efficiency and lowered cost.

Because of the prior relationship built on trust with the architect, Zahner was able to commit to a very aggressive budget well before construction documents existed. This arrangement resulted in a tremendous value to the client. The architects’ design intent was fully maintained; and in some cases enhanced, while a strict budget and schedule were kept.

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 Smithsonian NMAI

August 15, 2016/in Interior Architecture Exhibit, LEED, Museum Washington D.C. Jones & Jones, SmithGroup Ramona Sakiestewa Charcoal, Gold, Green L 2004 /by cmorris

THE SMITHSONIAN National Museum of the American Indian

Zahner was selected for the production of several decorative and artistic elements for the National Museum for the American Indian (NMAI). The Smithsonian-owned NMAI is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans.

The architectural design process included a number of designers and artists, including artist Ramona Sakiestewa, architects Jones & Jones with SmithGroup, and exhibition designers at Gerald Hilferty.

Zahner worked with Hopi artist Ramona Sakiestewa to produce a copper screen wall, a permanent installation in the court of the museum which lines a walkway down to the open space. Copper was chosen to acknowledge the antiquity of the Indian people who lived in the Northeast. It was a widely used material in Mound Builder cultures, which stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Mississippi, over 2000 years ago.

Photograph of Ramona Sakiestewa (Artist) and Ilze Jones (Architect) for the Smithsonian NMAI

Photograph of Ramona Sakiestewa (Artist) and Ilze Jones (Architect) for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Photo © A. Zahner Company

Fabrication at Zahner HQ for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Photo © A. Zahner Company

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN IN WASHINGTON D.C.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Photo © A. Zahner Company

Potomac Room at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Photo © A. Zahner Company

Copper screenwall for the National Museum for the American Indian in Washington D.C.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Detail of the COPPER SCREENWALL

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Photo © A. Zahner Company

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

Photo © A. Zahner Company

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

Taubman Museum

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Museum Roanoke--Virginia Randall Stout Architects Brown L 2008 /by cmorris

Taubman Museum in Roanoke, Virginia

The City of Roanoke, Virginia is situated in a famously mountainous landscape. Situated at the the southern end of Shenandoah Valley, with Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians, its location is not where one would think to find a contemporary museum. However, this was the objective, to develop a museum as part of a comprehensive plan to invigorate the city.

Designed by Randall Stout Architects, the building includes a range of metal components manufactured and installed by Zahner engineers and artisans. Zahner was responsible for engineering, fabrication, and installation of the exterior secondary structure and facade. Zahner also provided interior metal surfaces for the project.

The building’s earth-toned exterior is a custom-patina product that Zahner refined for the Museum. Roano Zinc is a zinc plate surface with a custom patina. The preweathered surface provides a stable, matte surface, which stands the test of time against weathering. This preweathered zinc metalwork is used on both the exterior and interior surfaces. The surface of the lightly reflective metal is stainless steel with Angel Hair, a Zahner-patented mechanical finish on stainless steel.

The project’s secondary structure used to create the complex angles and curves used ZEPPS, a system developed by Zahner for constructing unique shapes. The system was used to design and build the complex forms used in the project. ZEPPS simplified the construction process, ensuring a smooth delivery for the building’s unique forms.

Museum of Glass

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Pacific Northwest, Tacoma--Washington Arthur Erickson, Nick Milkovich Architects, Thomas Cook Reed Reinvald Black, Silver L 2002 /by cmorris

Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington

Designed by Arthur Erickson, the Museum of Glass is dedicated to Dale Chihuly, renowned contemporary glass artist and local of Tacoma, Washington. A bridge connects the museum to downtown all the way across a freeway, displaying thousands of Dale Chihuly works along the way.

Zahner produced the metalwork for the glass bridge as well as the massive cone which can be identified throughout the downtown area. The cone was manufactured in stainless steel diamond panel system which was attached to a ZEPPS structural framework, each made by Zahner.

Related Project

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Zahner served as both the sole contractor and manufacturer in the production of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. This construction included all structural steel, glazing and cladding elements as well as fiber optics and vacuum HVAC system within the cases.

Arthur Erickson chose to leave the understructure of the ZEPPS assemblies exposed, allowing viewers to enjoy the structure which makes the exterior surface possible. Inside this cone, viewers can also watch live glass blowers producing hot glass pieces. The room reaches 90 feet and has two furnaces reaching temperatures of 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Detail of the diamond panel system used on the Museum of Glass

Detail of the reveals between diamond panels on the Museum of Glass

Interior of the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

The project was a major Design Assist effort, meaning that the architects consulted early on with Zahner, and laid the groundwork for designing an intelligent system to produce the complex geometries efficiently.

Each of the panels are made using 22ga stainless steel with an Angel Hair finish. Each row of diamond panels is a unique height and width, decreasing in size as the elevation rises.

Upward view from inside the cone during the construction of Museum of Glass. The left side of this picture, photographed during construction, shows the final surface of the exposed panels. The right side of the photograph shows the the sky filtered through the unfinished understructure of the cone.

How the Architectural Cone was Manufactured

Zahner has manufactured a number of works of architecture featuring cone-shaped elements. The conical design of the Museum of Glass project was manufactured using ZEPPS, a Zahner system for developing complex structures. ZEPPS provides a way to build not only euclidian shapes such as these, but also a method for making non-euclidian geometries.

For Museum of Glass, the architect’s design modeled digitally, and broken down using ZEPPS into layers and sections. This includes both the sheet metal cladding for the exterior rainscreen, as well as larger semi-rectangular assemblies with pre-attached waterproofing membrane.

Next, both the larger ZEPPS assemblies as well as the smaller stainless steel shingles were manufactured at Zahner in Kansas City. These parts were delivered to the Tacoma jobsite. The large ZEPPS assemblies provide the smooth curvature of the surface, and tie into the linear structural steel forms using cold-connections. Then the stainless steel skin is clad across the smooth surface of the cone.

A single ZEPPS assembly is lifted into place on the Museum of Glass

Aerial photo of the Museum of Glass during the final cladding of stainless steel across the surface

Tacoma Art Museum

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Tacoma--Washington Antoine Predock Architect PC, Olson-- Sundbert-- Kundig-- Allen Architects Grey L 2003 /by cmorris

The Tacoma Art Museum in downtown Tacoma, Washington

The new Tacoma Art Museum opened in 2003, doubling it’s square footage from the old museum and creating new flexible gallery space for it’s collection. Zahner provided the custom facade for the building, which was designed by Antoine Predock Architect PC.

The building features several of Zahner’s proprietary systems and processes, including the Inverted Seam Wall and Roof panel system. Use of the Inverted Seam system provides insulation, rain screen, and water-channeling, all on a minimal surface. The surface of the museum includes 36,000 square feet of 14ga. Stainless Steel with a Shadow finished surface.