M | Zahner

Brown University APM

Brown University Applied Math Building

The new building for Brown University’s Division of Applied Mathematics was completed in 2015. The surface of the building is clad with a custom layout of shingles in Zahner’s Solanum Steel, a preweathered patina on weathering steel alloy. This 13,000 square foot structure offers additional space for faculty, students and staff.

Zahner was specified on the job by the designers at Architectural Research Office (ARO), who had previously worked with the Solanum Steel material on a residence in Telluride, CO. Adapting a similar shingled system for the new design at Brown University, the designers came up with a small tabletop mockup for the layout. This mockup allowed for rationalization of the overlap pattern, and the ability to figure out the layout early on.

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Brown University APM

Brown University Applied Math Building, clad in Zahner Solanum Weathering Steel.

Designing the Facade System for Brown University

The project was already streamlined with cut lists ready and Zahner in the specs by the time it arrived in estimating. Because Zahner was clearly listed as the source for the finish, the construction management team at Shawmut knew who to contact, and were offered pricing in a quick and timely manner.

The cut list contained six different profiles for the shingles. These varying profiles were arranged in a stagger, with 2” overlaps to conceal face fasteners. The Architect also had determined their desired stagger for the layout, which would alternate overlaps at every course for the two layout options. Zahner worked with Shawmut Construction to coordinate the locations for the ¼” fastener holes, and provided shop drawings confirming exact dimensions for each of the profiles.

West elevation of the custom shingle layout for Brown Univeristy Applied Math Building.

ARO designed a custom shingle layout and created a physical model.

Two patterns for the custom shingle system.

Construction drawings showing the six shingle profiles for Brown University.

Bowdoin Museum of Art

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Brunswick--Maine Machado & Silvetti Brown, Gold M 2007 /by cmorris

Bowdoin College Museum of Art

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art renovation by Machado & Silvetti features a custom Zahner patinated surface and structural elements at its entry.

The new building entrance resembles a glass box on three sides, with the remaining portion clad in a Zahner fabricated naval brass with a custom bronze patina. The patinated metal panels continue from the exterior to the interior angled soffit, completing a dramatic entry for the museum’s 19th Century collection.

Related Project

Cincinnati Tower

The tower has a number of symbolic aspects in its design. Its square base forms the letters U and C on alternating sides. Above these letters, the main wooden shafts rise in the form of hammers. These motifs reflect the fraternity's motto, "The torch burns; the hammers ring." At the top, a beam of light shines through a stylized stainless steel torch and changes colors through the use of a computer program.

Art Wall at Doha

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Education, Sculpture Asia, Doha--Qatar, International, Middle East Hendrix + Studio, Legorreta + Legorreta Jan Hendrix White M 2010 /by cmorris

Art Wall at HBKU Doha University – Student Center

Completed in the Summer of 2010, Helix is a project designed by artist Jan Hendrix with architectural firm Legoretta & Legoretta of Mexico. Zahner engineered and manufactured the painted aluminum panels and substructure in Kansas City and shipped the completed pieces to Doha, Qatar, where local installers placed the large metal plates on both the interior and exterior frameworks.

The project involves hundreds of massive water jet cut and painted aluminum panels, and includes a 40′ high tower in the center courtyard. The pattern cut into the panels replicates the drawings of Jan Hendrix.

Related Project

Hendrix Mexico Sculpture

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.

Designed to Build

Jan Hendrix worked closely with the Zahner Design Assist team to develop the project for production. The artist provided to Zahner both a digital model as well as multiple physical models as the design progressed.

The project required close attention to each panel’s relation to one another, so that the artist’s lines would transition without breaks from panel to panel. This is called the ‘Parametric Relationship’ and it’s a key part of the ZIRA patented system developed by Zahner to translate images, drawings, and patterns into metal panel systems.

From left to right: Jan Hendrix, Zahner President CEO L. William Zahner, and Zahner Engineering Director Paul Martin

The completed project features the artist’s pattern on both the interior and exterior of the student center. Note how the lines transition smoothly across seams from plate to plate. Zahner engineers worked to transfer the artist’s drawings into metal, all while maintaining the system’s parametric relationship.

Each half-inch plate is 20 feet by 8 feet, and the material was water-jet cut on our system of the same size. To see how artists are collaborating with Zahner, including works by Jan Hendrix, visit Hands of the Artist.

Zahner worked with the artist, Jan Hendrix, to define his image digitally so that it could be water-jet cut and fabricated into a cohesive composition with smooth lines flowing across multiple panels.

The public artwork and courtyard is located in the outer edges of Northwest Doha, Qatar. The project was one of the first to be completed with Jan Hendrix, who has worked with Zahner engineers and fabricators on a number of projects. Learn more about producing similar surfaces in water jet-cut aluminum by Contacting Zahner.

Arkansas House

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Interior Architecture Residential Northwest Arkansas Marlon Blackwell Architects Brown, Orange, Red M 2004 /by cmorris

Private Residence in Northwest Arkansas

This major home renovation in Northwestern Arkansas by architect Marlon Blackwell Architects is clad in an accelerated weathering steel facade system manufactured by Zahner.

The residential project’s interior wood and metal surfaces act as an interior liner to the building’s rough-to-the-touch Solanum Steel exterior architectural monitors. Flooring of rift-sawn cherry and walnut also act to form an interior liner. Taut and highly crafted, this refined surface acts as an interior liner to the exterior monitors clad in weathering steel shingles.

The architect’s challenge for the project was to reassemble a fire-damaged home while introducing possibilities for the transformation of the house’s spatial character. The design was defined in three weeks and the details were settled after construction began. The architect could work only in areas damaged by the fire, leaving the rest untouched for insurance purposes.