Guggenheim Canopy
Guggenheim Canopy at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim Canopy, designed by Frank Gehry Partners, is a Zahner-manufactured installation which was on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City beginning in 2001. The artwork was erected for a Frank Gehry retrospective at the Museum in May-August, 2001. In addition to providing the canopy, Zahner also manufactured a number of mirror-polish stainless steel tables for the rooftop cafe.
The canopy artwork was manufactured using a titanium skin and aluminum structure. The form was made using ZEPPS, the Zahner-patented technology for building sculptural forms. This system was used to build the aluminum structure. The titanium was then clad over the aluminum substrate using a custom flat seam system.
The titanium’s luminescent coloring was made possible by a thick layer of oxide on the metal surface. There are two distinct overlapping forms, and each is colored using a unique color of titanium-cladding made by varying the oxide thicknesses. This oxide process is called interference-coating, and can be used to create a range of iridescent colors on stainless steels and titanium surfaces.
![Guggenheim Canopy during its installation at the Guggenheim in NYC.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132813/guggenheim-canopy.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Guggenheim Canopy during its installation at the Guggenheim in NYC.
Photo © A. Zahner Company.
![Detail of the two color tones used on the Guggenheim Canopy.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132755/guggenheim-gehry-canopy.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Detail of the two color tones used on the Guggenheim Canopy.
Photo © A. Zahner Company.
![Guggenheim Canopy during its installation.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132748/frank-gehry-canopy-construction.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Guggenheim Canopy during its installation.
![Guggenheim Canopy in NYC.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132746/frank-gehry-canopy.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Guggenheim Canopy in NYC.
![Stainless steel tables at Guggenheim.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132736/stainless-steel-table-mirror-polish-guggenheim.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Stainless steel tables at Guggenheim.
Photo © A. Zahner Company.
![Guggenheim Canopy at the Zahner facility in Kansas City.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132726/gugg1.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Guggenheim Canopy at the Zahner facility in Kansas City.
Photo © A. Zahner Company.
![Structural bones of the Guggenheim Canopy.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132724/gugg-canopy-iso1.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
Structural bones of the Guggenheim Canopy.
Photo © A. Zahner Company.
![CAD image of the Guggenheim Canopy.](https://e5awgs3wuhi.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/24132722/gugg-canopy-iso-surf.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&quality=92&webp=85&w=1500&ssl=1)
CAD image of the Guggenheim Canopy.
Photo © A. Zahner Company.