Share

Louver Surface

Turn a 2d metal panel into a 3d signature design element with louver surface.

Add texture, pattern and three-dimensional design qualities to your next façade, feature wall, or screen using Louver Surface, the latest innovation from Zahner Labs.

Louver Surface

Get Inspiration, Delivered.

Join our newsletter and get inspiring projects, educational resources, and other cool metal stuff, straight to your inbox.

Louver Surface is a product prototype for a new category of perforated metal panel. A Louver Surface panel is a metal sheet, laser cut to produce an array of metal tabs and louvers. Once cut, the louvers can be robotically bent to produce custom transparency, articulation, and open-air values.

Laser cut sheet—before bending

Louver Surface 3D Configurator

Try the parametric configurator below to explore the vast aesthetic and performative potential of Louver Surface. Explore patterning and articulation qualities of Louver Surface.

Use the 3D configurator above to switch between diamond patterns and hexagon arrays with a single button click. Test different bending patterns and depths to create surfaces that shift and change from different vantage points. Try one-directional bending to create a surface that appears solid from one direction while maintaining openness in the opposite direction for ventilation and light control.

Louver Surface is an advancement on Zahner’s textured panel technique used on projects like the Bloomberg Center at Cornell Tech designed by Morphosis or the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas designed by Overland Partners. Unlike those projects – which were composed of a grid of tabs suspended in a frame – the entire face of Louver Surface can be articulated. Below are various levels of articulation.

Variable screen transparency (closed, partially open, fully open)
Photo © A. Zahner company.
Louver surface in Zahner oscura blackened steel—’boxes’ pattern

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have an idea for using Louver Surface in an upcoming project? Do you have your own design you would like to apply? Get in touch with the form below to talk with a specialist and explore the endless possibilities of Louver Surface.

Name
Newsletter Opt-In
Example of custom dual-louver panel
Louver surface in aged copper—square tile pattern

More From the Blog

Celebrating the Extraordinary Life & Works of Frank Gehry (1929–2025)

Celebrating the Extraordinary Life & Works of Frank Gehry (1929–2025)

LEARN MORE
How LUCE et Studio Architects Blends Story, Architecture, and Materials to Build Things That Matter

How LUCE et Studio Architects Blends Story, Architecture, and Materials to Build Things That Matter

LEARN MORE
Shadow and Shine: A Primer on Blackened Steel in Architectural Design

Shadow and Shine: A Primer on Blackened Steel in Architectural Design

LEARN MORE
Exploring the Experimental Edge: HKS and Zahner Reimagine What’s Possible

Exploring the Experimental Edge: HKS and Zahner Reimagine What’s Possible

LEARN MORE
Maximizing Your Metal: How to Get the Most Yield from Sheet Goods

Maximizing Your Metal: How to Get the Most Yield from Sheet Goods

LEARN MORE
Modern Materials, Timeless Craft: The Beauty and Simplicity of Flat Seam Panels

Modern Materials, Timeless Craft: The Beauty and Simplicity of Flat Seam Panels

LEARN MORE