Exterior Architecture

The Modern

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

The William T. Kemper Painting Studios

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education, Renovation Kansas City Gastinger Walker Harden Black, Gold, Grey M 2006 /by cmorris

William T. Kemper Painting Studios

The 34,000 square foot William T. Kemper Painting Studios is a renovation to the existing building used by the painting department at KCAI for over thirty years.

The new building was designed by Gastinger Walker Harden, features unique patterning and rich customizations throughout the project. Diamond-shaped preweathered grey zinc panels adorn the building’s south elevation. A utility fence, perforated and undulated, wraps the crown of the building. Over the building’s north entrance, a custom embossed indentation provides a historic technique to achieve a modern aesthetic.

The building is clad in a variety of metal surfaces developed by Zahner — copper, zinc, and aluminum adorn the building in near equal parts. The copper was installed as a raw “red” sheet with the intention that it would weather over time and eventually become green. This process will take 10 to 20 years typically.

In addition to using prestige metals these custom surface adjustments are designed to smoothly transition around edges. The copper facade has a creased hatch edge emboss which continues parametrically, even where it breaks for gaps in various slots and windows. To achieve this parametric quality, the entire building’s facade was digitally defined. This enabled Zahner engineers to control corners, wrapping the custom emboss patterns around corners and under the soffits. Each piece of metal has its designated destination before it’s even manufactured. The building is also clad in a preweathered zinc facade. These diamond-shaped panels are fabricated with a custom recessed flat-seam system.

Corner detail of the zinc facade on the Dodge Painting Building at KCAI

South elevation of the dodge building's preweathered zinc facade

East elevation of the Dodge Building's copper facade, shortly after installation

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.

Related Project

El Paso Courthouse

The courthouse has been recognized around the United States for both its architectural qualities and its environmentally innovative design.

The Tacoma Art Museum in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

Parking for the Tacoma Art Museum in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

Entry for the Tacoma Art Museum in downtown Tacoma, Washington.

View of the Tacoma Art Museum from across the Internstate in Tahoma.

Detail of the stainless steel facade of the Tacoma Art Museum.

Suzanne Roberts Theatre

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Performance Center, Sculpture Philadelphia--Pennsylvania Kieran Timberlake Gold, Red, Violet M 2007 /by cmorris

The Philadelphia Theatre Company’s dynamic Marquee signage

Completed in 2007, the Suzanne Roberts Theatre was designed by KieranTimberlake and features signage manufactured by Zahner.

Named for the former actress, playwright, and director, Suzanne Roberts Theatre is part of the initiative to enhance Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The building’s new marquee signage provides a striking statement about the quality of the arts program while maintaining the existing building and providing cover as an entrance soffit.

Related Project

Kieran Timberlake Office Stair

For the firm’s 63,000 ft² office, Zahner created a custom floating stairway. Connecting the entrance lobby and lab area with the office and meeting spaces, the painted red steel stairway is a feat of form and function.

Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia.

KieranTimberlake contracted Zahner to provide engineering and fabrication for the dynamic shape of the facade signage. Working through an intitial Design Assist phase, the project was developed for digital fabrication.

To produce the sculptural form, the marquee was engineered and fabricated using ZEPPS Technology, the Zahner system for building complex, curving sculptural forms. The technology enables fast installation, installed in just a few assemblies. Each assembly is made up of structural aluminum fins and ribs which are prefabricated in the Zahner facility offsite. These assemblies were then clad in a number of sheet metal skinned surfaces. KieranTimberlake worked with Zahner to select a iridescent stainless steel surface which provides the sign’s unique coloring.

Detail of the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia.

CAD Diagrams showing individual Zahner assembly parts

ZEPPS structure for Suzanne Roberts Theatre prior to cladding

ZEPPS structure, clad in stainless steel skin with adhesive protective layer

Two assemblies made using ZEPPS in the Zahner yard prior to shipment to Philadelphia

Standard Parking

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure Kansas City George Butler Architects Grey, Silver L 2001 /by cmorris

Standard Parking Garage at 11th & Oak

Designed by George Butler Architects for the Power & Light District of Downtown Kansas City, this is a parking structure’s facade was constructed using stainless steel as well as perforated aluminum surface to allow airflow for an otherwise congested space.

The aluminum screen wall was engineered, custom perforated, and installed as an facade panel system. The system also has uses for unusual panel sizes and unique details, as was the case with Standard Parking. Each of the panels was installed using an the Inverted Seam dry-joint system for integrated walls. The cornice and bold stainless steel fins were engineered, fabricated and installed to digitally defined coordinates.

Four massive stainless steel-clad fins rise at the building's center.

Standard Parking Garage at 11th and Oak.

Standard Parking Garage During Construction.

Interior staircase details at Standard Parking Garage in Kansas City.

West elevation of Standard Parking Garage in Kansas City.

Detail of the Angel Hair® surface used on the stainless steel fins.

Detail of the stainless steel fins with Angel Hair® Stainless Steel.

Interior mullion attachment for the perforated metal aluminum panels.

Building the Standard Parking Garage

Zahner developed the design for Standard Parking Garage using drop and lock details to enable quick and simple installation. Each of the panels locks into anchored connections on the concrete structure. This enabled a rapid schedule for the project’s facade.

The above photographs were more than a decade after the project’s completion. Stainless steel is often chosen over aluminum due to its high-performance sheen which never dulls and requires no maintenance. Aluminum is more porous, and over time it begins to dull, but this is not yet the case with Standard Parking Garage screen-wall.

St. Teresa’s Lace

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Education Kansas City Gould Evans Associates White M 2011 /by cmorris

Windmoor Center and Chapel of St. Joseph St. Teresa’s Academy

Designed by Gould Evans and Associates, The Windmoor Center and Chapel of St. Joseph at St. Teresa’s Academy is a 10,000-square-foot building that houses four high-tech classrooms that transform into a single event space for banquets and the new 150-seat chapel.

The building’s distinctive facade shrouds the outside of the structure and evokes the school’s namesake, St. Teresa, the patron saint of Lacemakers. The building serves as the gateway to the campus. A survey of students and faculty identified a need for a contemplative space with natural light.

Related Project

Church of the Resurrection

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY. Founded in 1990, the Church of the Resurrection has grown into the largest United Methodist Church in the U.S. with 18,000 members. Seeking to expand and remodel its existing facility on a 76-acre site, the church is adding an acoustically versatile sanctuary seating 3,500 and converting the existing auditorium into a multi-purpose room.

Zahner was brought in early in the planning process for the new building. Gould Evans hired Zahner to design-engineer and build the facade, working through a Design Assist phase to develop the unique screen wall system.

Lace patterns cut into plate aluminum and rolled for the curving facade at St. Teresa's Academy.

Water-jet cut aluminum plates with lace-pattern.

Windmoor Chapel at St. Teresa's Academy.

Detail, aluminum plates with lace-pattern.

Perforated metal with curved form rolled and fabricated by Zahner.

Students and faculty from St. Teresa's preview the mockup at Zahner.

Windmoor Center at St. Teresa's Academy.

Spaceport America

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Airport, Museum New Mexico Foster & Partners, SMPC Architects Brown L 2011 /by cmorris

New Mexico Spaceport Authority Building

Spaceport America is the first private spaceport in the world. Located in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, the new terminal to the stars was designed by Foster + Parners with architectural and engineering services by URS team. The Terminal Hangar Facility is itself a hangar for aircraft, and it provides a space for both the visitors and space tourists, as well as the spaceships themselves.

Zahner was selected as the supplier and installer of the outer Solanum Steel panels which guide visitors into the building. The material is suited both in color and in performance for the New Mexico landscape surrounding the structure. The organic shape of the building rises out of the golden desert as a functional spaceport for the center of international space tourism.

Detail of the eggplant-toned Solanum surface at the entrance to Spaceport America.

Building Spaceport America

Zahner produced the Solanum steel gates which unveil the planes within as well as the tapered entrance as visitors first approach the Spaceport. The exterior’s pre-weathered steel facade panels were installed by Zahner field operators on various aspects of the building envelope.

In addition to fabricating and installing the custom exterior panel system, Zahner was brought on as a consulting partner to explore different artistic possibilities for both the interior and exterior metalwork. The team explored a variety of surface options with the design team.

Spaceport America nears completion in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

View of the massive Solanum-clad doors on the Spaceport America.

Photograph of the header panels before installation on Spaceport America.

Detail of the Solanum surface at the hangar.

Related Surface

Spaceport America

The project is commissioned by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) and Virgin Galactic, the company forging the future of space travel for individual citizens. Designed to have minimal carbon impact and meeting many energy requirements, the project is designed to achieve LEED Platinum accreditation.

The low-lying shape of the spaceport benefits from thermal mass, buffering the building from extreme heat and colds common in the New Mexico landscape, as well as catching the westerly winds for ventilation. Natural light enters via skylights, and the glazed east wall provides a platform for viewing the runway.

Detail of the Solanum weathering steel-clad gate system.

Silver Towers

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Highrise, Residential New York City James Carpenter Design Associates Silver L /by cmorris

Silver Towers Courtyard Trellis in New York

Silver Towers is a development in New York City which features Zahner manufactured perforated metal and glass systems. The courtyard, plinth and rooftop terrace design by James Carpenter Design Associates, brings an artistic approach to both the facade as well as the landscape for the residential project.

Between the two high-rise towers is a six floor plinth, the interior courtyard of which features a 75 foot light wall. Various metal and glass light fixtures which feature the artist’s pattern.

Zahner was hired by the architect to design, engineer, and fabricate these metal and glass systems. Each of the fixtures features a perforated metal floral pattern designed by the architect, contained within a glass and stainless steel lightbox.

Also known as River Place II, the project features two 57 floor twin towers and is located in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan Island. The project was developed by Larry Silverstein and completed in 2009.

Perforated panels on Hope Tower at UNMC at dusk.

Related Project

Hope Tower at UNMC

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.

Silver Towers light fixtures and metalwork.

Silver Towers Mockup at the Zahner shop.

Silver Towers Mockup with lighting system

Above is a photograph of the towers during the day. Zahner produced some metalwork at the building’s top, similar in pattern and effect to those in the building’s courtyard. This rooftop courtyard has not yet been photographed.

Silver Towers is the first project that Zahner has provided metalwork for James Carpenter Design Associates. Recently, Zahner also completed a spiraling 120 foot tower in Nebraska for the architectural firm.