Blue-grey | Zahner

Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas

Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center: The University of Texas at Dallas

Overland Partners designed the exterior for the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at UT Dallas to evoke the movement of a comet in homage to the school’s mascot. Zahner collaborated with the architect and contractor JE Dunn to develop a perforated system informed by orbital paths.

Exterior of Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center featuring Louvered ZIRA perforated panels.

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Metaphorically, this motif draws an analogy between comets, which move away from the sun but are ultimately pulled back by the gravitational force of the sun or a planet, and alumni, who graduate to pursue a new direction, but retain their attachment and loyalty to the university.

Overland PartnersArchitectat Overland Partners

Exterior of Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at night.

Perforated aluminum panels featuring the Zahner patented Louvered ZIRA™ technique wrap three sides of the building’s second story and the upper portion of the interior lobby. Circular perforated tabs in varying orientation create a pattern that captures and reflects light, creating the illusion of movement.

Detail: Zahner patented Louvered ZIRA perforated panels. Color-shifting paint by Valspar.

Each panel is coated in color-shifting paint by Valspar, lending an additional layer of ethereality to the building. The surface changes depending on one’s vantage point as well as with the varying light throughout the day. The panelized system uses the Zahner proprietary Drop & Lock™ system for easy and secure installation.

Interior aluminum panels featuring Zahner patented Louvered Zira technique.

The panel system adds interest to the building’s exte
rior and interior features while also providing shade for the building’s users. The Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center opened in September 2017 to facilitate active connections among the current student body and alumni through space for large and small-scale events.

Louvered Zira panels create shade for interior spaces.

Interior shadows cast from exterior panels

Ridges Residence

February 22, 2017/in Interior Architecture Residential Las Vegas--Nevada Make Studios Nathan Weber Black, Blue-grey S 2016 Related Work /by cmorris

The Ridges Residence in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Ridges Residence is a private home featuring Zahner-manufactured interior metal artwork designed by Make Studios. Located in The Ridges, a neighborhood of Las Vegas, the project includes a carbon-steel perforated wall art feature which Zahner provided as a supply-only to Make Studios.

Working collaboratively with Zahner’s ImageWall team, the designers and artists at Make Studios worked with Blue Heron to develop a “Carbon Canvas” concept, showcasing artistic imagery through perforated metal. The owner of the residence had a fondness for the city of Pittsburgh, so the artwork shows a aerial view of the city’s downtown area. The artwork is manufactured in a designer-specified alloy of hot-rolled steel, a material long associated with the Pennsylvania city.

The carbon-steel alloy was manufactured by Zahner using ImageWall. The custom perforated steel surface was then delivered and installed by Make Studios, and coated in tung oil. The artwork is recessed in the living room and kitchen area of the interior residential project.

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Ridges Residence

Interior view of the Ridges Residence artwall.

Doha Student Housing

January 4, 2017/in Exterior Architecture Education, LEED Asia, Doha--Qatar, International, Middle East Burns & McDonnell Blue-grey, Silver L 2012 /by cmorris

Qatar Foundation Education City Student Housing Complex

The student housing complex for the Qatar Foundation’s Education City initiative is a large scale project consisting of two campuses. The complex is designed by Burns & McDonnell who brought in Zahner to provide various metalwork in titanium and stainless steel.

The design for the complex incorporates local culture with modern technology to create a unique, world-class facility for the students of Education City. A traditional Islamic village, consisting of five neighborhoods joined together by a village street leading to a central plaza, inspired the architectural design.

Zahner’s scope was fabrication and furnish-only, providing the spiral centerpiece for the campus. Local contractor teams installed the panels. The building complex is energy independent, generating its own power. This is the first student housing complex in the world to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

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Zahner produced the three massive 'wings' which salute the sky using ZEPPS, Zahner's process for designing and manufacturing complex structural forms. The subtle dual curvature required precise engineering and intelligent organization of components.

Qatar Foundation Education City Student Housing Complex

Diesel Chicago

December 30, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Flagship, Storefront Chicago--Illinois Bam Studio, Knauer Incorporated Black, Blue-grey, Grey, Indigo S 2008 /by cmorris

Diesel Concept Store on Rush Street

Façade panels for the Diesel Store in Chicago were designed by BAMDesign with Michilli Construction. The designer developed a panel layout with exposed fasteners and engaged Zahner to assist in developing a distressed surface for the store front.

The result was a unique, blackened steel patina created by the Zahner team. Hand-applied to 80 panels of 12ga galvanized steel, the custom patina architecturally conveys the look of Diesel’s distressed jeans. The custom patina was also applied in smaller scope within the project interior.

Initially dark and mottled in appearance, the exterior metalwork has naturally oxidized over time, taking on a gray tone in reaction to the urban environment.

Custom patinated galvanized steel panels with visible fasteners on the exterior of the Diesel Chicago store.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Detail view of the blackened steel panels on the Diesel Chicago store's facade.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

The custom patina developed for the project featured black & brown hues on galvanized steel.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Natural oxidation results in the panels developing a gray tone.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Detail view of the custom patina.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

The custom blackened steel patination and natural oxidation reflect the distressed look of Diesel jeans.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Detail view of the blackened steel panels, showing the effects of natural oxidation and the resulting "distressed" appearance.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

Spencer Art Museum

December 27, 2016/in Exterior Architecture, Landscape Architecture Museum Lawrence--Kansas Pei Cobb Freed L. William Zahner Blue-grey, Grey, White S 2015 /by cmorris

University of Kansas Spencer Art Museum Renovation

Custom raw zinc plate planters were designed and fabricated by Zahner for the renovation of the Spencer Museum as part of the new landscape for the building. New donor plaques were also engraved for the Museum.

In 2010, the Spencer Museum partnered with architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners to develop a master renovation and expansion plan for its spaces. In April 2015, the Museum closed to the public for renovation. This 16-month project addressed the first part of the master plan and marked the first major renovation since the building’s opening.

Zahner was brought into the project by the Museum to provide landscape design. The company developed a design for the planters, and fabricated and delivered the zinc plate system. The zinc plates develop a white oxide layer, and will continue to weather and patina into a subtle grey-green over the years.

Gehry Horse Head

December 14, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Interior Architecture Education, Sculpture, Workplace Northeastern United States, Princeton--New Jersey Frank Gehry Partners Blue-grey, Grey M, S 1997 /by cmorris

Frank Gehry Horse Head Conference Room at Princeton University

Zahner worked for long-time partner Frank Gehry to construct the original “horse head” sculpture and conference room, which now is on display at Princeton University.

Sheets of lead were hammer-formed over a plywood structure which encases a semi-private meeting space for students at Princeton University, pictured below. This was the first use of the horse motif by Frank Gehry. He would later produce a nearly identical form for the DG Bank building in Berlin nearly twice the size.

World-Architects’ John Hill profiled the sculpture at Princeton University in 2015, and discussed some of the history of the project.

“Yet Gehry did not design the sculptural “horse’s head” piece for Princeton, or as a conference room. It was to be a small part of a huge 22,000-square-foot (2,044-sm) residence for Peter B. Lewis in Lyndhurst, Ohio, but after ten years of numerous iterations the project was cancelled. Luckily a mockup, framed in wood and covered in lead, found a second life in the Icahn Lab, providing a suitable contrast to Rafael Viñoly’s curved glass wall and two-story atrium.”

— John Hill, World Architects

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The 22 ga stainless steel surface resembles an undulating, unbroken ribbon. Finished in #4 satin, the surface is more reflective than Angel Hair or GB-60 but less diffuse than a mirror-finish.

Frank Gehry Horse sculpture at Gagosian Gallery.

Installation of the horse head sculpture at Gagosian.

Frank Gehry with model for Parc des Ateliers.

Second version of the sculpture made for the DZ Bank building in Berlin

Gambucci Boutique

December 9, 2016/in Interior Architecture Retail & Commerce San Diego--California Luce et Studio Black, Blue-grey, Charcoal S 2015 /by cmorris

Laura Gambucci Boutique in La Jolla, California

Designed for Laura Gambucci by Luce et Studio, the retail boutique features a Zahner-manufactured perforated interior feature wall. Laura Gambucci, a former interior designer, worked with the design team to develop the custom interior architecture and features for her new boutique. The space presents a palette of silvers and golds, as well as blacks, greys and whites.

Working from custom options provided by Zahner, the team selected a material which would match the look and feel of the space. The material is a black Interference Stainless Steel with a mirror polish, a rich and reflective material used architecturally on major projects in the United States.

Custom furniture and fixtures can be fabricated with Zahner engineering for a variety of applications. These furnishings include both retail and exhibit design, as well as office, home, or exterior furniture.

Zahner engineers work with designers and contractors to develop integrated systems which meet a range of desired aesthetics. Below are a few examples of inspirational projects which include custom furniture designs fabricated by Zahner.

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Capitol Federal Hall

The building features various exterior and interior metalwork, design-engineered and manufactured by Zahner. The project was completed in 2015. Zahner worked with architects Gensler and Gastinger Walker, under the construction management of JE Dunn.

Upon entering the space, visitors are met with a reflective black perforated metal feature wall to their right. This wall system was designed using ImageWall provided by Zahner for making perforated metal systems. Using the online tool, designers developed a pattern, and further customized the system with a backlighting to create a unique perforated metal aesthetic

Detail of the interior screen wall with cross-seam perforation.

Black interference stainless steel used for the interior featurewall.

65 East Goethe

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Historic, Residential Chicago--Illinois Lucien Lagrange Blue-grey, Grey M 2002 /by cmorris

65 East Goethe Street in Chicago, Illinois

65 E. Goethe Street was designed by Lucien Lagrange and features custom roof, facade, and window coverings by Zahner. Completed in 2002, the project required traditional building methods to match the architectural aesthetic.

The design reflects the architectural style of the Second French Empire, fitting for a building set in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast. Both roof and wall paneling systems were fabricated and installed using traditional standing seam roof practices.

The exterior cladding of the new luxury residences in Chicago by architects at Lucien Lagrange was produced by Zahner. The standing seam room wall panel design was clad with preweathered zinc, and features a wide range of historic architectural features.

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65 East Goethe

Power & Light Bridge

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Bridge Kansas City Helix Black, Blue-grey M 2008 /by cmorris

The Kansas City Power & Light Bridge

While most bridges serve pedestrians or automobiles, the Kansas City Power & Light Bridge provides an electricity conduit. Designed by Helix Architecture + Design, the bridge is a utilitarian truss structure is clad with a perforated blackened zinc skin.

The 165 foot-long utility structure bridges the gap over the interstate highway, connecting the Crossroads Art District with the Power & Light Entertainment District, two of Kansas City’s hubs for arts & entertainment.

Zahner was responsible to the owner, the architect, and the general contractor to design, fabricate, and install an enclosure based upon the drawings, documents, and patterns provided by the architects.

Perforation types and patterns were developed through iterative design with the architect. The architect’s images and aesthetics were maintained during the process by using ZIRA, a patented system developed by Zahner. The patented program was used to translate the architect’s drawings into a series of bumps and perforations, the physical pixels which compose the bridge’s surface imagery.

At dusk, a rolling LED light system fills the bridge with pulsing lights, lasting throughout the evening. This surface interplay with light serves as a metaphor for the bridge’s functional purpose, transporting electricity. The architects at Helix were inspired by the physics of three-phase electrical power whose sine waves are represented by the emitting light through perforations on the cladding. The form of the bridge itself becomes a third sine wave, giving the skin undulations and shadows.

In addition to perforation, the zinc cladding was bumped and dimpled to provide texture and rigidity. These indentations occur at varying depths, representing a field of electrons through which electricity moves.

The exterior system uses Inverted Seam technology, a patented panel system which smoothly connects the 375 unique panels with minimal visible horizontal and vertical joints. The scalloped metal shapes add further visual interest to the solution and the overall composition is further enhanced by its illumination at night.

Oakley Fifth Avenue

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Flagship, Public Art, Storefront New York City Oakley Colin Baden Black, Blue-grey M 2015 /by cmorris

Oakley Fifth Avenue, New York City

Zahner worked with Oakley’s architectural team to create the new Oakley flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. The project’s scope included the development of a geometric facade with no visible fasteners, which could be installed on a 100-year-old building across one of the busiest streets in New York.

This wasn’t Zahner’s first collaboration with Oakley. In the late 1990’s Zahner’s engineered metal-fabricated systems were used the facade and interiors of the Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

For the Oakley Flagship at Fifth Avenue, the company’s unique ”Mad Science“ aesthetic shows through as a massive black geometric facade and canopy system for their latest retail experience.

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Oakley Headquarters

Designed by Oakley director of design Colin Baden with Langdon Wilson Architecture, the headquarters and technical center was completed in multiple scopes. The project first began in 1997 and was completed in 1998. Years later the company would come back for additional scope, producing the Oakley reception desk in the same aesthetic.

Details of Oakley Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Developing the Design for the Oakley Flagship on Fifth Ave

One of the design challenges for this project, was that the client didn’t want to show or see any fasteners on the surface of the system. Zahner engineers and fabricators rose to the challenge, providing a connectionless facade.

The aluminum skin used Radius Reduction technology to create the geometric forms. These angular forms were v-notched using a custom milling system developed by Zahner for making a v-groove on unique panels. On this system, each of the holes were cut, as well as the perimeter shape for the forms. Each panel had ten to fifteen skins in 3/16″ aluminum, with 3/4″ steel structure. The finished surface was painted with acrylic polyurethane coating system, spray-applied with Matthews System paint. The design has 8″ between the panels.

Architect's renderings of the Oakley Facade for Fifth Avenue Flagship.

The existing building is more than 100 years old, which created unique hurdles for attaching a heavy load. Zahner project team coordinated steel, and coordinated the site, for three months while developing the model. During this process, the design team discovered code changes providing additional challenges. The offset couldn’t go more than 18 inches off of the building. Some of the pieces were canopies, so there were limitations on how far off the building it could go.

As part of the project’s Design Assist phase I, a mockup was made of the design. This mockup was displayed in Kansas City for the clients, which provided valuable feedback for the fabrication of the final product.

Mockup at Zahner in Kansas City for the Oakley Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Aluminum profiles with notches cut for clips.

Making the most efficient installation possible.

The large elements were to be hoisted on one of the busiest avenues in Manhattan. So providing The design was essentially three sections: the steel structure, the aluminum clip, and then the aluminum skin. The clip had all the intelligence. As such it is a very smart object. The connection between steel and aluminum facade, is a clip connection.

There is no mechanical connection operation required in the field. The skin drove the geometry, and the structure followed the skin, and then clip was the intermediate. Zahner made notches in the steel, and small cut-outs in the skin for the clip system. There were 100’s of clip types, and 1000’s of clips in total. Each panel had a spreadsheet, and there were columns in the spreadsheet that had. Zahner engineers call this process powercopies. A powercopy is a reusable parametric modeled component. The end result is a face with no face fasteners. Invisible plug welds were used on the front, and rivets on the back.

Zahner strung conduit for the sign and lighting. The signs were placed on the sculptural form before being shipped out. On-site, the final wiring was simply making a connection. The project was installed on site in a matter of days.