El Paso--Texas

Sun Pavilion, Artwork in El Paso, Texas

David Dahlquist and Matt Niebuhr with RDG Dahlquist Art Studio designed Sun Pavilion, a public artwork commissioned by the Museum of Cultural Affairs for the City of El Paso, Texas. Zahner provided engineering and custom art fabrication for the artist’s design.

Zahner fabricated the cut aluminum plates in shapes inspired by paper cutting craft traditions of the area. The face of each metal plate is painted silver while red paint covers the verso. Lit within, the structure resembles a paper lantern in the evening, inviting continued use of the space.

Detail of Sun Pavilion roof during installation.

Framing a place to gather, the Sun Pavilion provides sheltered space for park goers to share the stories of the day with each other. This public art project reinforces the role of regional parks as civic anchors and places of community gathering and cohesion and with imagination, the patterned shadows and colors echo faces of the past and put us together in the present with each other creating a special place, a distinctive place, for Blackie Chesher Park and the community.

El Paso United States Federal Courthouse

Designed by Antoine Predock Architects, the award-winning courthouse in El Paso features a Zahner-manufactured copper facade. Officially dedicated in early September of 2010, the construction of the courthouse was made possible by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments by GSA.

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

The building won the Texas Downtown Association’s President’s Award for Best New Construction, which recognizes construction excellence in downtown or commercial districts. Judges were impressed by the use of materials, which paid homage to the copper industry of El Paso and how the design of the building connected with the surrounding downtown.

North elevation of the El Paso Federal Courthouse.

Detail of the Special Proceedings Court at El Paso's Federal Courthouse.

El Paso Courthouse viewed from the northwest.

The building’s mass is largely composed of two materials. Limestone, quarried locally in Texas, and copper, a material which references the local smelter. Zahner provided engineering-design, as well as fabrication and installation of the copper panels.

The building was certified as LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council. Its design makes use of innovative ventilation and air conditioning; computerized heating systems; lighting and utility metering to conserve energy; window glazing; energy-efficient Energy Star products; as well as interior and exterior elements made from recycled materials.

Building the El Paso Federal Courthouse

Zahner was was responsible for the custom cladding of the El Paso Courthouse. This included the engineering, fabrication, and installation of the red copper facade.

As the installers began cladding the building, the material began to blacken in areas as intended. This is caused by the oxidation of the surface, the natural process of patination on copper.

El Paso Federal Courthouse during construction.

The patina begins to form on the surface of the recently completed courthouse.

As the metal oxidizes, the material will go through the stages of copper weathering. After a year, the appearance matches the Dirty Penny patina, and the surface will continue to age, evolve, and change in color.