L | Zahner

El Paso Courthouse

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Government, LEED El Paso--Texas Antoine Predock Architect PC Black, Charcoal, Gold, Violet L 2010 /by cmorris

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.

Dream Downtown

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Hospitality New York City Handel Architects Silver L 2011 /by cmorris

The Dream Downtown Hotel in New York City

The Dream Downtown Hotel, designed by Handel Architects, features a Zahner engineered custom façade and window system. To mitigate glare, the stainless steel is custom finished to medium reflectivity. The perforated ZIRA system lends an element of visual interest and added rainscreen functionality.

Zahner was selected to collaborate on the project due to the complexity of engineering required. The architect’s drawings outlined dozens of circular windows to be cut into the façade, mirroring parts of the preserved historic building, originally designed by Albert Ledner.

Related Project

September 11 Museum

Photo © A. Zahner Company. South facade for the National September 11th Museum.

Hotel guests enter the south entrance of the Dream Hotel in NYC.

North facade of the Dream Downtown / Staircase inside the Dream Hotel.

South facade of the Dream Downtown in New York City.

Metal fabricators at Zahner's shop manufacture the window systems for the New York City facade..

Detail of the metal panel system of the south side of Dream Downtown.

Cooper Union

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education, LEED New York City Gruzen Samton, Morphosis Grey, Silver L 2011 /by cmorris

Cooper Union Academic Building at 41 Cooper Square

Cooper Union New Academic Building at 41 Cooper Square is a Morphosis designed educational facility which includes a custom-curving and perforated stainless steel facade, made by Zahner.

The University’s new building covers a full city block on Third Avenue from East 6th to East 7th in downtown Manhattan, bordering the East Village. The Morphosis design provides Cooper Union with a futuristic facade, strikingly different from its surrounding buildings.

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Emerson LA

Working with Zahner's Design Assist team of engineers, designers and fabricators, this generative design was developed for manufacturing. A team of Zahner installers completed the project in Los Angeles, providing the campus with a visually compelling, efficiently envisioned, and rapidly completed building envelope system.

Cooper Union New Academic Building in Manhattan.

From afar, small windows appear to be scattered across the building’s surface. Drawing nearer, it becomes clear that these windows are actually sheets of stainless steel. Perforated sheets, surfaced in a mechanically-applied Angel Hair finish, encompass the entire facade and offer a sustainable, energy saving solution. By controlling sunlight penetration during warm weather and acting as an insulating barrier in cold weather, the skin system promises a 50% reduction in heat load.

Timelapse of 41 Cooper Square in New York.

Fabricators at Zahner assemble the Cooper Union facade in Kansas City.

Design Assist for 41 Cooper Square

Morphosis Architects invited Zahner to join the project team early on in a Design Assist process. Zahner collaborated with the team to provide engineering-design and manufacturing for the building facade.

Many Zahner-manufactured projects begin in the Design Assist (DA) phase. During DA, Architects provide a general model or conceptual drawings, collaborating with Zahner engineers to define details. The goal of the process is to achieve efficient manufacturing, within a budget, while remaining true to the original vision. As the project moved into the production phase, parts were engineered, drafted, and fabricated as pre-assembled metal panels for quick installation. The completed panel assemblies were shipped to New York City where local installers completed construction.

Panels prepared for shipment to New York from Kansas City.

Cooper Union New Academic Building signage at Zahner shop.

Detail of the Cooper Union New Academic Building signage.

Interior vertical piazza of the Cooper Union New Academic Building.

Basic structure beneath the Cooper Union's facade during construction.

Detail photograph of the less perforated rectangular sections.

Operable windows at Cooper Union New Academic Building.

Contemporary Jewish Museum

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum San Francisco Bay Studio Libeskind, WRNS Studio Blue L 2008 /by cmorris

The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind with WRNS Studio, The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco features a facade and building envelope manufacture by Zahner. Originally founded in 1984 in San Francisco, California the museum’s mission was renovated with a new addition. The museum’s mission is to offer contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. The Museum reopened June 9, 2008.

3,028 sheets of blue iridescent cross-fire interference stainless steel clad the surface of the museum, which is formed in the shape modeled off of the Hebrew script for ‘L’Chaim’ which translates ‘To Life’.

Zahner was responsible for the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of the facade and total building envelope, inclusive of the metal, glass, and substrate. The project uses the Inverted Seam roof and facade system, the most powerful roof and building envelope surface for water control, planar uniformity and long-term performance.

Zahner engineered the skylight windows to integrate into the Inverted Seam roof and building envelope system, inset with four-sided structural silicone glazing. The 36 custom skylights sit perfectly flush with the surface of the metal, giving the roof and siding a smooth, uniform facing.

Evening photograph of the Studio Daniel Libeskind-designed Contemporary Jewish Museum .

Cantilevered section of the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Daniel Libeskind examines the light reflectivity of one of Zahner's panels.

The metal panels of the Contemporary Jewish Museum at mid-day.

Blue metal panels of the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco during construction.

At certain angles the metal panels reflect iridescent colors.

Aerial view of the blue metal panels on the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Franicsco.

Aerial view of the blue metal panels on the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Detail of the blue panels on the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

The subtle raised edges on the surface of the metal are a custom touch designed by Libeskind. The architect was able to design a custom raised indentation with Zahner design consultants and fabricators using the custom indentations for automated alteration of the metal surface.

This is the first major project whose facade was produced by Zahner for Daniel Libeskind. Since then Zahner has completed the Libeskind-designed 18.36.54 private residence and summer home in Connecticut, and in 2014, Zahner provided art fabrication on his design for the Ohio Holocaust and Liberators Memorial.

Columbia University

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education, Highrise, LEED New York City Moneo Brock Studio Grey L /by cmorris

Columbia University Northwest Corner Building

Completed in 2010, the Northwest Corner Building was developed by Columbia University for the beginning of their campus expansion on the upper-west side of Manhattan, New York. The design by architect Rafael Moneo features an extruded aluminum facade, a system that was designed-engineered and fabricated by Zahner for the cladding of the structure.

The building’s engineering is a bold feat of structure and construction. Its design called for a 125′ span across the existing gymnasium on ground level. Because Columbia opted to build around an existing gymnasium, the building design was modeled after a high-rise bridge. The construction process took place during the school’s basketball season, and due to this, many aspects of the construction process required surgical precision.

The angularity of the facade is designed to express both the building’s randomized structural bracing, as well as the tailored building systems. The architects and engineers faced many unique layout challenges and the building required long-term flexibility. The extruded aluminum facade is an engineering-intensive surface designed and fabricated to evoke the same unified precision as the building itself.

Detail of the Columbia University Northwest Corner Building.

Columbia University Northwest Corner Building.

Detail of the aluminum facade system used on Columbia University Northwest Corner Building.

Creating the Energy-Efficient Aluminum Facade System

The new university building is certified LEED Gold. Integrating into the the building’s LEED aspirations was a simple process for A. Zahner Company because the operations and manufacturing of the plant is already well-suited for LEED applications.

Zahner delivered the aluminum system for this project under a design assist mode of production. Using this method enabled Zahner’s engineering and design team to reduce the construction waste for the facade down to a fraction of the building’s footprint.

Columbia University's first installed aluminum panels.

Zahner-produced mockup for wind-testing the Columbia facade system.

Detail of the aluminum extrusion system facade used on Columbia University.

Columbia University Northwest Corner Building: in the Press

“The building is a gleaming physical expression of the university’s desire to bridge the divide between the insular world of the campus and the community beyond its walls.”

—Nicolai Ouroussoff, New York Times

The New Columbia University Sciences building has attracted many news outlets and media interest due to its unique facade and intelligent engineering by the architectural team lead by Rafael Moneo. Learn more about the project via both internal and external links below.

Metals in Construction Columbia University (PDF) by Adam Friedberg, p22-31 (Columbia)
New York Times A Building Forms a Bridge by Nicolai Ouroussoff February 2011

Cedar & Kettner

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure San Diego--California IPD: International Parking Design Silver L 2015 /by cmorris

Cedar & Kettner Development, Little Italy Parking Structure

Cedar & Kettner Development Parking Structure is located in downtown San Diego and features a Zahner-manufactured CloudWall facade system. The striking new parking garage anchors the corner of Cedar Street and Kettner Boulevard in the Little Italy area of downtown San Diego.

The series of vertical facade fins were made using the Zahner-patented CloudWall™ system. These fins were installed using custom extruded channel embeds which were set in concrete. Zahner worked with McCarthy to coordinate the location for each embed. Bassett Construction was the installer, and came to the project with experience on several other Zahner jobs.

The 240,000 SF design-build garage provides 650 spaces with three levels below grade and six levels above, serving as both a work garage for employees of the County of San Diego, as well as night parking for events in the downtown area.

Cedar Kettner Parking Structure in San Diego, California.

PHOTO © CHANY PHOTOGRAPHY.

The design team visited Zahner’s Headquarters prior to working on the job, and experienced the CloudWall system installed on the building’s facade. The project was led by IPD, who served as the architect of record. The team worked with construction manager McCarthy Builders in San Diego, and Bassett in San Diego led the install team.

The CloudWall fins were designed and shaped using 3-D computer-generated studies which resulted in an undulating façade that visually changes based on the point of view and sun angle. This new structure promises more than just additional spaces to park.

The Cedar & Kettner Parking Structure improves the commuter experience, offering a canopy over the adjacent trolley platform. The hope is that by offering more space for visitors, the already vibrant tourism within Little Italy will have room to increase. The new parking building is a key structure towards bringing more construction for additional projects in San Diego.

Cedar Kettner Parking Structure in San Diego, California.

PHOTO © CHANY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Cedar Kettner Parking Structure in San Diego, California.

PHOTO © CHANY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Completed in 2015, this new building provides much needed parking for visitors in a bustling area of tourism. 645 new spaces to park give the county the ability to accommodate greater amounts of tourism, bolster the local economy, and look great while doing so.

Reminiscent of ripples in the San Diego Bay, the CloudWall surface follows the recently completed waterfront park. The facade encompasses the building’s seven above-ground levels. Three additional levels exist underground.

Cedar Kettner Parking Structure in San Diego, California.

PHOTO © CHANY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Switching from Phenolic Plastic to Aluminum Plate

The wave-like fins were originally designed as a phenolic plank system. Design authorities determined some environmental and combustion concerns with the phenolic material. In the interest of public safety and longevity of the surface, all parties agreed that the design needed to be revisited in another material.

Following initial discussions with the group, Zahner visited onsite with the city and county officials, architects, and general contractors. The team reviewed the design and determined the specifics for providing the desired aesthetic.

Clear anodized aluminum was selected for both the fins and the cross bracing. The aluminum’s light material weight allowed for the phenolic system to easily be replaced with metal, without any structural redesign. The economical cost of aluminum also helped to lighten any budgetary concerns.

Scaling the CloudWall System

Prior to the Cedar & Kettner project, the CloudWall system was limited to one or two-story buildings. This was due to limitations of material lengths for the aluminum hardware. The CloudWall system was modified and custom-engineered for the project to span the six-story Cedar & Kettner building. This was accomplished by dividing the metal components into two lengths.

Zahner built a mockup to test how the new components would fit together, and also to test lighting and color options for the client.

Mockup showing the connection between two vertical fins for Cedar Kettner.

Photo © A. Zahner Company.

Mockup for Cedar Kettner Parking Structure.

Photo © A. Zahner Company.

Mockup for Cedar Kettner Parking Structure.

Photo © A. Zahner Company.

Mockup with varying color palettes for Cedar Kettner.

Photo © A. Zahner Company.

Cedar Kettner Parking Structure in San Diego, California.

PHOTO © CHANY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Cedar Kettner Parking Structure in San Diego, California.

PHOTO © CHANY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Burberry Chicago

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Retail & Commerce Chicago--Illinois Burberry + Callison Barteluce, Solomon Cordwell Buenz Christopher Bailey Black L 2012 /by cmorris

The Burberry Chicago Flagship Store

The Burberry Chicago Flagship Store features a stainless steel facade system design-engineered and manufactured by Zahner. In the early 2000’s Burberry began a global transition to re-establish the Burberry name as an international brand. As part of this transition, a series of Burberry flagship projects were made, designed by Callison+Barteluce and Burberry Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey.

One of the core strategies of Burberry’s transformation has been the re-introduction of its core products through prominent flagship properties. Zahner has been involved as a facade supplier for many concept stores and flagship properties. Designers come to Zahner for the high-quality craft and innovative design-engineered details, which give these stores a sense of quality that moves a brand into museum-quality territory.

Burberry Chicago is no different. Completed in December 2012, the new building features a number of high quality connection details which give the building a unique aesthetic among Chicago architecture.

“

“What I love are the contradictions of the city. It’s a very artistic city, yet it’s also a real business city. It’s an imposing city, yet one with a lot of green space and an attention to outdoor sculpture. Chicago feels like a place where there’s an admiration for something that has a long heritage, and that of course appeals to us.”

Christopher BaileyBurberry Chief Creative Officer.

Zahner was brought onto the Burberry Chicago project to develop a black stainless steel facade and lighting system which would meet the highest standards of museum-quality metalwork desired by Burberry. Burberry’s in-house designers developed the vision, led by Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey. In an interview with Michigan Ave, Bailey described how Burberry’s vision meets Chicago aesthetics: “Chicago feels like a place where there’s an admiration for something that has a long heritage, and that of course appeals to us.”

Burberry designers brought in local and national architects to develop details for the project, including Callison Bartluce Architects in New York, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz as the architect of record in Chicago. Heintges Associates served as the building envelope and curtain wall consultant.

The structure features Burberry’s signature check, rotated and fabricated as three-dimensional forms. The check motif has been a part of Burberry’s core identity since the early twentieth century. By simplifying the classic check as a solid graphic and expanding it as into three-dimensional form, the design team was able to successfully unify the brand’s core identity as an architectural icon.

Burberry Chicago flagship store on Michigan Avenue.

Detail of the mirror-black stainless corner connection.

Elevation view of the Burberry Chicago flagship store.

Building the New Chicago Flagship

The facade is a unitized system featuring a black Ti-Stainless Steel (PVD) surface to create the Burberry’s three-dimensional check. PVD stainless steel can be colorized to meet a variety of tones, and is often used for luxury items such as timepieces and luxury architectural fixtures.

The facade for Burberry Chicago is the second in a series of flagship stores to use the dark reflective material. The first was in Shanghai, produced by a local manufacturer in China. Burberry provided to Zahner a small detail from the original facade. The sample was intelligently crafted but it didn’t mesh with the Zahner manufacturing process.

Zahner’s design and engineering team approached the details from a different perspective, employing heavier gauge stainless steel, v-notched corners, and a interlocking system for efficient installation of the metal panel design. The system is also deeply set, providing a strong sculptural feel to the building’s architectural accents.

The design team visits Zahner in Kansas City to look at the Burberry mockup.

The Burberry mockup at Zahner in Kansas City.

Detail of the Burberry facade in Chicago.

Photo © Robert Heishman.

Broad Art Museum

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Museum Lansing--Michigan Zaha Hadid Architects L 2012 /by cmorris

Eli & Edythe Broad art Museum in East Lansing

Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, The Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum resides on the campus of Michigan State University. Committed to exploring contemporary issues through international art, the Museum functions as an exhibition and community space.

Zaha Hadid Architects worked with Zahner to develop the pleated stainless steel facade, a complex use of metal requiring a high level of precision. The metal is finished in a non-directional, light diffusing surface technique called Angel Hair.

”We were able to achieve a highly refined stainless steel surface for the Broad Art Museum by scaling up technology that once was stuck in the confines of fine machinery or jewelry.“
— L. William Zahner

Related Project

Rosenthal Museum

These plates of blackened aluminum use a siding system which repels moisture. These were engineered to interlock in such a manner to control thermal movement without compromising the moisture deterrence requirements. This was important due to the installation on concrete, which breathes. The aluminum plate panel system features custom extruded hardware fastened using matching aluminum studs for a visually seamless system. This hardware is attached to the horizontal aluminum hat channel.

Design Assist & The Broad Art Museum

Zaha Hadid engaged Zahner in a Design Assist contract during early stages of design development. Due to the complexities of the intended design, both teams deemed it necessary to sufficiently pre-plan constructability, budget and scheduling.

The dynamic design of The Broad Art Museum necessitated re-thinking typical fabrication methodologies. Because every component of the façade is askew, traditional practices for creating square structures were not applicable. New machining processes were created to achieve the architect’s precise, accordion-like edges, which in many ways are more complex than curvilinear designs.

Part of the Design Assist process includes production of a to-scale mock-up. The prototype aids in identifying design and fabrication challenges, ensuring smoother and more directed shop and installation procedures.

”Because it’s all intersecting lines, it had to be even more precise than a curving facade. It might seem counterintuitive, but a facade like The Broad is actually more complex than most curvilinear facades.“
— Craig Long, Engineer

Section of the Broad Museum selected for Zahner's Mockup.

Aligned CAD and photo of the Broad during construction.

Aligned CAD view of the of the Broad Museum / Broad Museum during Installation.

CAD Detail of the fabricated pipe understructure / Photograph of the cladding integrated with fabricated pipes.

Detail photos of the Eli & Edythe Broad Museum.

Reflective metal, viewed from southwest of the Broad Museum.

Interior and exterior views of the fins and fenestration.

South side view of the Broad Museum in East Lansing, Michigan.

Basrah Sports City

August 15, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Arena & Stadium Asia, Basra--Iraq, International, Middle East HOK Brown L, XL 2012 /by cmorris

Sports City Stadium in Basra, Iraq

Designed by 360 Architecture (now HOK), the new Basrah Sport City Center is part of a larger sports complex that aims to boost the city as a sporting center in the Middle East. Zahner provided the perforated weathering steel exterior panels. Zahner also provided a number of interior metal surfaces.

The perforated steel was a pre-weathered Solanum Steel, a Zahner-manufactured weathering steel (corten) product. The product was designed for architectural projects requiring a stable finish and patina with minimal staining of adjacent surfaces.

Related Surface

Protected: Solanum Steel™

Solanum Steel is a pre-oxidized weathering steel (Corten) surface developed by Zahner. The surface is produced by accelerating the natural weathering process and stabilizing the result. Solanum Steel provides artists, architects, and designers with a range of resonant tones on an enduring surface.

Timelapse of the Basra Stadium Mockup in Kansas City.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY

Bartle Sky Stations

August 15, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Monument, Public Art, Sculpture Kansas City R.M. Fisher L, XL 1994 /by cmorris

Bartle Hall Sky Stations

Located in downtown Kansas City, artist R.M. Fischer worked with Zahner to produce the stainless steel and aluminum sculptures which rest upon massive pylons at the intersection of three major highways. After completion in 1994, these four sculptures quickly became icons synonymous with Kansas City’s downtown cityscape.

These sculptures are inspired by 1930s Art Deco style, which can be seen throughout the Municipal Auditorium’s chandeliers and decorative designs at Bartle Hall. The tube frames which form the bases are 18’x40′ in size. The concrete pylons that the sculptures sit atop are 300′ tall. Zahner employed fusion welding, a technique with nuclear plant specifications using aluminum and stainless steel with a #4 Satin finish.

Installation was accomplished by lowering the sculptures from a helicopter, a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane specifically engineered for heavy lifting.

Zahner played a pivotal role in the entire production of the piece, assisting the artist with budgeting, scheduling, and fabricating,and delivering. This completion of this total solution monumental artwork set the stage for Zahner’s art fabrication initiative; providing a process to produce artworks of various scales and of metal materials on an artist’s budget.

Zahner installers secure each of the Bartle Hall Sky Stations.

Panoramic of the Bartle Hall Sky Stations in the Kansas City Skyline.

Interior Artworks

In addition to massive artworks on top of the Bartle Hall, Zahner also completed many of the 48 interior hanging works in the facility for the artist R. M. Fischer. Among the many artworks are a giant clock, and many light fixtures which illuminate the lobbies, pedestrian passageways, and conference center. Not only has Fischer’s art become one of the most talked-about public commissions, but also one of the most recognizable.