L | Zahner

Echo Dynamics

December 30, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Passive Security, Sculpture Little Rock--Arkansas Mikyoung Kim Silver L 2007 /by cmorris

ECHO DYNAMICs Public Art at Little Rock Courthouse

Echo Dynamics is a public artwork and water feature designed by Mikyoung Kim and manufactured with Zahner fabrication. The artwork is in front of the Federal Courthouse for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court.

Mikyoung Kim Design introduced a concept which would provide a unique aesthetic to the building’s entrance, while also solving a security concern for the building. The artwork is both a fountain and a planter which protects the building using passive security from the street face of the park. Zahner worked with Mikyoung Kim to develop the concept as a stainless steel fountain, providing coordination with structural engineer, fountain consultant and mechanical contractor.

The green space provides a refuge from the urban downtown and the sculpture offers an invitation to pedestrians to utilize this place. Made using 14ga and 16ga stainless steel, the horizontal fountain allows water to flow through a series of descending troughs. Zahner supplied the welded coupling connection to mechanical plumbing as specified by Dan Euser Water Architecture.

Related Project

Arkansas House

The residential project's interior wood and metal surfaces act as an interior liner to the building's rough-to-the-touch Solanum Steel exterior architectural monitors. Flooring of rift-sawn cherry and walnut also act to form an interior liner. Taut and highly crafted, this refined surface acts as an interior liner to the exterior monitors clad in weathering steel shingles.

Mission Bay Parking

December 30, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Parking Structure San Francisco Bay WRNS Studio L 2009 /by cmorris

Mission Bay Block 27 Parking Structure

Mission Bay Block 27 is a parking structure serving the UCSF community of San Francisco. Featuring a facade by Zahner, the WRNS Studio design is a noted work of architecture for parking structures.

Located in the Mission Bay Block 27 of San Francisco, this design by WRNS Studio for Alexandria Real Estate, houses 1,420 parking spaces on seven elevated levels. The structure features a metal screen with perforated imagery of California’s redwood forests. This facade was design-engineered by the Design Assist Group and produced by Zahner.

WRNS Studio desired an abstract pattern composed of four distinct oval cut-outs. They provided tree imagery and Zahner Design Engineers processed the imagery into the myriad of circular shapes to abstract the form. For the surface, the firm decided on a perforated bronze-anodized aluminum cladding, which covers the entirety of the metal scope for the garage.

Related Project

Contemporary Jewish Museum

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'.

Mission Bay Block 27 Parking Structure at Alexandria.

Detail of the perforated aluminum facade system from within the garage.

Engineering drawing of the perforated facade layout used on the San Francisco parking structure.

How WRNS Created its Mosaic-Perforated Metal Facade

The aluminum’s punch-pattern was generated using a photograph of foliage. The image was run through several computer processes to rapidly produce the millions of custom perforated panels. Note: Zahner now offers an online tool for creating perforated metal panels at ImageWall for ShopFloor. This computer-to-machine language translation runs on the ZIRA™ Technology, a patented process (* Patent No. 7,212,688 B2 – May, 2007) for translating the architect’s imagery into pixelized metal, perforated and/or bumped panels.

This project was an experimental use of the ZIRA™ Process, as the individual punched shapes were integral to the project. Instead of the typical round and square punches, the designer selected four elliptical punch patterns which were custom-manufactured to complete the surface of the screen-wall. The ZIRA™ Technology allows architects, designers, and engineers to transfer an image onto the surface of metal using physical processes such as perforation, bumped and dimpled surface patterns, as well as waterjet cut patterns and other physical alterations.

Mockup of the WRNS concept, punched on aluminum plate metal.

Detail of the perforated zigzag aluminum system used to cool and ventilate the school's parking garage.

Seven Sentinels

December 30, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Kinetic Art, Public Art, Sculpture Kansas City Matthew Dehaemers L, M 2008 /by cmorris

Seven Sentinels artwork in Kansas City

Seven Sentinels is a kinetic artwork and permanent public installation by Matt Dehaemers. Zahner provided engineering, art fabrication, installation for the public artwork, located in Kansas City, Missouri.

The installation consists of seven equidistant, elongated and oversized parking gates. These were manufactured several times the height of a standard parking gate. Each of the seven pieces were engineered to individually automatically open as a kinetic sculpture. As visitors exit the facility, each parking gate rises to salute drivers leaving the New Municipal Vehicle Impound Tow Lot Facility.

Looping animation of the Nerman Museum kinetic light display by artist Leo Villareal.

The moving lights at the Nerman Museum

Learn more about the artwork Microcosm at the Nerman Museum in Overland Park, Kansas.

Seven Sentinels kinetic sculpture made in galvanized steel. Each of the parking gate sculptures salute exiting drivers.

Detail of the kinetic sculpture Seven Sentinels, a public artwork by Matthew Dehaemers.

Seven Sentinels kinetic sculpture. Each of the parking gate sculptures salute exiting drivers.

Related Project

Catalyst Sculpture

Zahner engineers and artisans worked closely with Dehaemers to engineer, fabricate, and install the artwork. As a kinetic sculpture, the design included moving parts which were modeled digitally by Zahner engineers and the in-house design team. Zahner crafted the sculpture from galvanized steel, laser-etched stainless steel, and aluminum.

The parking gates were each crafted from powder-coated aluminum and galvanized steel. The sculptures react to incoming traffic, lifting their gates as cars pass underneath. The kinetic movement is a reference to soldiers performing a sword ceremony, and as such shows respect to vehicles exiting the lot. Seven Sentinels was completed in 2008. It is the first public artwork collaboration between Dehaemers and Zahner. Dehaemers’ second collaboration with Zahner, Catalyst, was completed in 2010 and stands at the intersection of 31st Street and Troost in Kansas City.

Each gate tower is 16 feet tall and the each gate is 12 feet long. The towers are placed 30 feet apart for a total of 180 feet from end to end. The artwork is made in galvanized steel, with powder-coated aluminum gate bars, parking control mechanisms, concrete, and a surface-mounted loop detector to trigger the artwork’s kinetic movement.

Aerial photograph of the kinetic sculpture entitled Seven Sentinels, a public artwork by Matthew Dehaemers.

Restoration: “That Profile”

December 30, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Museum, Public Art, Renovation, Restoration, Sculpture Los Angeles--California Martin Puryear L 1999 /by cmorris

Note: Contemporary metal materials are known for their inherent immutability. While a number of metals can withstand many decades, it is important to consider how these materials are fabricated and installed, such that environmental concerns, galvanic corrosion, alloy selection, and other factors are properly considered and understood.

The long-term preservation of metal art and architecture is at the forefront of the research by CEO L. William Zahner. Through his role as chairman at Metalabs and his ongoing research and publications, Mr. Zahner hopes to promote the resilience of both immutable and transformative metals throughout the disciplines of art, sculpture, and architecture.

Restoring Art: That Profile, by Martin Puryear

That Profile is a forty-five foot sculpture by American artist Martin Puryear. The artwork rises into the air above the Tram Arrival Plaza at The Getty Center in Los Angeles, California. Installed in 1999, the stainless steel and bronze sculpture began showing signs of deterioration after a short time, which led administrators at The Getty to seek an expert in metal restoration.

The Getty contacted L. William Zahner, an expert in the field of metal sciences, to run tests on That Profile and determine how to restore and protect it for the future. His analysis revealed that the stainless steel “nodes” or joints which connect the linear aspects of the sculpture had weakened in the California weather. Mr. Zahner developed a two-stage cleaning process with a chemical wash and electropolishing process to revive the original stainless steel finish and add strength to the nodes.

MARTIN PURYEAR, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA; GETTY MUSEUM OF ART STAINLESS STEEL, BRONZE; 45′ X 30′ X 12′ 1999.

That Profile by Martin Puryear. Stainless steel and bronze sculpture.

The Ames Library

December 30, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Education Bloomington--Illinois Shepley Bulfinch Richardson Grey L 2002 /by cmorris

at Illinois Wesleyan University

Zahner worked with the architects at Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, to manufacture a new roof for the Ames Library at Wesleyan University. The double-locking standing seam panel system was fabricated using lead-coated copper for its historic construction. The $25.7 million facility opened in January 2002 and remains a symbol of Illinois Wesleyan’s achievements and aspirations.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the faculty of Illinois Wesleyan regards the building of a new library as the final, and finest, achievement of our evolution into a distinctive national liberal arts college.” – Robert Bray, the R. Forrest Colwell Professor of English

Sport Stacks

December 16, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Kinetic Art, Public Art, Sculpture Cleveland--Ohio R.M. Fisher Silver L 1994 /by cmorris

Sport Stacks: Sculptures at Tower Park

Galvanized steel and stainless steel intertwines in this kinetic artwork made for artist Ron M. Fischer. The project was completed in 1994, and is located in Cleveland, Ohio at the Progressive Field Ballpark for the Cleveland Guardians.

The artworks are located on a pedestrian thoroughfare between the ballpark and the arena running along Ontario Street in downtown Cleveland.

Stainless steel clads the base and crowns the top of the Sport Stacks artwork. Lights are embedded into the tower structure, showing blue and gold which outline the tower’s shape. Polygonal in section, each tower has a large tapered base. The bases enclose utilities, vents, and an emergency staircase which emerges from an underground service area.

The towers contain blue and gold lights which enhance the form. The north tower is topped with a ubiquitous roof vent, which spins in the wind. On the south tower, a stationary crown tops the structure. Learn more about Zahner art fabrication for artists and collectors.

Stainless steel crown at the Sport Stacks artwork by R.M. Fischer

Detail of the stainless steel base by R.M. Fischer

Spinning roof turbine vent tops the Sport Stacks artwork by R.M. Fischer

Hope For Life

December 14, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Public Art, Sculpture Kansas City Larry Young L 2000 /by cmorris

Hope For Life Sculpture at the Stowers Institute

Hope for Life is a permanent artwork at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, made by artist Larry Young using Zahner art fabrication. The artwork was completed through close collaboration with A. Zahner Company, whose engineers and fabricators transformed his concept into a larger-than-life sculpture.

Young’s concept for the sculpture was based off of a bronze casting which conveys the idea of the human form through an abstracted DNA double helix. After selecting Zahner to fabricate the artwork, Young provided the casting to Zahner engineers. The engineering team at Zahner developed a cloud map of the surface geometry, unfolding the forms and translating them into flat parts. These parts were produced in the Zahner shop using CNC equipment where they were assembled, welded and polished to create a seamless surface.

The artwork is installed at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri.

The stainless steel artwork rises 32' and sits on a base of the same material.

A human figure stands for scale at the base of the sculpture.

Detail of the Hope for Life sculpture in Kansas City.

Douglas Avenue Bridge

December 14, 2016/in Art & Sculpture Public Art, Sculpture Wichita--Kansas GLMV Architecture Vicki Scuri Silver L 2000 /by cmorris

Douglas & Lewis Street Bridges, Light Towers and Railings

The Douglas and Lewis Street Bridges are a pair of bridge artworks by Vicki Scuri Site Works. The two bridges are located a few blocks from one another, and each bridge features a series of sculptural forms, rising more than 65 feet above the Arkansas River in Wichita, Kansas. Zahner provided art fabrication for the project, working closely with Scuri and the design team to realize this work of public art for the City of Wichita.

Designed in collaboration with Mark Spitzer Designs, the artworks are each made up of a number of stainless steel tower forms with lighting systems. The forms were inspired by Wichita’s aeronautical heritage and the Jayhawk sail boat, an America’s Cup competitor that is permanently installed adjacent to the bridge at the city’s historic boathouse. The towers allude to the ship’s bow and billowing sail, creating a ceremonial space for pedestrians crossing the bridge, and a beautiful site for the city’s river festival.

Zahner engineers modeled and enhanced Scuri’s initial design, and the massive light towers were fabricated from stainless steel extrusions. The public artworks were installed in 2000.

Looking up through the tower's stainless steel forms.

Stainless steel sail towers at the Lewis Street Bridge.

The Douglas Street Bridge project, during construction.

CVS Las Vegas

December 9, 2016/in Exterior Architecture Flagship, Retail & Commerce, Storefront Las Vegas--Nevada Jacobs Grey, Silver L 2016 /by cmorris

CVS Pharmacy at Bally’s Casino

CVS Pharmacy at Bally’s Casino in Las Vegas is a unique flagship store designed by Jacobs featuring a custom structural facade system by Zahner.

In a city known for its flamboyant neon and kitsch architectural statements, this Las Vegas Boulevard stands on its own, while making a marked departure from the local architecture.

The design for this project may have some of the most uniquely powerful branding and signage that the city has yet to see (and this is Las Vegas). The CVS Pharmacy at Bally’s Casino has a signage system whose reflective letters provide an eye-catching animated effect for cars and passersby. This innovative signage system is the result of weeks of design charettes, and several months of engineering and fabrication.

CVS Pharmacy at Bally's, Las Vegas

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

What makes the signage system intriguing is its clever illusion, a result of the design’s collaborative process. Jacobs, the architects behind the project, brought Zahner in as a design assist contract to develop a branded sign system. Using a combination of LED backlighting, selective polishing, and algorithmic perforations, the team developed a unique concept and produced a mockup.

The mockup was produced in Kansas City, and was shown and inspected by the project team. The team used the mockup to identify any issues with the fabrication, and then began manufacturing the piece for delivery in Las Vegas.

Mockup for the CVS Pharmacy in Las Vegas.

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

The mockup provided valuable feedback into the structural design, giving the Zahner engineering team insights into moving forward on the actual construction. The full-size mockup also provides the designers and clients with an accurate vision of the letter’s clarity.

After this phase one design and mockup process, the project moved into fabrication and installation. Zahner provided both the architectural exposed structural steel (AESS) as well as the stainless steel panel system.

In all there were 182 assemblies and 9000 SF of 304 stainless steel produced for the project. The skin of this uses a 14ga material. The parts were manufactured as part of a custom fabricated rain screen panel with factory applied ZIRA / ImageWall pattern.

All of the exterior visible surfaces have a Glass Bead matte finish with the exception of the brand’s logos, which are polished to a mirror finish. The project’s 182 assemblies are each slightly curved, and supported by an aluminum support strut located outside of the weather wall.

Detail of the stainless steel panels for CVS pharmacy, Las Vegas

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

DETAIL OF THE STAINLESS STEEL PANELS FOR CVS PHARMACY, LAS VEGAS

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY.

CVS PHARMACY AT BALLY’S CASINO, LAS VEGAS

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY

CVS PHARMACY AT BALLY’S CASINO, LAS VEGAS

PHOTO © A. ZAHNER COMPANY

The Chrysalis

November 17, 2016/in Art & Sculpture, Exterior Architecture Performance Center, Public Art, Sculpture Columbia--Maryland Living Design Lab, Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY Marc Fornes Green L 2017 /by cmorris

The Chrysalis Amphitheatre at Symphony Woods park

The Chrysalis is a multi-purpose pavilion, sculpture, and performance center designed by Marc Fornes with Living Design Lab. Zahner manufactured and installed the exterior structure and skin system.

The Chrysalis is made of tubular steel knit together to form a structure that houses a pavilion and stage for performances. It broke ground in September 2015 and was completed and opened to the public April 22, 2017.

With its name, The Chrysalis pays homage to the larval transitionary stage of a butterfly. With its form, The Chrysalis references the low-lying cypress tree seen in the eastern United States marshland. Its enormous roots provide the structural capability for a sweeping array of performances and events. As a building, the venue will attract larger productions while also providing an intimate space for smaller gatherings.

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Film of The Chrysalis at Merriweather Post Pavilion.

The Chrysalis at Merriweather Park in Symphony Woods.

Marc Fornes’ design for The Chrysalis was brought to life by a team which architects of record Living Design Lab and landscape designer Mahan Rykiel. included Whiting Turner, ARUP, Walters Group, and Zahner.

Located in the city of Columbia in Maryland, the sculptural work is nestled in the Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. The new construction is placed adjacent to the Merriweather Post Pavilion, a performance center in Symphony Woods Park.