Capitol Federal Hall

Capitol Federal Hall Building at the University of Kansas

Capitol Federal Hall is a building for the KU School of Business on the University of Kansas (KU) campus. The building boasts four stories and 166,500 square feet of space for students, including 20 classrooms, a 350-seat auditorium, and 25 collaborative spaces. It is the largest privately funded building on KU’s campus.

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

Both the interior and exterior are clad in Zahner’s Solanum™ Preweathered Steel, a rustic pre-oxidized patina on steel. Exterior metalwork includes metal wall panels using Zahner’s LockAlign™system, as well as exterior outcroppings, balconies, and planter borders. Interior metalwork included interior wall panels, an awards wall, and perforated metal guardrails for a feature staircase.

All interior panels were treated with a matte sealant to maintain the steel’s surface quality while preventing the patina from rubbing off onto people’s hands or clothing. Perforations were completed on raw steel, then preweathered to prevent damage during the perforating process. Adding the finish post-fabrication also ensures that the inside of the perforations has the same finish as the front of the panels.