The intersection of art and architecture.
RENDERING OF THE CENTENNIAL TOWER COURTESY OF MORPHOSIS, ARCHITECTS 61, MERO AND PONTIAC LAND PRIVATE LTD The intersection of art and architecture.
[email protected] Zahner Headquarters 1400 E. 9th Street Kansas City, Missouri 64106 United States of America p +1 (816) 474-8882 f +1 (816) 474-7994 Zahner-Dallas 2860 Alouette Dr. Grand Prairie, TX 75052 United States of America p +1 (469) 348-2000 f +1 (469) 348-2003 www.azahner.com
MISSION Our mission is to meet and surpass the expectations of our clients. Zahner practices this at every phase of design and construction. When clients first visit Zahner’s headquarters, the possibilities introduced by our engineers surpass expectations. Clients learn of our processes, surfaces, and innovations. As a project moves forward, our designers develop details to most elegantly match the architect’s designed aesthetic. We see your vision and we raise it — with you. One project can require upwards of hundreds and even thousands of parts. During production, components are organized by digital signatures and delivered on a schedule to the site. This systematized process provides for an intelligently organized installation process on highly bespoke designs. Zahner field engineers work tirelessly to ensure accurate installation with high craft. Meeting and surpassing our client’s expectations means internalizing the interests of our clients. It means that we use our expertise to save the client money without
This is Design Assist.
sacrificing quality. It means that we take the time to understand their vision, and we make it our own. This is what makes our dedication to craft unparalleled. The intersection of art and architecture.
“Zahner provides exemplary craftsmanship in everything they undertake, and are seriously and extremely committed to Architecture, with a capital A.” — Frank Gehry, letter to the Architects Institute of America, 2007
Zahner Headquarters, Kansas City Missouri
Zahner is internationally renowned and recognized for innovations in the field of metal and digital fabrication. Zahner employs over 250 people with facilities in Dallas, Texas and Kansas City, Missouri. Zahner engineers are divided into teams which manage each project from inception to completion. We lead by developing new and sustainable metal applications, patinas, and their respective technologies; we recruit only the most dedicated and intelligent craftsmen and engineers; and we deliver the best, exceeding the exacting standards of our clients. L. William Zahner, CEO/President, is a recognized expert in the field of architectural metals. The American Institute of Architects awarded him an honorary AIA membership in 2007 for his dedication to the architectural profession, his devotion to spreading his knowledge of metal, and his contributions to the world’s greatest architectural wonders.
The intersection of art and architecture.
Zahner has steadily grown by hiring exemplary engineers and artisans whose unparalleled craft gives credence to the Zahner mission. In 2009, Zahner opened a fabrication plant into Dallas, Texas; the strategic location has led to over a dozen new projects in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. In 2011, Zahner upgraded its process for v-notching plates, by purchasing the largest CNC bridge mill in the midwestern United States. Zahner’s combined facilities total 100,000 SF shop floor space, which does not include the greater campus grounds and outdoor facilities at the two Zahner locations.
Artisans work on the Liverpool Department Store (opposite top) at the Zahner Headquarters
Zahner Dallas, Texas
Zahner Headquarters and Campus, Kansas City, Missouri
The intersection of art and architecture.
The concept of Design Assist first appeared during the design phase of the EMP Museum (left) in 1999. Zahner engineers met with Frank Gehry’s design team to develop the complex façade. Design Assist describes the collaborative process we use to build complex architecture. It is a dedication to meeting the client’s expectations with a quality product. Design Assist gives the client power to directly control quality, cost, and schedule. If you’ve worked with Zahner, you understand that Design Assist is also an effective method for reducing the cost, time, and the number of issues that arise in the production of unparalleled architecture. Zahner craftsmen understand the limitations of what is possible, developing details that result in the lowest possible budget at the highest possible quality.
Save Money — Design Assist consistently saves money for owners. This is achieved by expertise, automation strategies, and analytical processes which occur at the beginning of each project. Streamline Schedule — Our systems are designed to improve and reduce fieldwork. Our installation partners understand how to best use Zahner systems for maximum effectiveness. Improve Quality — The cost and schedule savings are not made at the expense of quality. They are the reason that we can afford to build with such quality. We have the expertise to know what can be reduced without sacrificing the desired aesthetic.
The intersection of art and architecture.
“When everyone else said that the operable double skin for the Cooper Union’s New Academic Building couldn’t be done, Zahner worked closely with us to make it happen.“ — Thom Mayne, Morphosis
The intersectionArt ofGallery art andofarchitecture. Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
ZEPPS™ Facade technology informs the curving soffit panel system.
Gates Hall at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Morphosis is forging a new aesthetic that combines performance with efficiently manufactured rich patterns. For the Gates Hall at Cornell University, Zahner’s field time and layout was reduced immensely by using a three-point attachment scheme and coordinating anchor locations beforehand which were fabricated into the mullions. There are 450 total framed panels using 90 panel types, fabricated by Zahner for the facade. Each panel was pre-designated and automatically numbered with its specific location and pre-installed mullion incorporated anchortabs, pictured right prior to hanging the panels.
The intersection of art and architecture.
“In the heart of things, Emerson College’s just-about-finished Morphosis building is going to be one of LA’s new architectural high points.” — Adrian Glick Kudler, Curbed Los Angeles
The intersectionArt ofGallery art andofarchitecture. Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Like an opened treasure chest revealing its inner visual richness within, the latest addition to Hollywood’s architectural renaissance is a mersmerizing design from Morphosis. Currently in construction and nearing completion, the building frames a smaller structure, an inner facade featuring an ocean of finned aluminum. Thousands of metal plates flow as a singular wave, made possible by its algorithmically generated output. The Morphosis team seamlessly integrated into the Zahner fabrication process, a testament to the shorthand that the design firm has developed over the years of working with Zahner engineers and facade designers.
Emerson LA, Los Angeles, California
The intersection of art and architecture.
METAL
GLASS
CERAMIC
BEYOND
The intersection of McCoy art andFederal architecture. Building, Jackson, MS
McCoy Federal Building, Jackson, Mississippi
McCoy Federal Building, Jackson, Mississippi
Glass and steel, 260 extrusions, each 10 to 25 feet long, thread into ZEPPS™ Sections to hold 1,078 lites of glass for the design by Schwartz + Silver for the Jackson, Mississippi Federal Courthouse and GSA Building. Locked into place by over 2,000 quills of varying heights, almost every single lite of glass is unique: of differing widths and heights as specified by Zahner engineering and programming specialists.
The intersection of art and architecture.
The artist cannot imagine art, and cannot perceive it until it is complete. — Sol Lewitt, from Sentences on Conceptual Art, January 1969
Mockup for Sol Lewitt’s 1 3 5 7 9 11
When Sol LeWitt was commissioned by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for his work entitled 1 3 5 7 9 11, the Museum recommended that the artist contract with Zahner to engineer and construct the geometric pyramid. Prior artworks by Sol Lewitt were produced by fabricators in Europe who used TIGwelding processes, which resulted in slightly rounded corner connections. Zahner’s design solution features a series of interlocking joints, so that no welds are visible anywhere on the entire sculpture. The mockup for these connections is free of visible welds (pictured above). The bare aluminum surface is then baked with Sol LeWitt’s signature white enamel, and the sculptures were delivered to the NelsonAtkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri.
The intersection of art and architecture.
WORLD
Visualized schedule of panel section exports for The Liverpool Flagship Department Store
CURVES
Liverpool Flagship Department Store, Mexico City, Mexico
In 2011, Zahner began exporting the ZEPPS™ Technology, a patented process which simplifies the construction of complex and curving facades in metal, glass, and ceramic (and more) — all around the world. The Exported ZEPPS™ Components ship as pre-assembled and semi-assembled units to locations worldwide, where local crews then install the units with common tools under Zahner supervision.
The intersection of art and architecture.
The most rapidly produced project of this scale completed by Zahner to date, the Liverpool Flagship Department Store is an example of what can be built using Zahner engineered products and automation systems under a Design Assist contract. The project was conceived and completed within a single year and opened in the fall of 2011. The designers at Rojkind Arquitectos brought Zahner on under a Design Assist contract. The team worked to develop facade solutions that would meet their tight construction schedule without sacrificing quality or the desired aesthetic. Zahner provided Design Assist, engineering, fabrication and shipment. The project features the fabricated unitized panels to Mexico City, where local crews installed the facade without issues.
“Even though we had never collaborated with them before, Zahner’s credentials and experience clearly indicated that they were the ideal candidate for this project. The design and fabrication process we went through has been one of the most rewarding collaborations we have had in recent years.“ — Gerardo Salinas, Partner, Rojkind Arquitectos
Liverpool Flagship Department Store, Mexico City, Mexico
The intersection of art and architecture.
The intersectionArt ofGallery art andofarchitecture. Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Built using the exported ZEPPS™ Process for the city of Edmonton, Canada, the soft curves of the Art Gallery of Alberta wrap around and through the entirety of the building’s design. Randall Stout Architects designed the museum and made use of Zahner’s Design Assist program to efficiently engineer and fabricate the complex forms for efficient installation. Zahner
provided
Design
Assist,
engineering,
fabrication, and shipment. Zahner’s strategic partner Flynn Canada was selected to install the interlocking panels and stainless steel skins. The project was constructed using the architect’s 3D Model.
“AGA membership increased dramatically from 1,600 to nearly 5,300. At our first year anniversary celebration, Mayor Stephen Mandel praised our accomplishments and Lindsay Blackett, Minister of Culture and Community Spirit, told us that the investment in the AGA was the best $27 million the Government of Alberta has ever spent.”
— Barry Zalmanowitz, Chairman, Art Gallery of Alberta
The intersectionArt ofGallery art andofarchitecture. Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
A completed panel is pre-assembled at the Zahner shop to test the
Local Doha installers assemble the panels, adding the final
system. Note the subtle curvature of the massive panel.
ceramic surface to the ZEPPS™ assemblies.
Sidra Medical Center, Doha, Qatar
The Sidra Medical and Research Center is designed by Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli with the executive architect Ellerbe Becket in Kansas City. The center serves both the science and health for Qatar, Doha. Zahner produced the three massive “wings” which salute the sky using the ZEPPS™ Process — the first use of the exported ZEPPS™ assemblies installed by local crews overseen by Zahner. The subtle dual curvature required precise engineering and intelligent organization of components.
The intersection of art and architecture.
A twisting stainless steel ribbon races around the perimeter of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. Zahner engineers employed the ZEPPS™ Process to enable simple and straight-forward construction of an otherwise immensely complex shape. Our team was responsible for Design Assist, engineering, fabrication, and installation. The ribbon is clad in Angel Hair™ Stainless Steel, a product developed by Zahner to reduce the glare and bright spots while providing a uniform satin finish. Even in bright sunlight, the surface has significantly less glare than standard finishes on stainless steel. Massive ZEPPS™ panels were efficiently shipped and stored, then individually lifted into place where field installers fastened and secured the components to the underlying structure.
“Zahner held to our budget, schedule, safety, and quality standards. The ribbon will indeed be the feature remembered by all who visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I highly recommend A. Zahner Company for any project which demands the qualities referenced above.”
— Tom Barnett, BE&K Turner Construction Company
The intersection of art and architecture. NASCAR Hall of Fame, Charlotte, NC
Rendering of Basra Sports City Courtesy 360 Architects, Basra, Iraq
Construction photo of Basra Sports City, Iraq
Ornate patterns cut from plates of Solanum™ Steel rise between billowing white forms on the new Olympic Soccer Stadium in Basra, Iraq. Designed by 360 Architecture, the Basra Sport City Stadium is part of a larger gaming complex that aims to boost the city as a major sporting center in the Middle East. Zahner was brought in by the architects to create the perforated weathering steel vertical panels. These are surfaced with preweathered Solanum™ steel, a Zahner product designed for architectural projects requiring a stable finish and patina with minimal staining of adjacent surfaces. Zahner provided design assist, engineering, fabrication, and shipment of the Solanum™ Steel vertical metalwork.
The intersection of art and architecture.
Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
Design Assist, Engineering, Fabrication, and Installation. The Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois is a feat of engineering and construction. Its conception is the result of the ZEPPS™ Process, which simplified the construction process and reduced the substructure. Designed by Frank Gehry, the project was completed in 2004.
The intersection of art and architecture.
The intersectionMiami of art and architecture. Intermodal Center, Miami, Florida
CRAFT WITH INTELLIGENCE The intersectionBurberry of art and architecture. Flagship Store, Chicago, Illinois
CRAFT WITH INTELLIGENCE
Design with Tessellate™ for art facades.
Use the tools we use.
Working with the Adaptive Building Institute
In 2013, Zahner launched its first tool
and Hoberman in New York, Zahner has built
for generating architectural facades. The
its first truly kinetic facade, pictured below
new ShopFloor™ Platform provides an
and bottom. Up to prestige metal panels
interface for designers to use tools that were
revolve to create astonishing patterns as
previously only available internally at Zahner.
the perforations overlap. The perforated
The first offering under the ShopFloor™
screen regulates light and solar gain, and is
Platfrom is CloudWall™ — the glass and
being implemented on a massive scale in the
aluminum facade system used on Zahner’s
Middle East. Planned for a 2014 construction,
own headquarters in Kansas City. Now you
the architectural firm, WORKSBUREAU, is
can upload your own image, graphic, or
now completing detailed design for twin
pattern to generate unique architectural
luxury spas to become the gateway to the
facades, and more. We’re giving you the floor.
King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Learn more at azahner.com/tessellate
We research new tools and methodologies. This page shows some of the products and systems Zahner is introducing to the market. Above, an image is etched from commercial bronze, a milling process that is changing the possibilities of surface, (see Jan Hendrix, opposite).
Sign up at azahner.com/shopfloor
Let us take your risks. Every so often an architect begins to change the landscape of what constitutes high-design, and what kind of architecture deserves it. Meet the UCSF Parking Structure. This ten-story parking facility was completed in 2012 with WRNS Studio Architects. Zahner worked closely with the team to develop a budgeted facade with a compelling visual aesthetic, and is working on another currently in Silicone Valley. The approach has led to growing interest from developers in what can be done under tight budget constraints with the right design team. Learn more: azahner.com/wrns Make art without fear. The latest Jan Hendrix work of art was commissioned as a permanent installation (pictured right), which Zahner produced and delivered to the Mexico City. Jan Hendrix has developed a studio practice that makes use of Zahner’s fabrication capabilities, which means more time in the studio for him, and an increased body of work. Because of Zahner’s continued innovation, each sculpture uses a new process. The artwork pictured right features a mirrorpolish aluminum cut with beveled edge made by Zahner’s CNC router. Build flagship facades, boldly. The Burberry Flagship Store (pictured left and previous page) 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. Zahner’s design and engineering team approached the details from a different perspective, employing heavier gauge stainless steel, v-notched corners, and an 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. Learn more: azahner.com/flagships
The intersection of art and architecture.
The intersection art and architecture. Rendering of PetersenofAutomotive Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Its muscled exterior is the fire under the hood that makes cars race, the power that fuels the desire to drive fast. This is the Petersen Automotive Museum, a renovation of an existing building led by Trent Tesch of KPF Architects. The concept is envisioned as a curvilinear facade which floats around its perimeter and rooftop bistro. This is where the ZEPPS™ Process shines as a powerful mechanism to produce its exquisite facade. The mockup (pictured opposite) was shown to the owners, designers, and construction team in August, 2013. The project is in production and will begin installation in Los Angeles, California 2014.
The intersection of art and architecture.
IMAGE
METAL Ovitz Residence, Los Angeles, CA
The patented ZIRA™ Visualizer enables artists and architects to automatically translate an image, graphic, or design to metal, using imagery of their choosing onto a metal surface of any size using any combination of selective embossing, cutting, or perforation of the metal. Any image, photograph, drawing, or pattern can be translated to the metal surface using with our ZIRA™ technology. The Ovitz Residence in California (pictured) features an exquisite design by Michael Maltzan, a facade of diamond-shaped perforations which are spaced to form an overarching pattern across its surface. Using the ZIRA™ Visualizer allowed this pattern to wrap edges and corners without a break in continuity.
The intersection of art and architecture.
“Seldom has an architectural project been talked about so much in the world media. In the new age of folded, textured, and curvaceous buildings, Zahner has become a clinic for twisting and treating metal. Their list of projects is impressive, reaching a pinnacle with the completion of the widely praised copper facade on the de Young Museum in San Francisco.” — Salvatore Orlando, President KME-Group
7,600
individual
and
uniquely
dimpled
and
perforated wall panels adorn the surface of the de Young Museum in San Francisco, California. The innovative Museum is designed by Herzog & de Meuron, who desired a pattern on the wall to match sunlight streaming through a canopy of trees. Digital images were converted into machine language and used as the basis for the entire facade. Zahner provided Design Assist, value engineering, scheduling, fabrication, and erection of the interior facade and building envelope. As designed by the architect, a patina has slowly formed on the copper surface, from a bright reflective red to a historic verdigris tone, pictured below and on the following page. The desired outcome is for the Museum to naturally disappear over time, becoming part of the surrounding forest at Golden Gate Park.
The copper material ages over time.
The intersection of art and architecture.
“Without any precedent on which to draw, Zahner, a company whose name is in the Rolodex of every European architect with American aspirations, figured out a way to make 3,000 individual panels pixelated with dents of varying depth to produce the desired image. Seurat would have marveled.”
— New York Times - Julie V. Lovine on the de Young Museum in San Francisco
“Craftsmanship in large buildings is supposed to be dead, killed by Modernist ideology and cost considerations. What this building says is that maybe craftsmanship has a high-tech future after all.”
— Time Magazine - Richard Lacayo on the de Young
de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA
Natural light streams through the ceiling of the Children’s Entry at the de Young Museum, where a foliage pattern was perforated from sheets of copper to match the shade provided by trees overhead. Using an image provided by the design team (far left), Zahner’s ZIRA™ Visualizer was then used to create the architect’s desired vision.
The intersection of art and architecture.
Massive aluminum plates measuring eight by twenty feet frame the Student Center Courtyard at Doha University, Qatar. The intricately cut halfinch plates were fabricated by Zahner in Kansas City to match a pattern drawn by artist Jan Hendrix. Completed in the summer of 2010, the architectural art installation was produced under the architects Legoretta & Legoretta. The painted aluminum panels and substructure were shipped as units to Doha, Qatar, where local installers placed the large metal plates on both the interior and exterior frameworks.
The intersection of art and architecture.
Artwall at Doha, Qatar
Jan Hendrix glances between aluminum panels at the Zahner shop in Kansas City before shipping off to Doha, Qatar. The completed project features the artist’s pattern installed on both the interior and exterior of the student center. Note how the lines transition smoothly across seams from plate to plate. This is called the parametric relationship. The smooth transition is a result of the ZIRA™ Process, a user-manipulable tool which allows designers to upload their own imagery to create their design on a variety of materials.
The intersection of art and architecture.
Designed by VOA Associates, the White Chapel is part of the RoseHulman Institute of Technology. The project is located in Terre Haute, Indiana and completed in 2005. Zahner was responsible to the RoseHulman Institute of Technology for the production and installation of the total building envelope. Zahner designed, fabricated, and installed the custom tapered roof and glazing system. The entire surface was modeled using 3D CAD Technologies to produce custom components that fit into the unique conical shape of the building. The surface is a No. 4 Satin Finish on Stainless Steel, panelized as a custom flat seam rain screen.
White Chapel, Terre Haute, IN
The intersection of art and architecture.
[email protected] Zahner Headquarters 1400 E. 9th Street Kansas City, Missouri 64106 United States of America p +1 (816) 474-8882 f +1 (816) 474-7994
Zahner-Dallas 2860 Alouette Dr. Grand Prairie, TX 75052 United States of America p +1 (469) 348-2000 f +1 (469) 348-2003 www.azahner.com JANUARY 2014