Innovative Metal Architecture

How many wealthy New Yorkers can flaunt the fact that they can drive right up to their apartment? None, one would presume—until now.

Not long ago, Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects dreamed up a design for a building at 200 Eleventh Avenue which included a 15-space En-Suite Sky Garage System, literally allowing future residents to drive right into a car-lift that would take them straight up to their apartment-level garage space.

Somewhat surprisingly, Selldorf’s innovative vision got the green light, and the development now currently in construction has caught the eyes of many a passerby. With everyone in awe of the idea of parking on one’s own floor, the building has already been subject to a collection of nicknames, including “The One With The Sky Garage” and “The Glistening Tower of Parkage.”

While almost everyone’s eyes are firmly glued to this model of parking-perfection, what we’re looking at right now is the building’s construction innovations in its use of metals. The surface of the building’s base, which spans three floors, is currently being clad in durable contrasting tiles of cast gunmetal glazed terracotta. The material is a corrosion-resistant combination of bronze and zinc, is dark blue/brown gray in color, and provides the street level of the structure with a sense of inviting hospitality.

On top of this, large slabs of molded stainless steel that organically curve are framing the upper sixteen floors of the construction. Despite their still hidden placement behind scaffolding, these steel additions have already been observed in the sunlight to glisten with grace, providing New Jersey with a spectacular light show at sunset.

Responsible for the custom metallic innovation of this undulating façade is the A. Zahner Company, which located in Kansas City, Missouri, has been behind some of the greatest architectural metal finishes in its century-long existence. Can you visualize the cut-out swooping steel façade of the new Cooper Union Building at 41 Cooper Square? A. Zahner is responsible for that. Zahner has also had the opportunity to work alongside some of today’s big name starchitects including Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, and Frank Gehry.

To know more about one of the top go-to metal facade consulting companies in architecture, we decided to get behind the scenes of the metal façade of 200 11th Avenue and spoke with A. Zahner’s Architectural Liaison, Roger Reed, regarding the project.

In June of 2006, representatives from Selldorf Architects came to A. Zahner seeking aid to make the ideal metal design shapes they had in mind into reality. Zahner worked to alter Selldorf’s designs to perfection, noting that rather than stamp out the original components like car fenders, the route of making a mold form for each component would be far more effective.

Zahner also developed a system of attachment for the metal cladding by breaking down the building façade into three components—a vertical, a horizontal and the cruciform that intersected the two. While the vertical has a strong geometry break up the center, the horizontal element bows outward with an off-center break.

According to Architectural Liaison Roger Reed, Zahner “saw the cruciform as the key to getting the design successfully executed. That transition between the two forms [horizontal and vertical] is one of the things that defines the building.”

In terms of metal selection, Zahner presented Selldorf with several options, but knew that stainless steel would be the natural choice due to the ease and beauty with which it can be bent and fashioned. Because of the differing shapes and sections of the various components, welding, grinding and polishing out the seams were all crucial to production, and Zahner made use of their signature Angel Hair® Polish as a finish due to its reflectivity and texture.

Zahner produced many of the components for this project using robotic welding equipment, which produces consistent results with little mess and is excellent for making repeatable patterns. In addition, Zahner made heavy use of Digital Definition Technologies—using computer-modeling software that enables them to avoid wasting resources by physically building full-scale templates out of cardboard and steel.

With regards to obstacles faced during construction, Reed notes: “As with almost every project, the other trades present the biggest issues or obstacles. The cladding, in this case the metal, is usually expected to conceal the sins of those that come before us.”

If the trade responsible for concrete forms is successful in their role on the project, then it is easier for subsequent trades to come and succeed on their additions. Thus the stud framing system can then be easily placed, followed by the implementation of interior electrical and mechanical components, which are then covered by the exterior sheathing and waterproof membrane, and lastly the final exterior cladding.

“It all adds up,” Reed adds, “everybody has to understand the importance of their role because if any one of these elements are incorrectly placed, the impact can have a domino effect across the project. We always strive to communicate that philosophy to all involved.”

Regardless of any such obstacles, The A. Zahner Company’s work on 200 Eleventh Avenue is marvelous, particularly in the building’s ability to shimmer in the sunlight. Not only will future tenants of the building enjoy the luxury of parking at home, but they can also take pleasure in driving up to a glistening beauty of a structure.