Custom Metal Sunshades

At Pembroke Hill School, in Kansas City, MO, two commissioned metal art installations, designed by Jan Hendrix, were fabricated and installed by A. Zahner Co. (aka Zahner). Each artwork has two layers of 14-gauge stainless steel that have been laser cut. “It was a sandwich of two panels – the mirror finish faced the inside and both outsides were Angel Hair,” explains Daniel McCluskey, Project Engineer at Zahner. The team carefully divided up the designs into panels. “They were 12-foot by 5-foot,” says John Owens, Director of Project Management, Zahner. When installed, the connections are not discernible. “It’s held up with knife plates that come off the steel. We have to make delicate decisions to support it without being obtrusive,” adds Dan Gierer, Project Engineer. The company developed a method of attachment to the window frames that is hidden, yet all panels can still be accessed and removed. “It’s about balancing the structural and artistic feedback loop,” notes McCluskey. “If we need attachment somewhere that the artist hasn’t drawn a line, we may add something in and run it back past him to ask, ‘Are you okay with this change?’”

 

For more information, visit Zahner's webpage.

 

Zahner