Aluminum solar shading WINDS OF APHRODITE

galvanized steelfor facadevertical

Working with artist Suikang Zhao, Crawford Architects led a redesign of the Bartle Hall Loading Dock to provide both a face-lift and a functionality-lift. The new design features an expanded aluminum screen wall developed by Zahner, offering a uniquely artistic first-impression of downtown Kansas City. The project aluminum screen skin connects to a galvanized steel superstructure, and as night falls, thousands of computer-color-controlled LEDS light up the mesh screen. Completed in 2008, the project required the transformation of a 70's brutalist structure into a softened and tangible, feminine work, as if it were a giant strip of fabric flying from the sky which happened to catch the corners of the convention center. Because of the way that downtown Kansas City highways are organized, when visitors first exited the highway, they would see the Bartle Hall Convention Center's loading docks, replete with overflowing dumpsters and big trucks unloading for the upcoming show. The other part of the problem was that it was hard for the large trucks to enter the space because the original space wasn't well thought-out. Architects at Crawford re-designed the framework and brought in Chinese artist Suikang Zhao to bring a flowing perforated aluminum screen, produced, fabricated, and installed by Zahner. Zahner was also integral in the Design Assist Process, where the artists, architects and Zahner engineering directors and designers work to maximize and refine the end design.