Zahner announces its first venture into web-based software. The free software platform called ShopFloor, launched earlier today, contains a suite of intuitive tools for building complex architecture.
This is Zahner’s first software available to the public. However, it is not the first time Zahner developed code for architecture. In 2005, Zahner designed the first image-mosaic perforation algorithm for the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The technology behind this project made waves - Richard Lacayo stated in the Times, “what this building says is that maybe craftsmanship has a high-tech future after all,” and Julie Iovine said that “Seurat would have marveled.”
Zahner’s algorithm allowed the entire process to run smoothly on the factory floor, as though it were any other job. Zahner’s innovative new software takes this a step further. ShopFloor™ provides a user interface: a simple, easy and perhaps even fun way to produce facades not unlike the de Young Museum. Designs outputted by the software are preengineered and fabricated on Zahner’s shop floor.
“We’ve built a tool that uses our factory floor like a massive rapid prototype machine,” says CEO/President Bill Zahner, “You see the price, you manipulate your design, and we build it. This model never been applied to architecture.”
Screenshots of the ShopFloor designer in action. Photo © A. Zahner Company
Designers can see the price change as they manipulate the 3D model. This allows users to directly control and prevent value engineering of their design that would typically occur. When the design is complete and the purchase is made, Zahner produces the parts, crates the assemblies, and ships them to the job site.
The simplified design interface means that costs are greatly reduced when compared to traditional design, engineering and fabrication. “This is a truly unique approach,” says Director of Marketing, Gary Davis. “Instead of a back-and-forth design process, everything you build on ShopFloor is pre-engineered, stamped, and ready to ship.”
ShopFloor™ provides a direct interface to Zahner’s shop floor. The name, “ShopFloor” pays homage to the machines, facility, and skilled artisans with which the software gives you direct access. It is also a reference to the online store, an intuitive marketplace to design and build architectural systems.
The transparent pricing is perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of ShopFloor, giving the designer more control over the construction budget. Photo © A. Zahner Company
Zahner currently has three tools being rolled out for ShopFloor’s beta test:
• The first tool gives designers access to the system based on the company’s new headquarters in Kansas City, a fin-based shading system with flexible design parameters and a visually striking output.
• The second tool will give designers access to the ZIRA technology for creating perforated surfaces from photographs, and will be available Spring 2014 (see the de Young Museum).
• The third tool is a completely new technology, which enables designers to build standard glass and metal facades, but with a variety of customizable material claddings and will be available Spring/Summer 2014.
“With our tool, everything you design is quantifiably buildable,” says Zahner engineer Craig Long, “And quantifiably buildable designs have concrete costs. So we thought, what happens when a designer can see the cost of a facade? It’s that missing piece of the puzzle. For the designer, it’s knowledge, and it’s power.”
For more information, visit http://shopfloor.azahner.com.
Zahner’s Headquarters in Kansas City, the first facade system available for ShopFloor. Photo © Mike Sinclair; © A. Zahner Company
Detail of the fin-based facade for Zahner’s Headquarters, the first facade system available for ShopFloor. Photo © Mike Sinclair; © A. Zahner Company
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Arup, Day & Zimmermann top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Perkins+Will, NBBJ top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
2014 Giants 300 Report
Building Design+Construction magazine's annual ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jun 30, 2014
Arup's vision of the future of rail: driverless trains, maintenance drones, and automatic freight delivery
In its Future of Rail 2050 report, Arup reveals a vision of the future of rail travel in light of trends such as urban population growth, climate change, and emerging technologies.
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
