A private art gallery that film producer Steve Tisch commissioned for his Beverly Hills backyard was almost clad in brick. But then L.A.–based architects Johnston Marklee & Associates— which completed the building in March 2016, on the site of a former tennis court downhill from the main house—decided zinc might create a cooler first impression, especially when seen from above.

“Since the gallery sits approximately 40 feet below the main residence, the roof became an important design feature,” says Lindsay Erickson, the project manager. Zinc panels from Rheinzink looked sleek and durable on the exaggerated gables. The building needed to live up to that first impression upon approach. So the architects wrapped the entire volume in zinc for a near-seamless skin that clads both the facade and roof. A total of 6,500 square feet of prePATINA blue-gray Vertical Angle Standing Seam panels make up the exterior walls; 7,000 square feet of prePATINA Double Lock Standing Seam panels in the same color cover the roof. All were fabricated and installed by Glendale, California’s MJC Roofing.

Wrapping the building this way emphasized its contemporary profile, fitting since it houses a collection that includes works by Ed Ruscha and Gerhard Richter. “This project was an incredible opportunity to design a building that in its essence is pure geometry and form, with minimal materials and transitions,” says Erickson.

Gary McKee, a Rheinzink spokesman, says the zinc panels featuring the company’s standing-seam profile offer a great deal of flexibility for such dramatic applications. Erickson points out another benefit: “It will patina to a dark gray.”