Architectural Steelwork
We collaborate with architects and clients to design and create aesthetic and functional steelwork for houses, buildings and structures. We ensure that the client gets the results they have in mind while we add our expertise to create pieces with longevity and practicality in mind. This work can be both interior and exterior, using a range of steel profiles and finishes.
Jan Warburton Residence
In 2018, Lawrie was contacted by a Wanaka architect about architectural steelwork needed for a new home that had been designed in Norway. This job included a grand staircase and the doors to an elevator.
The owner, Jan Warburton had visited the Stella McCartney store in London and was inspired by the stairs there, especially the balustrade that resembled winding ribbons. Small changes were made to the fabrication to further the brief and the result was a beautiful and comfortable staircase spanning three levels.
The alternative to the staircase was the lift. The doors and walls of the lift were envisioned in a mesh, however, lift design rules stated that there could only be a maximum of 10mm in the gaps of the mesh. The result was an intricate woven mesh design, made of New Zealand steel and manufactured in Christchurch. Zeal Steel was also asked to include a stained-glass artwork in the ground-floor lift doors.
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Grand Designs Pergola
During the COVID-19 lockdowns in April 2020, Lawrie and Ted Daniels worked on a design for a pergola for his and his wife’s planned apartment on top of the Stanton Building in Dunedin.
The original design proposed using box section steel for the framework, but Lawrie saw that this would lead to appearance and durability concerns if additional designs weren’t used to circumvent them. Instead, Lawrie proposed using a combination of universal beams and channels to create a solution.
The design was approved, and the pergola became a reality on top of Ted and Ita’s head as it was lifted in sections to the top of the building by September. The apartment was then featured in season 6, episode 8 of Grand Designs New Zealand in November 2020.
The original design proposed using box section steel for the framework, but Lawrie saw that this would lead to appearance and durability concerns if additional designs weren’t used to circumvent them. Instead, Lawrie proposed using a combination of universal beams and channels to create a solution.
The design was approved, and the pergola became a reality on top of Ted and Ita’s head as it was lifted in sections to the top of the building by September. The apartment was then featured in season 6, episode 8 of Grand Designs New Zealand in November 2020.
Sculptured Balcony
Living in their first-floor inner city apartment, Lawrie and his wife, Sandra, wanted to experience indoor-outdoor living, as their apartment’s living area faces north and has a vibrant outlook over their adjoining courtyard of Vogel St and surrounding heritage buildings. The concept of using arch-suspended frames to support the balcony was first conceived in 2010 by Lawrie and designed by Peter Stevenson, the structural engineer on the project. The design takes on a more sculptural approach with the supporting arches having double and triple radii for supports, which then flow through to the vertically curved balustrade. Decking and balustrade are attached longitudinally, the final design suggests the centre of half a ship’s hull. It was drawn up for cutting out by Neil McKay of Farra Engineering. The finished steel structure is arc-spray metal galvanized, epoxy mid-coated, and then top-coated.
