On time On budget With passion
At Zeal Steel we collaborate with our clients to create high-quality steelwork and engineering solutions. We pride ourselves on the exceptional quality of our work and our ability to develop creative and unique solutions to the jobs presented to us.
Our Services
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 interior and exterior, using a range of steel profiles and finishes.
Sculptural Engineering
Sculptural forms are found everywhere at Zeal Steel. Partly due to the materials we work with and partly due to the environment of Zeal Steel, including its collaborative approach to design inputs for clients and artists. Something magical can happen when all involved are thinking along a common path. We create sculptures for locally, nationally and internationally recognized artists. Each one has their piece of a story to tell, and it is our job to fulfil this in the making.
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Structural Steelwork
Zeal Steel's strength is in our ability to work creatively with steel. We are innovative in how we connect steel and the environment in which steel will be utilized and appreciated. We use our extensive experience to find solutions for our clients, turning their ideas and dreams into reality. Our aim is not to produce a satisfactory result but to exceed expectations while remaining cost-effective. We work collaboratively with structural engineers, discussing designs and specifications to achieve the best possible outcome aesthetically and practically.
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Heritage Restoration
Zeal Steel’s involvement in heritage restoration dates back to the early 2000s, when the entranceway to Knox Church and the gates to First Church were reconfigured. Lawrie has often worked closely with Heritage New Zealand and conservation architects, and he has learnt that minimal intervention is often preferable so that the reversal of repairs remains possible. Zeal Steel’s preferred method of repairing cast iron fractures is bronze welding due to its suitability for ornamental works. Lawrie’s current heritage restoration project is the Athenaeum in the Octagon.
Our Collaborative Style
Zeal Steel provides fabrication services to a range of discerning clients who require architectural and creative fabrication. Our specialist knowledge helps bridge the gap between clients and the construction industry.
Zeal Steel’s diverse clients are people looking for cost-effective fabrication solutions. From as simple as an old wrought iron gate restoration through to a sculpture depicting a strong cultural narrative, Zeal Steel prides itself on producing and expanding the art in engineering, fabrication, and formations in architectural steelwork.
Zeal Steel is a functioning engineering ideas incubator, put into form by relationships with other engineering companies and suppliers who bring technology in cutting processes, laser, plasma, guillotine and brake pressing. Zeal Steel’s strength lies in its fabrication and assembly of those parts.
Zeal Steel is almost unique in its ethos towards clients and potential clients. If we are not the best supplier of clients' wants, we will pass the client onto another company we believe will be able to provide their needs.
Zeal Steel’s diverse clients are people looking for cost-effective fabrication solutions. From as simple as an old wrought iron gate restoration through to a sculpture depicting a strong cultural narrative, Zeal Steel prides itself on producing and expanding the art in engineering, fabrication, and formations in architectural steelwork.
Zeal Steel is a functioning engineering ideas incubator, put into form by relationships with other engineering companies and suppliers who bring technology in cutting processes, laser, plasma, guillotine and brake pressing. Zeal Steel’s strength lies in its fabrication and assembly of those parts.
Zeal Steel is almost unique in its ethos towards clients and potential clients. If we are not the best supplier of clients' wants, we will pass the client onto another company we believe will be able to provide their needs.
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High Profile Works
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43 Crawford Street
Originally constructed in 1882 as the Mackerras and Hazlett Building, 43 Crawford Street was considered one of the most at-risk heritage buildings for demolition in 2015. Lawrie purchased the building in 2016 and began assessing what he could save, what needed replacing and what could be re-purposed. In 2017 WorkSafe became the anchor tenant for the building, with their office on the second floor. In 2019, Recovery Room Physio moved to the first floor. Both tenancies and common areas were winners at the DCC 2020 Heritage Awards, winning the Otago Polytechnic School of Design Interior Architecture award. The building also won the top prize of the DCC Outstanding Re-Use award and in the previous year won the Oakwood Properties earthquake strengthening award for innovation.
Recycling Centres
In 2016, the Dunedin City Council invited Zeal Steel to put forward a proposal for the creation of community recycling hubs around the inner city. The initial approach, concept and first three hubs were produced in collaboration with the artist and sculptor Stuart Griffiths who designed the site-specific graphics cut into and silhouetting through the doors and frames. When awarded the contract for the first two trial hubs Lawrie worked closely with Niki Bould from Whirika Consulting (formerly Ahika) who project managed the contract for the DCC. This relationship of collaboration between Zeal Steel and Whirika has worked well for Dunedin with six hubs now functioning within the city and tertiary areas. Each hub has a strong artistic narrative relative to the area they were installed in. In the last hub in Great King Street, the artwork was created by Moewai Marsh with guidance from Aukaka with a strong cultural narrative.
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Tohu Whenua
In 2023, we were proud to be involved in the fabrication of a Corten sculpture commissioned by Mana whenua-owned consultancy Aukaha. The sculpture is a Tohu whenua (landmark) that tells the Waitaha story of Kōpūwai, a giant ogre with a pack of two-headed dogs. Designed by Ōtākou’s Ephraim Russell, as part of a partnership between mana whenua and Transpower, the Tohu whenua was installed near Oturehua, overlooking the Otago Rail Trail.
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Toru Whale Scultpure
The name of this whale tailpiece is Toru, which is Māori for three. It is made of reused material from three vessels, the Te Whaka, the Arakiki and the Kumea, that worked in New Zealand harbours in the early 20th century. Most of the three vessels, aside from what is in Lawrie’s collection, were recycled and reborn as new steel. On the sculpture, one can see the original draft marks from the bow of the Arakiki. These marks showed the depth to which the bow was underwater.