Collection by Dwell
Steel Yourself
From girders to grating, steel has long been a popular, highly recyclable, and relatively inexpensive material for architects, designers, and builders. Here we present some inspired applications, taken from our own archives.
Landscape architect and artist Mikyoung Kim created a Cor-ten steel fence to enclose a three-acre site in Lincoln, Massachusetts. “The entire fence is made using just seven lengths of modular, precut Cor-Ten steel bars, with widths being anywhere from two to five bars thick," explains the designer. "Depending on the angle from which you see it, the fence can appear transparent or opaque.” Read the full article here.
Both the bridge and front deck which extends an extra 18 feet off the side of the house, are made from galvanized grating. "We wanted to minimize the amount of nonporous surfaces," explains Pellecchia. "The beauty of [galvanized grating] is that the rain is able to pass through it, so vegetation can grow." Designing features like the bridge within standard-sized parameters kept the material quiet economical.