Using equal angle, SHS, beams and channels to create an architectural masterpiece
Situated on the Greenwich peninsula in Sydney, Dion Weston and Turi Condon’s home is a magnificent example of how the marriage of old world architecture and contemporary design can produce an architectural masterpiece.
Featured on the popular television series Grand Designs Australia, the project transformed the 100-year-old, heritage-listed cottage over the course of several years.
While an ambitious undertaking all round, the home has a particularly remarkable feature. An enclosed ramp, running from street level to the second storey living area and crossing the 19m lap pool, forms the central piece of the home’s structural steel jigsaw.
Dion is passionate about art, design and architecture, and was determined to bring these loves into his home design.
The steel framed house design features cruciform columns, reminiscent of Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion, which offers a stunning contrast of light and shadows on the columns’ opposing faces.
But in order to bring this intricate and complex design to life, Dion required an expert steel provider and fabricator to construct the steel frame.
The builder, Peter Schwarts, and owner-builder Dion commissioned Edcon Steel to not only provide detailed workshop drawings for the structure, but to also supply, fabricate, paint, deliver and install the structural steel works to the architectural and engineering design they provided.
Without a completed and detailed set of architectural drawings, Dion, Peter and the team at Edcon worked together to produce the final detailed design.
Using a range of rolled steel products, including steel tube, square hollow sections (SHS), hot rolled steel equal angle and hot rolled structural steel beams and channels, Edcon Steel fabricated the structure in our purpose built Structural Steel fabrication facility on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
One of the features Dion was unwavering in his commitment to was steel cruciform columns. To achieve the desired aesthetic, hot rolled steel equal angle beams were welded to form the unique cruciform columns, emulating the famous Barcelona Pavilion, as Dion had hoped.
While the fabrication was a relatively straightforward task for the experienced Edcon Steel team, there were a variety of other project considerations that required careful attention.
The sheer size of some of the key elements within the structure required the review of crane lift weights, doorway sizes and the load width and height restrictions on roads in the Sydney metropolitan area.
We had to offset these logistical issues and challenges against the site assembly time required to place and join individual pieces together on site.
After careful planning and consideration, the team at Edcon Steel delivered the structure to the site in one full frame, allowing for fast and safe installation. Without the need to erect, assemble and site weld the frame and its components, we were able to deliver and install the whole structure in just half a day.
And, more importantly, we completed the job on budget.
Edcon Steel has worked closely with hundreds of builders over the past four decades to deliver structural steel solutions for thousands of structural steel projects, but this was a particularly exciting project to be a part of and we are proud of the results.
We enjoyed the chance for Edcon Steel to showcase its skills in the supply and installation of structural steel for housing.
This project drew particular attention to the strengths and capabilities of Edcon Steel, as well as our dedicated production facilities.
Edcon Steel is Australia’s most comprehensive online steel and metal superstore, so if you’re looking for products for your next project, we’ve got you covered. We cut and supply steel and metal – in a wide range of shapes, sizes and grades – for all your project needs.
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