Michael Angove

NEW – Artisans of Devizes – Living Wall Collection

Michael Angove — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 21:35:25 +0000

Internationally renowned stone and tile supplier Artisans of Devizes, has recently pinned down a technique that allows fine ceramic tiles to be decoratively printed. The process culminates in the printed tiles being fired twice making them robust in performance and standard. All of the tiles are hand finished.

Once they conquered the technique, they sought me out, (how flattering!) and asked if I would put a collection of designs together for them. I set to work immediately on editing and recomposing some of my most beautiful and successful designs into tile appropriate arrangements. The result is the ‘Living Wall’ collection of 6 botanical designs.

Pomegranate, Bluebell, Dill, Jungle, Tuscan Fruit and Blackberry are each mixed with colourful watercolour splashes in the background. The added colour brings energy and life to the floral arrangements. The designs are rich, meandering botanicals capturing the wild nature and habit of the plant.

Each design perfectly repeats across 9 tiles to form a wall or border of exciting botanicals. Some of the designs have little tiny beetles and butterflies. There is one with a lizard.

Jungle, Tuscany and Pomegranate are inspired by distant countries and are a richer palette of juniper greens, sunny yellows and plummy reds. The dusky yet jewel-like colours look fantastic as a glazed tile.

Dill, Bluebells and Blackberry are a much more British range of designs based on our countryside and gardens. Dill is light and frothy, while Bluebells and Blackberry are fun and lighthearted whilst remaining sophisticated. They evoke childhood memories of blackberry picking and bluebell walks.

All the plants and flowers were taken from real plants that I either had in the garden or arranged to be delivered.

When repeated across the wall, they do indeed become a ‘Living Wall’ or vertical garden. It makes a fantastic backdrop for showers, where you feel transported to paradise. Or kitchen splash backs for a new sense of depth and nature. In either situation they have been designed to transport you into the natural landscape.

Buy or see the range here.

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‘Jungle’ shown here, illustrates the tile’s gloss finish.

Buy or see the range here.

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New Kitchenware Designs – Jamida

Michael Angove — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 21:06:14 +0000

This September I am thrilled to release three new designs available as trays, and some at placemats with Jamida of Sweden.

‘Seafood’ Celebration

I grew up on the coast where seafood is easy to come by and is delicious! This design captures rock pools oysters, langoustines, red crab, scallops and shellfish.
On this occasion, I chose to draw these beautiful creatures with brightly coloured ink, using a pipette. The colours ran into each other while I made the drawings, bringing a great sense of celebration and energy. I love creating loose drawings, especially with some fantastic, bright colours such as orange, magenta and turqoise.
I tempered the vivid colour with my signature background colours of Navy, Pale blue and White.

See the range here.

Dill ‘Whitewood’.

The highly successful Dill range in black and natural, has the new addition of Whitewood. The original dark butterflies have been changed to delicate small blues dancing across the Dill and ferns.
The new background is a white wood texture, allowing the delicate plants with their intricate ferns and lacy flower heads to shine through. It is a new fresh and clean addition that everyone will love.
Available in a variety of tray shapes and placemats.

See the range here.

Dill ‘Watercolour’.

Another, new addition to the Dill range is ‘Watercolour’, where splashes of leaf green bring a flash of lively energy.

See the range here.

Household friendly and no plastic

It doesn’t matter if you have a kitchen by Poppenheimer or Ikea, these trays and placemats are designed to reflect your character and bring a splash of colour, soul and positive energy to your home.
The trays are made from sustainably sourced and certified birch wood plain not plastic.
All the trays are finished by hand. They are dishwasher safe and will last for years.
The placemats are cork backed and come in two sizes. They are made in the UK from Eucalyptus board and are heat resistant up to 160°C (320°F). They have a gloss finish with a protective coating.

Buy Wholesale

Wholesale orders are easy to make direct from the Jamida of Sweden website. HERE

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Project Wales ~ Craft and Architecture

Michael Angove — Sun, 15 Jul 2018 23:30:48 +0000

In this blog, I am going to show how architects can look to Welsh craft and folk art as a source of inspiration on our search for a new Welsh design identity. #ProjectWALES

There is a long history of craft in Wales. Weaving, knitting and quilt making all continue to give Wales a strong sense of identity and heritage, that everyone is familiar with. Welsh blankets using traditional patterns are still manufactured in Wales very successfully. This area is very close to my heart because I am a professional textile designer specialising in print, so out of all of my blogs to date, this one about showing pattern on the exterior of buildings is my favourite.

Usually when architects talk about craft, it will be about bespoke features integral to the building but I believe we can make a building look more Welsh through decoration. We all agree it is important to have craft within the architecture, I also believe it can be used externally, a visual statement that recognises our textile heritage. A statement that everyone can enjoy and take inspiration from.

While growing up in south Wales there was a famous landmark near Cardiff station. A water tower had a large daffodil mural painted onto it. It was a landmark, one that many people fondly remember. I am not suggesting we paint emblematic murals everywhere, though that cross pollinated with graffiti has merit. What I am suggesting is that we use folk pattern and craft pattern in contemporary architecture to create a new language that can be vernacular to Wales.

Here, I have chosen a series of images to illustrate how craft and folk patterns can be used in architecture.

It is so important to be specific about the kind of pattern that might emulate Welsh soul. This wonderful vinyl pattern has the feeling of quilting or embroidery and certainly feels hand crafted. It looks fantastic especially on the outside of the building which is a completely unexpected location for a ‘homely’ pattern. Right now, it looks exciting and fresh and with a new design could be very Welsh.
De Meo & De Bona for Wall & Deco.

This 5-colour, painted mural takes inspiration from textile mills and weave patterns. It’s well-chosen, clever colours are sympathetic to the local stone, of which the house it built from. The stars and diamonds patchwork are sized correctly to fit within the canvas of the wall, further compounding the notion of craft. It is so important, even vital, to start injecting architecture in Wales with a sense of our DNA. Wrapping, painting, printing and decorating our buildings with patterns and textures could be a way forward.
Garnethill Mural, Glasgow from 1977 has decayed beautifully.

The simple, ‘folk-art’ colour-blocking, feels honest and correct against the pinewood grain. Using the patterns across all surfaces including the roof is really important, it turns the building into a jewellery box in the woods. It feels special, bespoke and important, even though it is honest and simple.
Dartford Ecology Building by Studio Weave. The timber-clad structure is an outdoor classroom, dyeing workshop, art studio, bird-watching hide, tree house and park shelter all rolled into one.

Urban Interiorites is surely a one-of-a-kind restaurant, located in the Harajuku area of Tokyo, this restaurant, sake bar and lounge looks like a textiles project using what look like pin cushions, felt pillows and plastic buttons. Indeed it is a very loud design, but we must admit it is incredibly brave.
This restaurant design was a student project at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, with Professor Ali Rahim, Tiffany Dahlen, and Virginia Melnyk.

Hidden houses in the woods are given an entirely new purpose when wrapped in simple textile patterns. They are welcoming sanctuaries, rather than remote and disconnected edifices.
Wall & Decò.

Foreign Office Architects have completed the new tile-covered campus for Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, located on the Greenwich Peninsula in London. The façade is composed of 28,000 anodised aluminium tiles in three different shapes and colours. The pattern and its contruction is demonstrably craft related. It reminded me of macrame and knotwork.

Arabel Rosillo de Blas is a visual artist. Here she has created lace window panels from nylon rope.
Commissioned by Bedford Creative Arts. May 2012- August 2012, 1St Paul’s square. Bedford. UK

Lace fence on the facades of apartment buildings, designed by SeARCH architects. the facades consist of 150 panels that are seamlessly put together to cover a total area of 3000m2. they are located in the hague, and made from betafence white PVC coated wire.

This doily mural against red brick uses symmetry to feel integral to the older building.
Wall by NeSpoon PL.

I found this building on my travels in Copenhagen. The entire facade, to what is a jewellery company, is covered in these bronze (?) perforated and folded panels. The pattern is very delicate, I wish I was able to go inside because the light coming through must be beautiful.
The panels are motorized, and every morning alternate panels open. At night, all the blinds are closed and the building is protected by the continuity of the sheet.
Trollbeads Jewellery, Toldbodgade 13. Copenhagen.

BRICKWORK

Previously I have looked at patterns applied on top of a structure, the following images show how pattern can be introduced integrally, in the brick work. I am really excited by the following images, some of which I have taken myself. It is possible to channel various textures, knit and weave structures with just the common brick. This is where craft in architecture for Wales makes perfect sense.

This huge, windowless, brick tower is made special by arranging the bricks in a finely 3D filigree, similar to the knit pattern of fairisle. Some bricks protrude whiles others are in relief. Across such a large edifice it is difficult to decipher the effect, yet it has the same feeling to a very fine couture fabric.
NRW State Archive, by ORTNER & ORTNER BAUKUNST. Germany.

This very simple, 2-colour brick pattern looks so much like a waffle weave structure, the kind one sees in blankets. The result is rich, warm and memorable. An inexpensive way to bring craft and pattern into Welsh architecture.

This diamond brick pattern turns what would have been a very boring building into one that is in its own category..
Light blue glazed bricks shine in the daylight, contrasting happily with the red brick, and the addition of white bricks further lightens the façade. On the corners of the new buildings, the subtle diamond pattern folds around like cloth.
St. Mary of Eton, Hackney. Matthew Lloyd Architects.

Another simple brick arrangement completely transforms the surface of this building, using classic textile patterns similar to Argyl. It would be wonderful to start seeing craft patterns used in Welsh architecture today.
NICOLAI BO ANDERSEN ARKITEKT, Konstabelbygningen.

Further compounding the beauty of the brick; A patchwork of various textile patterns reminds me of the 2nd image in the blog, from Glasgow. Tweed textures and herringbone structures bring this building to life with decoration.

Finally, this fantastic building shows a myriad ways to use brick to make woven-like textures.
Concrete facade panels clad with brickwork allude to the original brick assembly technique used in the neighbourhood, whilst breaking with the monotonous, repetitive appearance of traditional prefab facades. The result is a varied brickwork pattern that resembles the colourful image composition of hanging woven blankets.
Mecanoo Architects, Amsterdam Noordstrook Block A.

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New Designs – Window Film Edit

Michael Angove — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 21:31:28 +0000

To celebrate the launch of 20 brand new designs I have with UK company, Surface View, I’ve selected several to be visualised as window films in various, impactful settings. This substrate, available with Surface View, shows how exciting window films can be for architects, interior designers and consumers.

Window films are simple to apply to glass surfaces. The material is very long lasting and the high quality film is easy to install and removes without damage to the surface.. The result has wow factor, changing the glass into a translucent pattern that you can glimpse through to the other side, just like looking through trees or flowers.

Creating Privacy and Wellbeing.

Creating privacy and intimacy through pattern is becoming an important part of the interior. As we move into a new era of maximalism, architecture and interiors are investigating new notions of texture, atmosphere and activity. Where once minimalism offered a ‘get out of jail free’ card, the industry is beginning to realise the end user, or consumer wants colour, layers of texture and above all, fun and happiness.

Printed window films are a simple way to oppress the stark reality of minimalism, especially in the work place, where new focus is on wellbeing, amenities and comfort. Employee productivity and satisfaction is increased when investment into office design is made so why not invest in pattern?
The right pattern can transform harsh environments into living walls, forests and gardens, bringing the outside inside. My new designs energise with natural colour, layers of interest and enjoyment into the work space.

The New Designs.

20 complex and discerning botanicals have been painstakingly assembled from scans and photographs of plants from my garden, here in Wiltshire. The plants I use have provenance; there is a story to every design. Every pattern has hidden beetles and butterflies, this gives the designs a layer of interaction and a longer lasting appeal. See all the designs here: Surface View.

Be under no illusion, these designs are not mere photographs or surface patterns, they are works of art.

Many days, and in some cases weeks, of digital craftsmanship has gone into building these designs. So each work outlines the astonishing fantasy of flora and fauna. The new collection focusses on a broad range of flowers including a filigree of bright blue British Bluebells from my local woodland, or the refreshing zest of the mediterranean orchard with ‘Calypso’. There are Peonies from my garden, and hedgerow plants from my immediate countryside. In conclusion, there is a design here for every occasion. Click here to watch the video about how I work.

Any Size Possible.

Window films can be ordered for home decorating projects as well as very large bespoke projects for architects and interior designers.

My range of designs are ready to order from the Surface View website now. Simply choose your favourite design, put in the dimensions of your glass, then press send. It’s very straight forward.

The Surface View team is there to help you for larger orders and bespoke projects as well as enquiries. They have experience in very large projects where entire glass buildings have been wrapped in film.

Alissa Sequeira is on hand to help you out with enquiries and information: alissa@surfaceview.co.uk

How to Use Window Film – The Visualisations.

This visualisation uses my ‘Meadow’ design to breath new life into a cold glass elevator box.
How exciting to arrive at street level in a city, to a panoramic field of poppies, grasses and butterflies.

Using my bright green ‘Lime Tree’ design, window film can dramatically change stark office spaces into lush outside spaces.
The space becomes more private whilst still being open and airy. This pattern invigorates the work space with positive, healthy energy.
Partitions have been designed and realized by Zi Creative. ~ Thank you.

The new ‘Bluebells’ design that is now available, looks perfect in this spa environmant. Everyone finds a bluebell carpet irresistible.
This pattern is a fresh, clean and bright design filling your face with joy, whilst fitting in with the calm of the spa.
Original Image curtesy of MSL Interiors ~ Thank you.

1000’s of tiny Box leaves in glossy green have been arranged to make the ‘Topiary design’.
This entrance is antiseptic and dry, but with the addition of the Topiary design its becomes, grand and inspiring.
Any size window or glass can be fitted with window film.

‘Calyspo’ is a fun and fruity pattern in happy colours of yellows and pinks, completely on trend.
With this design I wanted it to feel like that moment you peel open a fruit and juice sprays out. I imagine the droplets of juice to look like diamonds falling in slow motion. It is hard to see but the reflections in the droplets are of my garden.
Original Image curtesy of Room Stone ~ Thank you.

Meeting rooms are important spaces where serious conversations take place. ‘Ambergris’ is a finely crafted design.
The pattern has a golden sophistication. I have used boulders of natural amber dripping in essence, balancing against each other, with smokey wisps of incense through the onyx background. The result is rich, dark and elegant.

Dont forget, these window films are translucent. They make excellent night time displays.
Shown here is ‘Mimosa’. This design took an incredible 8 weeks to build. Every yellow pompom was meticulously cut out, as were the fern leaves. Moths drink from the nectar of the Mimosa as all around explodes with cardamom pods and falling leaflets. Like in reality, there is something unexpected – can you find the yellow ladybird?
Original Image curtesy of Jocelyn Low Photographer & Frost Architects ~ Thank you.

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Project Wales ~ Welsh Gold Inspiration

Michael Angove — Sat, 09 Jun 2018 23:04:47 +0000

The Royal family always use Welsh gold for their wedding rings by tradition. Here, I am going to illustrate how Welsh gold is an incredible source of inspiration for sublime interiors and cutting edge architecture.

Welsh Gold History.

Welsh gold is gold that occurs naturally in two distinct areas of Wales and highly prized because of its origin and scarcity. One area it is found in is North Wales in a band stretching from Barmouth, past Dolgellau and up towards Snowdonia. This was mined at several mines, the largest of which were the Gwynfynydd Gold Mine, near Ganllwyd, and the Clogau Gold Mine near Bontddu. In South Wales, it is found in a small area in the valley of the River Cothiat Dolaucothi where it is known to have been mined by the Romans.

New Welsh Lux.

Imagining Welsh luxury conjures up images of thick wool blankets rather than gold buildings. This is because the current notion of Welshness has a thread of honest and humble craft. I truly believe Wales is in a position to pull on all of its national emblems to build a fantastic design revolution, like Macintosh did for Scotland.

Wales has a terrific mining history, for coal as well as gold, I am focusing on natural, textured finishes that imbue a sense of ‘taken from the earth’. Then, I have found some gold cladding that channels the morphology of slate and the surface of the dragon, compounding notions of contemporary Welsh identity into a strong and exciting, well rounded design identity.

Look at the following images and their descriptions and see how Gold, or the colour Gold can be inspiring and signature.

The dining room is adorned with panels of golden bronze on two walls. I love the delicate undulating surface of the gold and it’s dark richness. Its simplicity is statement without being harsh and minimal.
Table from Eero Saarinen to Knoll and old chairs Superleggera, by Gio Ponti.

The soft grainy texture of these kitchen units are breathtaking in pale gold. Tempered by white, veined marble to make a perfect example of top quality materials of the mine and quarry.
Apartment in Paris, on the Rue de Lille, belonging to the interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot.

Deceptively, this gold fasciae is actually a wallpaper mural. The undulating fractal pattern is like a golden quarry face or geode. It pays respect to our mining heritage.

I am in love with these panels. Every panel is different and unique, the rippling, honed surface catches light and reflection.
Wall Panels by Product Line

This interior uses gold in several ways: in borders, trims and brushed panelling.
It becomes luxurious without being ostentatious and that is because it mixes wood and pattern in an eclectic way. The unit doors each look bespoke, but that wood & gold combination is really exciting. It feels vernacular and could be Welsh woodland with veins of gold. It is a London townhouse but wouldn’t be out of place in a house on a Welsh mountainside.
The Crafted House – a collaboration between De Rosee Sa and Lionelk Jadot.

Champaign coloured glass is pressed into this waterfall of liquid gold. Mesmerising beauty especially how lights falls through it onto the outside steps..
The simple herringbone pattern could be connected to weave structures or dragon scales. It is sublime.
Glass Jewelry Box, Japan by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP.

I am a sucker for mixing old with new so this crisp gold and concrete staircase fitted into an older brick building gets my full attention.
Each of the panels are different tones of gold, so important to not look overly manufactured and cloned.
In 2009, the benetton family commissioned OMA to transform ‘fondaco dei tedeschi’ — a 16th century building on the banks of venice’s grand canal — into a department store and public space. seven years later, the restoration project is now complete and has been handed over to hong kong-based firm DFS to outfit the interior for retail use.

Gold coloured brass panelling is arranged like slate slabs in a patio on this building. With a variety of rectangular shapes the panelling looks bespoke and hand made. The cantilevered balconies use decorative perforations to let light through as well as to connect to the surrounding buildings.
It appears that to use gold in buildings correctly. one needs to treat it like a precious metal, finely tune it and work it like a craftsperson.
10 Weymouth Street, Fitzrovia by Make Architects.

Not everything in gold looks good. Here, the panelling feels like an add on to an ordinary office block and the result is that the gold does not feel precious – it feels excessive. I like the arrangement of the triangular panels on the edifice, as it has movement and reminds me of sun glinting on water.
The Central Bank, Dublin, by Henry J Lyons and Partners. Constructed by Liam Carroll.

This ordinary glass building has been wrapped it a gold overcoat, it looks great. The large angular facets and perforated pixels create a precious object that is singular without being ostentatious. It becomes a highlight in the surrounding landscape.
Forum Gold and Silver, Germany. Architecture: isin + co.

This building looks painstakingly wrapped in gold plating. It looks precious and exquisite without feeling vulgar.
The fire engine red entrance helps the building remain grounded as does its post-industrial silhouette.

Golden scales glint in the sun like a giant dragon.
The Fold in Sidcup. The scheme was designed to tender stage by Studio Egret West with KDS Associates employed as completion architects by the contractor.

3 dimensional panelling in dull gold looks like armour as well as scales.
Titanic Belfast is the result of a successful collaboration between the Concept Design Architects CivicArts/Eric R Kuhne & Associates and the Lead Consultant/Architect Todd Architects.

Sections of blackened wood finely trimmed in gold brass. Humble yet luxurious.
Sourced by Maison Gerard

I love this cladding composed of ceramic tiles in both flint white and high gloss gold finish, angled in varying directions to show reflect shimmering light in the surface.
Surface by Giles Miller Studio.

Oxidised oak wood with interlocking bronze rectangles is an anthology of Welsh landscape and mining.
Butchers block console table by Amuneal.

Gold-leaf laminated glass, which was made by sandwiching Japanese traditional craftsman’s gold dust between high-translucency glasses using modern technologies, represents Japanese images, in addition to an image of brass instruments. By hanging these gold-leaf laminated glasses with the diagonal cable-grid system, a new type of curtain wall like stained glasses was developed.
Yamaha Corporation Building. Nikken Sekkei LTD.

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Ege/FX Carpet Award ~ WINNER!

Michael Angove — Mon, 07 May 2018 14:11:41 +0000

I like to enter design competitions. It can be a bit intimidating, especially if your entry isn’t placed, but I find it a healthy exercise to put yourself through. Unfortunately, there aren’t many out there for textile designers or pattern designers like myself.

I found out about this competition on LinkedIn and straight away put together some concepts. I have loved Ege Carpets for several years so realised this was a big opportunity to connect in a really healthy way. I actually completed 3 designs over about 10 days. I looked at the company website and learned about their colour palette and resolutions. But the incredible thing is that I always believed Ege Carpets wove their pattens rather than injection dying, so kept my colour down and stayed in a more monochromatic range. I settled on one design and sent off my entry by email.

The unbelievable happened, I was selected as one of the 3 finalists! A week later and I am flying out to Billund in Denmark to visit the factory, see the creation of my sample and meet the judges. The factory tour was really interesting and I wrote a blog click here.

I met the other finalists who were Caitlin Simcock and Sunhil Kim. All three of us had different versions of our design created, but not before the wonderful design team: Signe, Mette and Bettina showed us the digitisation process. We were able to edit colours after seeing the latest colour palette, as well as change the the crop area from our large format designs to a 1m x 1m swatch.

The judges arrived and deliberated over our designs which were all very different from each other. I was delighted to be announced as winner! Thank you to all the judges who were kind enough to select my design.

Thank you also to Jan Magdal Poulsen who looked after all the finalists and made us feel very welcome.

The design is called Alpaca. Because the competition specified a multi use product, I thought it would be interesting to see a pattern that made the flooring look like a different type of luxury fabric. So I designed Alpaca to connect a hardwearing flooring to the softer imagery of a plush textile. Alpaca fibres have a crimped nature that I built into the design to look deep and textured. I put a gradient shadow into the pattern as to give the impression the fibres go deep into the tuft of the carpet. The end result was a very large scale shag pile, it has great movement and contemporary feeling.

I guessed it would be helpful for the team and the judges to see the design visualised in a specific environment. I chose to illustrate it as a flooring for a Cathay Pacific airport lounge. Hardwearing yet top end.

I carefully repeated the design at 2m square, making sure to eliminate tramlines, whilst maintaining the random fall of Alpaca fur.

This is the digitised version of my design. The horizontal colours are the mainline dyes from which other colours were mixed from.

Kindly, the design team manufactured my design in two sizes. It was exhilarating to see Alpaca as an actual carpet. The colour translated really well into pale beige and darkest ink blue.

This was the final sample I chose for the judges, I went for the larger swatch. The injection dye technique they use for the carpet manufacture, is fantastic. None of the darker colours polluted the palest colours. It was a remarkable quality, thick pile and super soft.

I would like to say a big thank you to Ege Carpets and FX magazine for the opportunity to see this amazing product being made. Thank you for the trip to Herning and the prize win of a trip to Copenhagen. Thank you to Caitlin and Sunhil, the judges and the entire Ege factory. I really hope we can build on this new friendship.

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Project Wales ~ Welsh Steel Inspiration

Michael Angove — Thu, 03 May 2018 22:36:10 +0000

This month we look at Welsh Steel as a source of inspiration for Project Wales. Why are we not using a material that we have available in Wales? A material that can save our contemporary industrial heritage that has successfully traded steel for decades. We could really show off with this material, make it ours and develop a signature design identity.

The steel industry in Wales has hung in the balance for quite a while. While the sterling is low on the exchange, our steel is selling really well abroad. However, the design and architecture community can help this industry by using it in a visible and proud way. Bring Welsh steel to front of house. Let people see it, own it and make it a staple ingredient in architecture and design in Wales.

Weathered or corten steel is bold, brawny and charismatic. It possesses honest and robust qualities that make it a highly reliable substrate. One that needs minimal, if any, maintenance. Welsh weathered steel is a terrific choice for exterior design. It’s Triassic, sienna colour palette is an echo of our mines and quarries, a characteristic, that could be a new vernacular if used through the welsh landscape.

As well as oxidising steel, it can be electroplated, chemically coated or laser cut to become a choice of new finishes.

Own it

One thing I think Welsh Steel could benefit from is a Hallmark. A single panel or section where a ‘Welsh Steel’ monogram proclaims ownership. It makes the metal feel bespoke and custom. More importantly it connects people to its provenance, a visual distinction that it was made in Wales.

The following images are for inspiration. It is easy to imagine the application of steel in contemporary Wales, as it would fit in with our design heritage extremely well.

I love the brutal geometry of this structure. The entrance is almost like a chasm between two rock faces. It reminds me of growing up near to the Barry docks.
Picture Unknown.

There are many derelict buildings in Wales, some are remnants of our industrial past. This weathered steel space honours the dovecote ruin by using its structure to grow from, like a root. The steel is sympathetic to the colour of the red brick, with its ‘A’ frame silhouette further enhancing the areas past.
London architects Haworth Tompkins.

The rust-like appearance of the weathered Cor-Ten steel cladding is a striking feature of the cutting-edge design of this private dwelling in West London. The structural design provides an economical method of construction by using the Cor-Ten panels with a steel backing frame as the primary structure for the building. Sheets of Cor-Ten were prefabricated into wall panels and a structural steel frame welded to the rear. This allowed the panels to be simply bolted into place on site and then welded together to form a weatherproof envelope.
Eldridge Smerin Architects. Elliot Wood Engineering

Located in Lexington, Massachusetts, Grow Box is a residence surrounded by over 40 varieties of Japanese maple trees that the homeowners lovingly maintain. The exterior is clad in a weathered steel that closely matches the bark on the surrounding trees.
Merge Architects.

Here, Corten steel has been used to rejuvenate and modernise. The steel is so well tailored into this shop facade it seamlessly and effortlessly looks like it has always existed. It is exquisite with its millimetre precision that looks finely crafted. Humble but a statement.
Wiel Arets architects.

It was this image that made me think about writing a blog about Welsh Steel. The environment could be Wales, either a ruin or a harbour. These solid and definite steps are in Portugal. I really like how they mirror the proportions of the ancient steps. Again we see Corten steel being used almost as a symbiote enhancing its host.
Visitors’ Centre at Pombal Castle, Portugal, by Comoco Arquitectos.

Public spaces in Wales are less than memorable. Steel as a form of protection is illustrated here as well as creating privacy and a sanctuary.
Peninsula Residence by Andrea Cochran landscape design.

Another picture from visitors’ centre at Pombal Castle illustrating how steel can be tailored into spaces and looks incredible juxtaposed against stone.
Comoco Arquitectos.

In this house in the suburbs of Antwerp, weathering steel lamellae are in command. Inside as well as outside they define the spaces, they mark out the boundaries where needed and open again when suited. They glow in the rusty evening sun and give a twinkling show of shadows. They embrace and protect the environment of the residents of this extraordinary house. The concept of this house is based on the use of the Corten steel lamellae. It’s not only used to design the building, but it also shapes the landscape and defines the interior.
DMOA Architecten.

People need bus stops. This design is lined with glass, offering protection from the Welsh weather. I would really like to see better design in this area. It is the perfect vehicle for Welsh steel: hardwearing, protective yet signature.
Hild und K Architekten.

Th Wales Millennium Centre’s main feature, the bronze coloured dome which covers the Donald Gordon Theatre, is clad in steel that was treated with copper oxide. It was designed to withstand the weather conditions on the Cardiff Bay waterfront and will look increasingly better with age. The architect, Jonathan Adams, decided not to use copper and aluminium as they would both change colour with age and weather conditions.

In response to the area’s existing architecture, the original 19th century red brick building – previously hosting stables that were later converted into garages – was kept intact and further complemented by the placement of corten steel shells over the façade. The weathered steel sheeting gives the house a tactile and natural aesthetic, with perforated holes creating dappled light throughout the day, drawing on the leafy trees of the nearby Kew Gardens.
Kew House by Piercy & Company, London.

This is a small court yard where laser cut steel creates textured layers offering glimpses out and dappled light in. The pattern that is a lace of rusted-through metal is really interesting exciting.
Caixa Forum, Madrid by Herzog & de Meuron

These Corten steel monoliths are decorative statements in a city park. They are laser cut with a fragile leaf structure. I cant help but feel the designers missed an opportunity to play with how the leaf changes and decays, perhaps the design could illustrate that by evolving through the height. A fresh solid leaf becoming fragile.
Eastside City Park, Birmingham, Patel Taylor Architects.

An excellent example of laser cut steel. Very difficult to see the repeat as the filigree has great movement and spirit. It could be very easy to reference the leek or the daffodil in this format.
Grace & Webb.

Changing the coating of steel by oxidising it with copper (TECU Bond) has a dramatic effect on the surface that I really like. This extension in Switzerland is perforated with small, clustered holes. The result is golden and precious and in this silhouette is like iron pyrites.
Janus Museum, MLZD Archtects.

This fantastically intricate facade is actually jet-cut aluminium. I include it for inspiration. The façade developed by studio 505 is a strategic solution to the varied requirements of this massive building. The interlocking and multi layered tiles seamlessly repeat. An excellent example of decorating with metal.
Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre. Paul Andreu, Paris.

The Birmingham City Library is a fine example of how a metal facade can make a huge, long-lasting statement that people can be proud of. This incredible exterior is made from silver and black rings in homage to the city’s jewellery quarter. Using steel is a fresh and memorable way.
Exterior by Mecanoo.

White steel sheeting is laser cut with intricate patterns to create dappled interior light and peep holes to the exterior. The effect is craft-like. Delicate and precious.
The Megalithic Museum, Portugal. CVDB ARQUITECTOS.

This fine exterior filigree made from jet cut metal is like a shimmering crown of jewels. The clever thing about this kind of exterior is that it could be applied, retrospectively to many types of buildings. This design is refined and elegant but could easily be adapted into being a motif of Welsh reference.

Finally. this incredible exterior mosaic reminds me of a golden dragon. Now isn’t that a beautiful idea?

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