Architectural Ironwork: What You Need To Know

Many companies have been involved in this career for over a hundred years. Most of them started as what we called the village blacksmith in the XVIIIth century or later, and have been handcrafting beautiful works from iron ever since.

Architectural Ironworks is one of the most visible and exposed elements of a building and has been used for decorative and structural purposes for centuries. From complex railings to brutal beams, the proper ironwork can add elegance, style, and strength to any construction or edifice.

Fig.1- Classic Architectural Ironwork. Photo by Pikist

To create beautiful and lasting architectural ironwork designs, craftsmen must have a deep understanding of metalworking techniques as well as a creative flair. By combining these skills altogether with modern tools and technology, they can produce pieces that are both stunning and valuable. It also adds beauty to the architectural concept by using different ironwork elements.

Today, Architectural Ironwork is not considered as much an essential part of the construction process itself, but as part of the ornamentation required to add beauty and character to the project.

Unfortunately, this is probably the last part of the construction planning, where the project budget is often exhausted, reserving just a little sum of money for the decorative and ornamental works. While budgets and financial constraints cannot be set apart, what is often ignored is the value that architectural ironwork can add to any building; In other terms, this kind of additional carryout is more measured as a work of art than a regular construction work, which is typically more expensive.

Architectural Steelwork in History

It is hard to determine the exact period in which Architectural Ironwork first appeared but it indeed came into being when the first nail was used to assemble two pieces of wood or else to create some sort of primitive structure. From there till now, and passing thru the angle iron that could join angled pieces of wood arriving at bolts, hinges, latches, locks, frameworks, plates, and much more, architectural ironwork had made great steps forward.

As mentioned earlier, Iron has been used in building construction for centuries. The Romans were somehow the first people to use cast iron in their construction projects. The metal is strong and durable, which is why it is still used today. In the modern era, Architects and Designers are still coming up with new and innovative ways to use iron in their designs and various projects.

In fact, around the year 1884, some established firms started producing this art craft after being for long years limited only to those traditional village blacksmiths. (See Fig.2 below)

Even though, the basic process of architectural ironwork has not changed much since those past days; Metal is still heated until it becomes soft and malleable and then beaten into the desired shapes and forms. Modern production techniques have dramatically increased the speed and quantity in which architectural ironwork may be produced.

Types of Ironworks

Almost all construction materials, whether it is concrete, steel, or wood are either cast, carved, or rolled, only ironwork made an exception here: It is created by a process of heating the raw material and then hammering it into the desired shape.

The majority of people think of architectural ironworks as being just one type of wrought iron fixtures and ornamental elements. However, knowing the difference between the various types of steelworks will allow using the right type in the right place. Here are some of the main types:

1- WROUGHT IRON

Is the iron that is set to form and create shapes. The most common example of this process is wrought iron for garden furniture and various fixtures. In architectural use, it can be found where the artistic appeal is most important to display such as in carved works around garden fences and gates, grills, wall-mounted light fixtures, or even balustrades of balconies. (Fig.3)

Fig.3- Example of Wrought iron, by besopha - Flickr: Le Balcon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia

Wrought ironwork is made by using the old classic blacksmithing procedures. It is then hammered and forged over an anvil. (See Fig.4)

Fig.4- Anvil, Photo: ubuy.com.tr

All other types of wrought ironwork have the same production process, which means by hand and is called hand-wrought ironwork. It also uses an anvil and then heats and hammers the iron so that they can create various designs and textures in the melted iron. (See Fig.3 above)

Example of Cast Iron: Mounted light, Photo by Mathias Reding

Forged items are usually resistant materials and have great load-bearing capabilities. They are great solutions for applications where the architectural ironwork must have a dual function of decorating and supporting heavyweights to fulfill.

To put your conception into reality, you have to properly design and draft your related drawings accurately to make them easy to be executed on-site and just as you desired them to be. Therefore, in this section, I will be sharing with you some AutoCAD drawings files, that contain examples of nicely designed ironwork, especially for the railing and window openings, in addition to external gardens gates and fences;

I make it super easy for DIY lovers to have hands-on with two very beautiful designs that can transform their normal elevations into majestic and legendary facades, especially for the Lebanese Traditional Style.

Ornamental Ironworks are mainly the architectural elements that are featured within a building and used for decoration. Usually, two types of iron are the most employed — Wrought Iron which is mostly used for commercial purposes, and Cast Iron which comes in white or gray color but is significantly more expensive.

Tips on Maintaining Your Architectural Ironworks

Cover of the guide

For the best maintenance recommendation, download this quick but valuable guide that focuses on the conservation and caring of external decorative architectural cast ironwork. It offers practical and helpful guidance on maintenance and repair issues, specially composed for Planners and Owners, Conservation, and other Heritage lovers.

Multiple suggestions on how to protect your wrought iron from bad climate and humidity in the air, and many more useful topics...