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Corten — or weathering steel — is typically used for landscaping and out-of-door construction . It is made with alloys that make its surface to develop aself - protect rustwhen exposed to weather . The isolate patina resist corrosion , requires no painting or weather - proofing , and does n’t compromise structural strength .
In his own Hertfordshire , Britain garden , designer Tom Stuart - Smith erect a Corten rampart and pick up its red tones withAstrantia’Claret . ' exposure by : Marianne Majerus / MMGI .
Landscape clothes designer appreciate Corten for more than its strong hue . Generally usable in sheet and plate configuration , its strength and enduringness combined with minimum heaviness ( typically 3/16 or 1/4 of an inch ) appropriate it to wait on in site where a concrete wall , for instance , would not meet or would visually overwhelm its surround . Corten has been used forwalls , edgings , dividers , planter , logic gate trim , and arbors ; indeed , its versatility seems to be limit only by the designer ’s imaginativeness .
Dallas landscape painting architect David Hocker says , “ I love steel ’s agrarian esthetical ; it ’s so evocative of Admiralty mile of steel fencing and rod barns . ” In Walnut Creek , California , Joe Huettl raves about a mesmerise juxtaposition in one of his undertaking that uses “ sway ‘ Karl Foerster ’ feather reed grass to backdrop the steady , solid lineament of Corten steel walls . ” And in London , evaluator of the renowned RHS Chelsea Flower Show practically dribble over the 2010The Daily Telegraphgarden installation designed by Andy Sturgeon , which acquire Best in Show and prominently featured sculptural Corten screens .
The chair of judges , Michael Balston , was said to call it a clear favorite among the contenders . “ There are some that grab you a act more and Andy ’s did for most of us , ” Balston toldThe Guardianat the metre . “ It has a brilliant moral force as you take the air around it and different views are revealed . ”The Daily Telegraphitself rave over the manipulation of Corten as a foil for the plantings . “ The purples of salvia and aquilegia are the perfect sultry complement to the [ steel ’s ] bull and bronze , ” wrote garden columnist Stephen Lacey .
Given its no - folderal , midcentury industrial flavor , Corten equip most easily into contemporary garden plans . Hocker , for lesson , swear on brave out steel extensively when he turn an old power post compound into a private urban center garden . In one section , a low edging of photographic plate steel create a slimly raise buffalo - grass - covered footstall that sets off an neighboring individual mesquit tree like a endure carving . “ brand has a decent , slim visibility without the bulkiness of a concrete wall , ” Hocker says . “ And in this project , it think the site ’s industrial past . ”
For this Austin , Texas , node , LandWest Design Group enlisted almost 3 tons of Corten blade . Photo by : Jon Whittle .
Where Hocker ’s advance is one of constraint , Sturgeon dominated the Chelsea Flower Show by constructing playful , see - through , mortal - gamey fences of Corten steel that subdivide and draw up a collection of colorful Mediterranean works .
For his own Napa Valley , California , garden , landscape designer Jack Chandler used brand plates for his logic gate , retaining wall , and staircase riser main . The resulting look is functional and architectural , but its gross tonality also links it to the sess and grapevines of the wine nation . Just like the ground , Corten is not at all monochromatic . Subtle shadings give it a profundity and a sense of energy — a reminder , perhaps , that it is a dynamical and not static fabric .
In a Moraga , California , garden , Huettl ’s house carved sheets of 4- by 8 - foot Corten into walls , divider , and seating room . It used three Corten instrument panel , spaced a foundation apart , to form a background and privacy screen front by two floating L - shape ipe bench . To make a low wall at the edge of the lawn , 2 - foot - mellow Corten jury alternated with gloomy stucco bulwark — the out of practice timbre nicely offset the gray - green of the stucco , Huettl say .
For a steeply graded San Francisco garden that required earthquakeproof stability and a crank staircase to still the homeowner ’s descent , landscape designers James A. Lord and Roderick Wyllie of Surface Design devised a serial of trapezoidal brand boxes that edged the flights of stairs ; name play country from entertaining field ; and had triangular planter go under into their tops , stand for to be viewed from the house above . Lord says the householder specially appreciate how the box ’ bold shapes and strong colors cite the sculptures of Richard Serra .
Just as it ’s insufferable to identify the whiz who first enlisted this railcar stuff in service to the garden , no one can say how many of its brilliant applications will show up in the future . We do n’t know , but we ca n’t wait to see .
The History of CortenU. S. Steel developed the product in the thirties and trademarked it as Cor - Ten ; it was used primarily in railway system coal wagons . Corten became a go - to textile for modernistic computer architecture and outside art in the 1950s and 1960s ; it can be view in such projects as the exoskeletal Ford Foundation Building in New York City and the 160 - ton Picasso sculpture on Chicago ’s Daley Plaza . After the Eero Saarinen - design John Deere World Headquarters in Moline , Illinois , was fill out in 1964 , local commentator approvingly compared its earthy colour to newly plowed soil — high praise from the heartland . Corten is just as popular today — witness the facades of so many Southwestern - style food franchises .
To see more example of how the designers mentioned in this news report incorporate weathered brand into landscapes , go to their websites ( see below ) .
Resources : To see more from the designer have , visit their site : David Hocker ( davidhocker.com ) , Joe Huettl ( huettldesign.com ) , Andy Sturgeon ( andysturgeon.com ) , Jack Chandler ( chandler2.com ) , Surface Design Inc. ( sdisf.com ) , LandWest Design Group ( landwestdg.com ) , Lucy Redman ( lucyredman.co.uk ) , and Tom Stuart - Smith ( www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk ) .
See More Gardens That Incorporate Corten Steel
