Commercial buildings tend to come in two types: rectangular and interesting.Unless rectangular buildings are built tall and offer spectacular views, they don’t offer much beyond practical function and possibly unmatched efficiency.
That said, many architects challenge orthodoxy, dreaming up architectural concepts that are visually mesmerizing and sometimes awe-inspiring.It’s no exaggeration to say that, in some cases, the view from the building is just as dramatic as the view from the building.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is based on a series of circular elements, while the Zurich Insurance Group North American Headquarters Building (Schaumburg, Illinois), designed by Goettsch Partners, uses elements that are primarily rectangular to give people a sense of comfort. Unforgettable way to put together.Architects like Frank Gehry went all out, eschewing conventional thinking and creating appearances without obvious patterns or predictability, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles) or the Guggenheim Bilbao (Bil, Spain). Bao).
What happens when designers challenge the shape of the components and materials used to enter these buildings, transforming conventional shapes into less conventional ones?Handrails, vents, and doorknobs are everyday objects that enhance our experience of a building or situation to a certain extent, even if we may not realize it.Such is the ambition of Poole, England-based Timeless Tube, a manufacturing company that changed the world of tubing on a small scale of its own in the late 1980s when it created the world’s first stainless steel oval tube.Since then, Timeless has continued to produce groundbreaking tubing products for a variety of applications, always conscious of the motto it created for itself: “Beautiful Design of Metal Tubing”.
The company’s vision is to make the world a better place.To do this, it uses formed metal tubes to transform ordinary functional structures into striking design-led components.
“We took inspiration from the great American industrial designer Charles Eames, who famously said: ‘The details are not the details. They design,’” said Tom McMillan, general manager and chief engineer.
“This spirit runs through all of our work,” he continued.”We want to contribute to great design with our tubes, whether it’s for architecture, furniture or something completely mechanical.”
Timeless Tube has over three years experience in developing unusual handrail designs.Its original product, oval tubes and unique joinery were used as the handrails of yachts.Made from highly polished 316L stainless steel to withstand harsh marine conditions, this groundbreaking product was quickly embraced by marine architects around the world.The elegant oval shape is not only more aesthetically pleasing than a round tube, but it also has the safety advantage of being less prone to slipping when grabbed by crew members and passengers.
“Luxury yachts are all about attention to detail,” McMillan said.”Design values ​​are centered around impeccable quality and ease of use. Our tubes are used by the world’s most prestigious yacht builders. Naval architects are particularly discerning – they don’t compromise on details. Our ellipticals Tubes endure, and for good reason.”
Still, Timeless wants to create new shapes, as long as they offer advantages over round tubes and offer clear benefits to the end user.The company recently created a new shape of tube for handrails on luxury dinghies: square radius tubes.This sturdy and refined shape is sturdy but has slim protrusions so it doesn’t stick out too much.The hand fits comfortably and securely around the shape, with the edges gently curved.
A tube doesn’t need to be very long to make a statement.This short armrest on a small yacht provides an elegant touch.
Timeless engineers have now developed six unique tube profiles, including two twisted tubes.Most of the company’s products are made from 304L and 316L stainless steel, but engineers also use aluminum, titanium, and copper alloys.The only alloy they don’t use is mild steel as it is not resistant to corrosion and thus contaminates stainless steel.
“Furthermore, most of the applications we offer are high-end, whether decorative, structural or mechanical,” McMillan said.”Mild steel may be cheaper, but it has its limitations for the applications we work on.”
However, that doesn’t mean Timeless limits its work to these six main shapes.A recent project involving an arena gave the company’s engineers a chance to showcase some creativity and innovation.
In 2019, Timeless supplied the profiled handrails for the pavement at the top of the famous English Premier League football club stadium.The walkway offers panoramic views of North London from a height of 130 feet, where the public can walk across exposed platforms while attaching safety ropes, with sturdy railings for added safety.
But sourcing this stainless-steel handrail proved tricky for architects because of its unusual specification: it had to be large enough to fit on top of the section of the steel box that secures the sides of the stainless-steel mesh to the glass walkway.They needed a non-standard tube that was attractive in appearance, contoured rather than angular, and shaped to have a laser-cut slot in its base.
The architects eventually found Timeless Tube, which offered a solution for a flat oval tube with clean, rounded lines.It’s a tube shape that few engineers make, but it has some distinct advantages over round tubes.”It’s our strongest tube shape,” McMillan said.”It’s really useful if further manufacturing is needed because it’s easy to solder to other components like spindles and glass or auto parts, thanks to its flat sides,” he said.
In order to cover the steel sections, the architects required the size of this tubing to be much larger than what is currently available.Timeless is a small and nimble company that doesn’t have to deal with the burden of large operations and high volume production, so it can invest the time and effort to create prototypes and custom sizes for its customers.
When creating new dimensions, Timeless is not always able to achieve the exact dimensions requested by customers, as these measurements may not produce a tube with structural integrity, or the tube may not resemble the desired shape.After adjusting the ratio between ovalization and flattening, Timeless achieved a tube measuring 7.67 by 3.3 inches (195 by 85 mm) with a wall thickness of 0.118 inches (3 mm).The long dimension is only 0.40″ (10mm) narrower than the originally specified dimension.
“We form our tubes by cold drawing standard round tube lengths on forming rolls,” says McMillan.”The process of forming the tube is a bit of an art. It’s never a case of us simply ‘crushing’ the tube. Once we’ve settled on a size that we know works, we calibrate all the settings so we can replicate it again and again The exact size. But with the new size…well, we never know how it will affect us. Different metals produce different results. It takes experimentation.”
Timeless tube does not often need to be customized for use as a decorative shield for structural buildings, as it is already structurally strong.
Timeless Tube’s product line includes six shapes: Flat Oval, Oval, Twisted Oval, Twisted Rounded Square, Rounded Square, and D.The range includes common sizes specified by handrail construction codes, typically 32 to 50 mm (1.25 to 2 in), and many others.
“In the UK, we have extremely strict handrail requirements for the construction and materials we use, which we fully meet,” says McMillan.”We even did rigorous deflection tests, proving that this flat oval tube is 54 percent stronger than a standard round tube. But this railing is actually less of a handrail than a ‘body rail’ to rest comfortably on,” He says.
Timeless’ work has appeared in several iconic buildings and buildings, including the handrails of Foster + Partners’ famous pedestrian bridge (also known as the Millennium Bridge), and the futuristic tube station inside London’s Canary Wharf.Ron Arad specified Timeless’s oval pipes in the atrium of the venerable Tel Aviv Opera House, which is often featured in architecture books.
“It doesn’t make sense to design such stylish buildings and then finish them with standard round tubes,” he said.”I think the best architects realize that, and that’s why we enjoy an international client base.”
In April 2020, Gigi Aelbers, owner of Synergigi and Montana based interior designer, purchased 5.8 m (20 ft) of 316L stainless steel oval tube and 8 joinery from Timeless to use as legs for a custom coffee table commission .
In a style that Aelbers describes as “a combination of organic and geometric”, the commission includes two stunning asymmetric tabletops – one in black walnut and the other in white oak – mounted in a continuous U-shape on connected oval fittings.Aelbers needed to make sure her client’s delicate rug was not obscured by the chunky table legs.She needed elegant, unobtrusive pipes to make the rug stand out as much as possible.She ordered samples from Timeless to make sure she had the correct tube size.
Architectural steel fabricator Daniel Boteler uses connectors to connect the tubes at the corners, which he says is “easier than making 45 degrees on a saw” and results in a better finish.The weld is smoother because it’s a straight weld instead of a fillet weld.With 20 years of metal fabrication experience, Boteler says he’d love to use formed metal tubes again.
The tubular table legs are sandblasted for an original textured look.Albers uses paint and beeswax to create a metallic “bulletproof” coating that she mixes herself.When asked why she was putting so much effort into finding the right shape for the pipe, Albers explained: “It’s all in the subtleties. Most people will notice they like it, but they don’t really know. Why, unless they’re very intuitive. It’s new to the eye — the subconscious mind probably knows it’s new. They know it doesn’t look like a picnic table in the park,” she said.
From Tokyo to Topeka, Timeless regularly supplies tubing around the world, with North America being its largest international market.McMillan concluded that customers could not get the same shape and size or the same quality elsewhere.
“Obviously there are shipping costs to consider, but if quality is paramount, it’s a cost worth paying,” he said.
In addition to contemporary items such as Synergigi’s table, Timeless has also seen a revival of traditional shapes.The company’s designers are often asked to reproduce or restore metalwork with an old-fashioned feel.Almost sculptural, their signature twisted ovals and square tubes are reminiscent of 17th-century spiral-twisted furniture.
“Our twisted tubes have been used in artwork, sculpture and high-end lighting designs, as well as custom balustrades,” says McMillan.”In the age of robotic production, I believe people want to see craft. Artists and designers realize they can use our tubes to enhance their designs.”
Beyond architectural and decorative applications, other opportunities await.In any city or suburb, where any society uses infrastructure, McMillan believes that apps can add sophistication to replace the mundane or unappealing.
“I love the idea of ​​using ducts to creatively disguise unattractive vents, or to add style to a functional staircase,” he says.”We believe that, aesthetically, ergonomically and sometimes structurally, the tube lengths that have been shaped and fabricated are a better alternative to typical round tubes.”
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