Stainless Steel Awards 2008

Merit Award - Projects Category

Steven Roger-Lund
Project : Staircase fabricated using a single beam

ArgoWeld is owned by Steven Roger-Lund and run by his wife, Christl. The company was established in 1996 and manufactures a wide range of products from trailers  to laboratory equipment and stainless steel cladding. It builds fan filter units as well as small hoppers for the mining industry. It also offers a cutting, bending and welding service.

Roger-Lund is self taught with a flair for design, accompanied by technical skills. He has a rare ability to translate what is in his mind to a real product.

He receives a merit for his project The Haefele Staircase in this year’s Stainless Steel Awards. Haefele SA, a German company that distributes hardware internationally, needed a staircase for its new head quarters in Honeydew, Gauteng. Reinhold Geiger of Balustrade & Glass Studio recommended Roger-Lund for the design and manufacture. Roger-Lund visualised that the staircase should be an extraordinary piece. Although the architect had drawn a design, Haefele’s management did not need much convincing to go with Roger-Lund’s idea. He proposed a stainless steel framework that has wooden treads and stainless balustrades. The feel was ultra-modern, light and “floating”.

It was manufactured from grade 304 stainless steel in 3mm and 4.5mm flat sheet. The material was chosen for its good bending properties. Stainless steel was the obvious material choice for an architectural centre piece. The design required a huge amount of drawing time, as each tread, riser and other component had to be drawn out for laser-cutting. Roger-Lund maintains that while he is drawing a project, he is mentally manufacturing it. The staircase has a minimum amount of welding. Where joining of lengths was required, old-fashioned cabinet makers’ dovetail joints were used. In a sense, once all the components were bent up, joining the pieces became a 3-dimensional puzzle. Tabs were inserted into slots, and 16mm round bar was used to secure treads and risers. The engineers appointed to certify the design were bewildered. They had never seen such a design, nor had they come across this manufacturing concept. For 6 weeks they sat on the fence. Finally a different engineer was consulted and the rest is history.

Once the material came from laser-cutting, it took two days to assemble the staircase in the factory, which is a controlled environment. The installation took three days. Roger-Lund aims to be original, working from concept to realisation. “From an architectural point of view nothing like it has been seen before,” says Roger-Lund. The staircase is a luxurious item, pleasing in its form and lines and it provides the client with a cutting edge, innovative image. ArgoWeld’s philosophy is that the work has to be right: no compromise.