BLOG - Architectural Metals

Couturier Iron Craft at Chicago 2014 AIA Convention

Posted by Daniel Couturier on Mon, May 12, 2014

Couturier Iron Craft will be exhibiting at the Chicago AIA Convention June 26th-28th, McCormick Place.  Stop by and visit our booth #3652, see why Couturier has become a number one choice for custom staircase and railing products for so many unique projects.

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Tags: curved stairs, spiral stairs, ornamental metals, decorative stairs, aia national convention 2014, stainless steel railing, stairs, curved staircase, decorative metals, stairway

West Michigan Design & Construction Expo - DeltaPlex - Oct. 17, 2013

Posted by Daniel Couturier on Wed, Aug 28, 2013

Couturier Iron Craft, Inc. will be exhibiting at the 2013 West Michigan Design and Construction Expo on October 17th at the DeltaPLex in Grand Rapids MI. Stop by our booth #612 and see the wide range of decorative metal railing and staircase products offered to meet your project requirements.

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Tags: metal railing, curved stairs, construction industry, stairs, CSI, West Michigan Design and construction expo

State of the Construction Industry

Posted by Leander Rabe on Mon, Aug 26, 2013
Couturier Iron Craft has done well to weather the recent challenges of the construction industry.  Lately the news has highlighted a turnaround in that industry.  However, the news can sometimes be hard to quantify.  Maxwell Systems has created a very helpful infographic.  It is built on the data they mined from the the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Commerce.
Here are some of the highlights of the infographic's numbers:
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Tags: metal railings, curved stairs, custom built, construction industry, curved stairway

Do You Make These Common Stairway Design Mistakes?

Posted by Leander Rabe on Mon, Aug 05, 2013

We are often told that, 'first impressions count,'. In buildings, whether residential or professional, the stairway frequently is what can make or break that first impression. A well designed stairway offers the potential to turn an uninteresting entryway into a major architectural feature. But with so much potential to create a stunning entrance also exists the prospect of getting it just as wrong, if you fall into some of these common stairway design mistakes.


Select your shape

One of the first decisions you need to make about your stairway, curved staircase, custom stairs project is what shape you want the stairs to be. Spiral staircases look great and are also useful where space is limited. Straight and curved staircases are equally sound options but whatever your choice it's important that the connections to the rest of the building are seamless and the staircase fits in both stylistically and proportionally.

Design discord

Figuring out what works for your building whether stairway, curved staircase, custom stairs is one of the first decisions you need to make. What combination of materials do you want to use? What will your balustrades look like? How many spindles do you want and what finish should the railings have? These decisions require you to think about the overall design of your building and how the stairway can complement that. If your stairway design clashes with the rest of the entrance area, you can end up with a design disaster, not a style statement. Working with a professional designer, who specializes in custom metalwork from the beginning of your project, can help you avoid this common pitfall. 

Form over function

With any design project, it can be all too easy to get carried away with the appearance, and forget about the practicalities. First you have the code requirements to think about, such as distance between spindles, stair widths and headroom - these are non negotiables which you simply must adhere to.  Then there are the other practical considerations, such as loading on the staircase.  The more complex the staircase, the greater the technical expertise you need in designing the stairway.  A professional designer will be able to keep your project specification in line with building codes and advise you about how to use the materials you want.  

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Tags: curved stairs, spiral stairs, spiral stairway, custom built, curved staircase, curved stairway, spiral staircase

The 3 Benefits of Custom Designed Stairs

Posted by Daniel Couturier on Mon, Jul 29, 2013

Redesigning or building a unique office, commercial building, or other space can be greatly facilitated if you instruct your space planners, architects and builders to consider custom elements as part of the mix.

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Tags: curved stairs, spiral stairs, spiral stairway, custom built, stairs, curved staircase, curved stairway, stairway, staircase, spiral staircase