Original morphology of stainless steel meshes in the exceptional project K35

Much has already been written about the K35 project, and it is no wonder. It is an atypical and exceptional building, where the project's intention was to achieve a specific expression, partly through the use of irregular shapes. These requirements were also transferred to the shapes and properties of the stainless steel meshes used. The meshes and ropes must serve not only as safety features; they are also a design dominant in the common areas of the house.

Atypical shapes of stainless steel meshes. Exactly such projects excite us. The design team, production, and installation crew are constantly looking out for when an atypical gem will appear among projects that, while beautiful, are conservative, allowing us to showcase what we can do and the possibilities of stainless steel meshes X-TEND. K35 is just such a project.

But let's focus on abnormalities at first glance

Here a little different, there a little different, completely different above, and over there it is even jagged. But together, it has an interesting expression, and the stainless steel mesh will definitely suit it. That's how it all started. So we will adapt our meshes to that. In detail. We will bend and tension the meshes, and we will handle both blunt and sharp angles. Likewise, we prepared for the "floating railing." With this element, we enjoyed a pleasantly intense and creative collaboration with an artistic blacksmith, who also took care of the steel handles embedded in the walls. We already knew that other interesting atypical details awaited us, such as the skylight that runs through almost all floors, the top floor where three meshes converge into one outlet, and we cannot forget the "jagged wall" supporting the stair landing.

We began the design activity and production

For safety reasons, we created a mesh model for some locations to ensure that the natural sag of the mesh would meet standards and be safe. We simulated the tensioning of the mesh, shape, and sag of the meshes and ropes. And carried out a static assessment. We calculated it for 400 rhombus-square meters in 11 meshes plus about 900 anchoring points. The detailing and positioning of the anchors were carried out in very close collaboration with the architects.

Installation in suspension

After approving the overall solution, we began installing the anchor points. Drilling into reinforced concrete 900 times. And often encountering reinforcement. And all of this very delicately, with respect to the surface of the concrete. It should be noted that for a large part we were in harnesses, suspended on ropes. Then we stretched the perimeter ropes. The installation of the stainless steel meshes was even more demanding. For example, the mesh in the mirror of the staircase is more than 40 meters long. Thank goodness our installation crew knows how to handle such a challenge. And with such a perfect result.

On a different note: Construction of the Year 2021 – Stainless Steel Mesh in the Leading Role of the La Pampa Aviary

The public chose the La Pampa aviary as the building of the past year. We are also very proud of this installation, and you can learn more about it in our references on the website. Well, aviaries in zoos, globally speaking, are our strong suit. If, ladies and gentlemen, you feel like "expanding your territory," we are constantly expanding the team with static and structural engineers who enjoy atypical steel structures and traveling, who will help us implement aviary projects – of course, not just those.

In conclusion, thank you for your interest in this article and in interior solutions using stainless steel elements from Carl Stahl. Thanks also to our colleagues across the company for their diligence and determination to see everything through to the last detail and always on time. We consider the mesh project at K35 to be an impetus that will kickstart other bold projects using our stainless steel meshes. Thanks in advance to you – for your courage in creative activities.

Project author: Stanislav Fiala
Collaboration: Jiří Václavů, Petr Jehlík, Jiří Neumann
Investor: SEBRE + Property Solutions Group
Main contractor: Hinton, a.s.
Realization: Carl Stahl design team led by Ing. Václav Luzar