The architectural staircases at Royal Far West are like connecting fibres, breathing life into a remarkable space.
Architect: Architectus
Client: RFW Manly
Location: 20 Wentworth Street, Manly, NSW
Work Completed by Active Metal
Detail shop drawing, design development, structural steel stairs, support beams, stair balustrading, façade steelwork, frameless glass balustrade to stair void, timber batten balustrade to stairs and void, plate steel balustrades
Overview
Delivering specialist child healthcare to up to 15,000 families a year from rural, regional and remote New South Wales and beyond, the $35 million Royal Far West Centre for Child Health and Learning facility in Manly is a state-of-the-art school and health service that will change the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australian children in the years to come.
With the old building deteriorating and reaching the end of its functional life, RFW wanted to create an exciting health hub that would benefit the whole community. Designed by Architectus and build by FDC, Active Metal was brought in as the specialist staircase fabricator, bringing the whole space together, connecting clinical consultation rooms and play spaces with office areas and training zones through a series of architectural staircases.
Blending sharp straight lines with sweeping curves and spiral staircase designs, the 4 stairs not only connect the spaces, they act as design elements, complementing the furniture choices and textures, tying the space together. Demonstrating Active’s diverse skill set, as well as the beautiful helical stairs which are so much a part of Active Metal’s DNA, these stairs showcase a wide range of shapes, finishes, colours and elements.The plate stringer helix stairs, where the vertical balustrade plate combines as a structural element, are a sculptural feature with the 2 helicals stacked vertically for maximum impact, and finished in white to maximize the reflectivity of the space. However the 2 straight flight stairs are entirely different to one another. One of these features expertly milled, Australian hardwood timber picket balustrades, which also continue around the voids above. The last straight stair is another steel plate stair, but this time finished in a matt charcoal.
All in all, Royal Far West is a very special place for many people, including Active Metal.
Other helpful links – Spiral and Helical Stair Design
