The Lotus Grill
Wrought iron

From Goa to Delhi

The idea for this wrought iron grill design for our residence at Nirulavilas came from the Goa sequence of the movie, the Bourne Supremacy. In it one of the scenes had a Goa beach shack with some very interesting metal-work on the windows. I liked it and asked Renoo-ji to keep it in mind and sketch out something based on it so I could develop it further.

The finished metalwork in its entirety is, of course, nothing like that seen in the movie.


The design criteria

The design for the windows of Nirulavilas is based on the look of large french windows.

French windows are like doors except that there is a sill at the floor, and one can step out of a french window. For security reasons metal grillwork was needed in the windows and hence the need for a suitable design.

The main building is of colonial style expressed in a modern idiom, set in over a hectare of landscaped grounds. We wanted to reflect our love for nature, plants and greenery within the building structure. The metalwork needed in the windows was a great place to start because there was a large surface to work with. The height of the windows is 2.16 metres (7'-1").


The Material

The material used is 'wrought iron steel bars' instead of standard mild steel (MS) bars. Today what is known as 'wrought iron' is actually extruded or rolled mild steel.

There is much confusion about what is wrought iron. The word 'wrought' means 'worked'. Originally wrought iron was made by adding or 'working' slag into the iron which gave it unique malleability and corrosion resistant properties. Slag is a by-product of refining iron ore and can be used for changing the properties of the finished iron such as in wrought iron.

In common usage 'wrought iron' means mild steel that has been worked into various decorative shapes with or without heat treatment or forging.

True wrought iron is not commercially available in India, and is not easily available elsewhere as well because true wrought iron requires specialist manufacturing methods. It is also more expensive to make compared to steel.

• The steel version known as wrought iron is a hard and strong steel with a smooth finish and standardized sections and a regular surface, without the surface pitting and bumps normally found in lower grade mild steel bars.

  Uneven surfaces result in a poor finish that requires smoothing with various fillers and putties. This is not a very satisfactory solution for high quality finishes. It also calls for more maintenance upkeep over time.

There are 4 important aspects of modern wrought iron steel:

1. It has a smooth and regular surface finish and consistent cross-section unlike mild steel.
2. Wrought iron is harder and has greater tensile and compressive strength than mild steel (MS).
3. This steel requires more work to shape it and steelworkers ask for, and get, a higher manufacturing rate because of this.
4. Unlike true slag worked wrought iron, modern wrought iron steel is not as corrosion resistance and therefore requires a surface protector adding to the finished cost of the product.

This wrought iron grade steel is used for the lotus grill here, finished with matte automotive enamel paint.

The process

My first design was based on climbing vines and creepers, and it was a great design. As a test to see what it would like like I used this in a room in the guesthouse. It looked elegant and was a secure design, but I thought it would become very restrictive and repetitive when used extensively in the french windows.

• So the search for a design concept continued, and when we saw the movie Bourne Supremacy, the idea of a flowering lotus shape came to mind.

After Renoo-ji sketched out the design I worked on it with the metalworkers to refine the design elements.

The objective was to make the windows secure while maintaining Renoo-ji's elegantly beautiful design.

You can see one of my working sketches and first full size sample above which is based on Renoo-ji's original design, with curlicues and other embellishments added.

The sample is fairly close to the final product. It required a little redesign to create a fuller look more in line with the original sketch.

The imagery Renoo-ji and I had in mind was the exuberant fusion of an exotic lotus and butterfly, the curlicues on top evoking stamens of a flower and the antennae of a butterfly. Also--a gushing fountain of energy!

The grillwork was finished in rust-red colored automotive enamel for a long-lasting finish, and to match the mahogany wood.

Material:
Wrought iron grillwork.

Sizes:
Window Size: 96.5 cms x 216 cms (38" x 85")

Central Grill Size: 81 cms x 208 cms (32" x 82")

Wrought iron steel sections used: 16 mm square, and 16 mm x 8 mm.

Finish:
DUCO automotive enamel.