About The Project

This commission consisted of making seven radiator covers to complement the customer’s Art Nouveau inspired furnishings. The customer was very involved in the project, and was a key member of the team along with Kenzie Lindow the artist and Clay Cottingham from Check-Point Welding & Fabrication.

Of the seven radiator covers, only two were identical in size. While the overall design of the frames and panels was the same, this meant that each one was slightly different and had to be tweaked accordingly. The panel frames were fabricated from red oak, and the panels were laser cut from ⅛” steel sheet.

The customer located and purchased two iris floral design files from a textile firm in the UK. Kenzie worked with the customer to combine the two files and make designs that fit within the wooden frames I built. At this time we also were in consultation with Clay to verify that our planned designs could be cut on their laser cutter. In order to support the laser cutting, the design had to be simplified by removing some of the floral elements.

In parallel to Kenzie refining the panel designs, I worked with the customer to define and mockup the radiator panel frames. The panel and frame designs came together when we printed multiple full size versions of the panel designs that were then glued to cardboard and inserted into the frames. This helped determine where the files needed to be adjusted.

Once the panel designs were complete they were sent to Check-Point. The laser cutting took approximately 60 hours of machine run time.

The metal panels were painted to match the walls, and the frames stained and varnish to match the floors.