Powdertech Rust finish at Woolwich Arsenal

The Project

The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich started life in 1696 as a small site for the manufacture of fireworks. The manufacture of arms soon commenced and by 1907 the site stretched for three miles along the Thames. It reached its peak of production during the First World War, when it employed close to 80,000 people. In 1984 the MOD finally left the site which is now a mixed use redeveloped site with parts of the Royal Arsenal used to build residential and commercial buildings.

Design work to enhance some of walkways surrounding the site included large circular planting beds constructed from mild steel panels. The designers wanted a rusted industrial look, appropriate for this historic industrial site.

Rusted appearance with no staining on the ground

Fabricated rolled and laser cut panels and brackets for construction of the planters and bench supports arrived at Powdertech in mild steel form. The steel was shotblasted to provide a key for the zinc-primer which would be necessary for additional protection against corrosion in external use. The zinc-rich primer was applied to all faces of the material.

For the industrial rusted effect, the client selected Powdertech Rusted Steel to mimic a Corten effect. Unlike Corten, Rusted Steel will not leach into the ground after rain. It causes no staining and leaves no hazardous residue. The finish is more consistent and the material has more flexibility after coating than it would with Corten. Rusted Steel was applied to all seen faces of the material.

Powdertech coated over 250 parts which included rolled panels of 1m by 1.5m for the planter, support brackets and channels and large square hollow sections for the bench supports. Our client was Roman Builders Ltd.