Beyond Brass
Exploring a new material language in architectural lighting and hardware
Exploring a new material language in architectural lighting and hardware
There is something fascinating about the way materials move in and out of favour.
Architecture and interior design, like most creative disciplines, are continually evolving. Certain materials come to define a period, becoming so familiar that we almost stop noticing them. Then, gradually, the conversation changes. Designers begin looking elsewhere, searching for something that feels different, something that offers a new perspective.
For some time, aged brass and bronze have occupied a prominent place in contemporary interiors. And understandably so. They offer warmth, depth and character, with surfaces that can develop beautifully over time. We've worked extensively with these materials at SYML and continue to appreciate their qualities.
But recently, we've begun noticing something interesting.
In conversations and requests from architects and interior designers, there's been a growing curiosity about alternative metal finishes. Not necessarily a rejection of brass or bronze, but an interest in exploring something beyond the familiar.
It's a subtle shift, but one that has caught our attention.
A Return to Silver-Toned Metals?
Silver-toned metals have a long history in architecture and decorative objects, but their expression has changed considerably over time.
Chrome, stainless steel, zinc and pewter each bring different qualities to a surface. Some are highly reflective, others soft and muted. Some feel precise and industrial, while others carry the irregularities and character of the processes used to make them.
What interests us isn't necessarily a return to the polished chrome finishes of previous decades. It's the opportunity to explore these materials in ways that feel more tactile, expressive and distinctly human.
At our workshop in Matakana, New Zealand, we've begun experimenting with zinc plating and exploring the possibilities of pewter for architectural hardware and lighting components.
Pewter is particularly intriguing. Its relatively soft, silvery appearance has a quiet quality that sits somewhere between precious metal and utilitarian material. It has a long history in objects made for everyday use, yet feels relatively unexplored in contemporary architectural hardware.
Zinc offers another direction. Through plating, surface preparation and finishing techniques, there are opportunities to create subtle variations in tone and texture that move well beyond conventional industrial finishes.
These are early explorations, but they open up possibilities for handles, fittings, lighting details and bespoke architectural components.
Finding the Human Touch in Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is another material we're looking at with renewed interest.
It's an extraordinary material in terms of its durability and versatility, yet in architectural applications it can sometimes feel overly regimented, precise and impersonal.
Perhaps that's less a limitation of the material itself and more a consequence of how we've become accustomed to using it.
What happens when we approach stainless steel differently?
Rather than treating it as a material that must always be perfectly machined, uniformly brushed or polished to an immaculate finish, we're interested in introducing more evidence of the human hand.
Worked surfaces. Subtle irregularities. Textures that catch the light differently as you move around them.
Grinding, peening, hand-finishing and other processes offer ways of transforming something inherently industrial into something more individual and expressive.
The challenge is to retain the integrity and performance of stainless steel while introducing a warmth and character that isn't normally associated with it.
There's something appealing about that contradiction: a highly engineered material that still reveals the presence of its maker.
And for smaller, independent design businesses, these moments can be particularly exciting.
Without the constraints of large-scale manufacturing or established product ranges, there's room to experiment, respond and develop ideas that might not otherwise find their way into production.
A conversation with an architect can become a material experiment. An unusual request can lead to an entirely new finish. A small prototype can suggest possibilities for a much larger architectural application.
This is very much how we like to work at SYML.
An Opportunity to Explore
We're interested in the space between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary manufacturing, where familiar materials can be reconsidered and given a different expression.