In the beleaguered Australian manufacturing sector, it's heartening to find ASSDA member Tasman Sinkware is a world-class leader in innovative design and manufacturing. Better still, in addition to supplying the domestic market, Tasman is exporting its products to Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Tasman began operations in 1948 as a domestic metal fabricator in Adelaide. A move to sink manufacture saw its Oliveri brand pioneer the deep draw process in Australia and introduce precision manufacturing technology to produce high volume sinks.

Sixty-five years later, Tasman is now Australia’s only world-class, production line sink manufacturer, and

When Sydney's Star City Casino emerged from the chrysalis of its construction scaffolding, its metamorphosis included a gleaming 340m² stainless steel-and-glass canopy facing the harbour.

ASSDA Member TripleNine Stainless fabricated and installed the canopy over the main entrance of ‘The Star’, as it is now known, as part of an $850 million redevelopment. This transformation saw Sydney’s only casino swing its orientation 180° from Pyrmont’s fish markets toward the city’s glittering Darling Harbour.

The Star’s façade was designed by Fitzpatrick + Partners and is comprised of 147 flags of clear, low-iron glass supported by two fingers of 20mm and

The Fibonacci spiral and the intersecting spines of a nautilus shell have inspired an impressive 23m high stainless steel sculpture at Kangaroo Point Park overlooking Brisbane's river.

Designed by UK public space artist Wolfgang Buttress, Venus Rising features 10,790 individual welds and over 7km of grade 316 and 2205 duplex stainless steel tube, pipe and round bar supplied by ASSDA Sponsor, Sandvik.

Having worked with stainless steel for over 25 years, Buttress said that the material’s strength, ability to look good over time with minimal maintenance, and the flexibility of finishes works well both practically and aesthetically.

“The variety

Where Strength Meets Style

Innovation in zoo enclosure design is a key feature of the recently completed $7.5 million makeover of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.

The project brief was to create a chimpanzee habitat akin to their native home that would encourage social interaction and allow the zoo’s primate keepers to manage animal husbandry and the group’s changing demographic. The enclosure’s transparency and the ability to withstand the chimpanzee’s remarkable strength and intelligence were essential.

ASSDA member Ronstan Tensile Architecture was contracted by the builder, the Lipman Group, to be the specialist contractor for the technical design

Stainless steel’s star has ascended in the public’s conscience as thousands of Westfield Sydney shoppers enjoy the world-class design and materials on show in its newest retail development.

Covering 103,000m2, the $1.2 billion Westfield Sydney development is bound by the Pitt Street Mall and Market and Castlereagh Streets in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. It integrates Westfield Centrepoint, the Centrepoint Convention Centre, Imperial Arcade and Skygarden, plus a new office tower at 85 Castlereagh Street and an extensively modified and refurbished tower at 100 Market Street.

While the size of the project is enormous, it’s the design that’s turning heads.

Synergy of Lightness and Strength

Artist Wendy Mills’ interest in an ancient Sumerian myth helped bring her vision to reality for a stainless steel sculpture at Willoughby City Council’s new cultural centre.

Described as the cultural home of the North Shore, The Concourse (Chatswood, NSW) incorporates a concert hall, theatre, library, outdoor urban screen, restaurants and retail stores.

Council worked through Pamille Berg Consulting to commission Ms Mills to create an artwork for the library’s water court, which is located below ground level. The 6.1m sculpture, fabricated by ASSDA Accredited Fabrications Australia, is visible from above as well as from

Sydney's recently redeveloped Chifley Square now pays tribute to its namesake in a dramatic, yet personable, manner - an 8m tall stainless steel sculpture of Ben Chifley towers over the square, forming part of City of Sydney's capital works program in the lead up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Sydney artist Simeon Nelson designed 'Ben Chifley' and a glass and stainless steel wall on the site while working as part of the multi-disciplinary design team involved in the site's $3 million redevelopment. Hassell architects (Sydney) were given open guidelines for the design of the site, but two of the objectives

A stainless steel mesh sculpture created by jeweller/designer, Barbara Heath is a focal point of the Neville Bonner Building in Brisbane. 

Stainless steel was chosen for the sculpture for its durability and low maintenance properties. This was important because the sculpture is mounted on the building exterior, exposed to marine weather conditions.

The 'high tech', contemporary look that was achieved with stainless also compliments the other metals used on the building.

The themes of the seven metre artwork are office networks, family links and team work. It refers to the history of the area with the design reflecting fishing nets

As we pack up our Christmas decorations, vow to lose those extra kilos gained over the holidays and make plans for the new year, the festive season seems so long ago - not so far for travellers and pedestrians on St Kilda Road in Melbourne.

Perched in front of Central Equity's three new apartment buildings are 12 three metre tall stainless steel trees which, although not specifically designed as Christmas trees, have stylised conical shapes that have a distinctly Christmas 'feel' about them.

Central Equity commissioned Phillip Naughton of Design Inferno to design the trees to complement the prestigious $123

A Melbourne artist and designer is using stainless steel to blur the lines between form and functionality. 

Colin Kirkpatrick from Modifie Designs adapts geometric shapes inspired by sculpture to create works that can transform from conversation pieces to coffee tables in seconds.

Cubes and three dimensional rectangular shapes are fabricated from grade 304 stainless steel sheeting welded to a timber subframe, then attached to castors for mobility and versatility.

The custom-sized shapes can be used as either furniture or sculpture and as a single unit or separated into individual pieces.

The Modifie range also includes coffee tables with stainless steel

When millions around the world watch the Sydney Olympic Games this September, they will also be experiencing the best of Australian architecture, with particular emphasis on stainless steel.

Stadium Australia, located at Homebush Bay in Sydney's inner city in the centrepiece of the Olympic site. Here, events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field program will be played out. Closer examination of the sit reveals the use of stainless steel in a myriad of applications, both aesthetic and functional. Perhaps more importantly, the use of stainless steel helps meet the organiser's "green" commitment: to use

A tranquil oasis has been created amid the bustle of Brisbane's Central Business District, with the help of stainless. 

'a tree a rock a cloud', by Brisbane-based artist Barbara Heath, blends symbols of the innovation and achievement of business with images from the area's original landscape.

The five metre long, three and a half metre wide and tall sculpture, located outside Central Plaza Two, features 21 stainless steel 'fins' and a gold titanium-clad stainless steel cloud, all mounted on a stainless steel base plate. The base plate is hidden from view by stones in a pool of water.

The resulting

The first edition of Australian Stainless featured the flagpole which towers over the new Federal Parliament building in Canberra. Ten years on and fifteen years since it was erected, the flagpole is well on the way towards its planned 200 year life. A condition survey was recently carried out by an ASSDA member for the Joint Houses of Parliament Committee.

The statistics: the 81m high structure is constructed mainly from 16mm thick hot rolled 304L plate: the base plates are 321 and the clusters supporting the flagpole proper are unpolished, cast 304 equivalent (CF-8). The four triangular legs rise diagonally

Polished stainless steel poles represent a barren wartime landscape at the Korean War Memorial in Canberra. The history of the conflict is etched in curved stainless steel panels. 

ASSDA member MME Surface Finishing polished 1000 lineal metres of 25 nominal bore schedule 10, grade 316 pipe to make 260 poles standing 3.8m high. These were welded and gusseted to 12mm thick plates, chemically anchored to a concrete slab, by the fabricator, ACT Stainless Steel.

The other main components of the Memorial,also fabricated and installed by ACT and polished by MME, are the curved stainless steel panels inside a central viewing

Lightweight stainless steel sheet, polished to a high level of reflectivity, has been chosen to interpret the layered feathers of one of Australia's national icons, the dancing brolga. 

Designing and creating a trio of life-size sculptures has occupied much of Allen Minogue's time since his retirement as an engineer and designer.

The birds, inspired by a visit to the Northern Territory, have cast grade 316 legs and heads and feathers made from 2B finish 316 sheet in four
thicknesses, from 0.55mm to 1.2mm.

The feathers are all individually shaped using a hand guillotine and other hand tools. They are then

Stainless steel responds admirably to the strength and durability imperatives of public art at the Ipswich Workshops Rail Museum, opened to the public earlier this month.

The Workshops began operations in the 1860s and initially assembled components imported from England, but by the early 1900s railway stock was being manufactured from the ground up. During the peak employment period of the 1950s there were over 3 000 workers. To reflect the Workshops’ importance in shaping the identity of the town of Ipswich, west of Brisbane, the design brief called for a monument concentrating on the social history of the Workshops

Stainless steel is well-known as a versatile and attractive medium for large scale public artworks. Two recent projects by Perth’s Stusha Studio make use of different treatments of the material to deliver attention-grabbing results.

INSPIRED BY NATURE
The Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital in WA commissioned shade structures in two courtyards and Stusha Studio responded with four elements, representing a flower, a seed, a leaf and a fruit, inspired by the orchards of the area and the seasons. The structures provide a shadow-play on the courtyard floors and walls, blushing the areas with shade.

The elements are made of stainless steel

Stainless Steel Mesh

Woven metal fabrics are a popular architectural product in Europe, where stainless steel mesh is used for a high-level finish in many internal and external settings, such as wall and ceiling panelling, space dividers, external cladding and facades.

Now Sydney firm Interspace Manufacturing Pty Ltd is making and installing woven stainless steel wire mesh screens using metal fabrics from iO Metal Fabrics Pty Ltd, a German firm with an Australian presence and a member of ASSDA.

ASSDA member Interspace has been designing and manufacturing store fittings and custom fixtures for displays and exhibitions since 1970. The firm

A decor has to be unique to stand out among the trendy cafes and nightclubs in Park Road, Milton, one of Brisbane’s most fashionable locations, and it certainly has to possess the wow factor to compete with the multitude of sensory experiences which greet clubbers out to see the latest bands and DJs.

A unique interior, using stainless steel, which would wow the patrons, was the brief SOBAR NightClub owner Darren Perris gave Brisbane fabricator Klein Architectural, along with just 48 hours for concept, design and installation before opening night.

The mission was accomplished with patterned stainless surfaces to capitalise

To symbolise the wetlands landscape of the Nundah area in Brisbane’s north, sculptor Daniel Della Bosca sought out materials which best convey the fluidity and reflectivity of water and the reedy texture of waterside vegetation.

His choice was 316 stainless steel, finished with specialised surface treatments, combined with translucent blue glass and earthed in basalt.

“Dancing Wall” was commissioned by Brisbane City Council (BCC) as part of its program of Suburban Centre Improvement Projects (SCIPs) which aim to improve economic vitality, focus on community life and enrich local activity. The Nundah SCIP is one of the larger projects in the