CASE STUDY

HISTORIC REPLICATION

This was the home that Philadelphia Mainline architect John Torre Windham built for himself in 1911. He constructed an addition in 1924. The current owners of the property started a renovation in 2011, 100 years after it was originally built.

The client added a terrace to the rear of the house and needed a railing to prevent falls from the elevated area. They had an existing balcony railing over the main entrance, which had four main design elements: rosettes, radiused diamonds, ovals, and knuckles.

We used this original balcony design as a starting point to design a terrace railing with a similar theme, but without as much detail for the larger more private space, reserving the more ornate design for the main entrance. The clients insisted on iron, both for tangible feel and intangible authenticity. As this piece was outdoors and exposed to the weather, corrosion was a concern. In order to prevent corrosion from taking away from this piece, we utilized an 11-step powder-coat over hot-dip galvanizing process. The resulting finish had texture and character due to the industrial imperfections inherent in galvanizing, but with the matte black powder-coat, it truly resembled a project 100 years old, perfect for a Philadelphia Mainline estate.