Hello world!

Hello world!

by | Jun 26, 2022 | Spotlight

Lewis here, writing to you from a (surprisingly) sunny London summer’s day. Welcome to my website!

It’s all very new and over time I hope to continue writing to share with you on matters related to our trade and the steel industry.

We serve clients who bring their A game; the ones who value masters of their trade and skill, who want to make a great deal of impact on the steel industry at large.

lewis hillier

beginnings

Heavy steel fabrication is where I started out my career. Though if you asked my dad he’d probably tell you that I’ve been gifted with a curiosity that went from my head to my hands, as soon as I was able to take apart my toys, because I was more interested in how things worked than how they ‘played’.

After leaving school I found myself persuading a fabrication company in Auckland to take me on as an apprentice while I studied applied engineering. I didn’t know how much I’d come to love the work and honing the skills I saw on a daily basis with master tradesmen whom I’d come to admire and respect dearly.

apprenticeship

It took four and a half years to go from apprentice, to graduating top of my class in heavy fabrication, to completing my diploma in applied engineering. From there my heart was set on steel fabrication, except I ran into so many issues in the workshop that I had to do something about it.

Drawings would arrive into the workshop with incomplete information. It’s as if the draughtsman ran a program, put a few details in, hit the button to run the drawings and that’s what we had to work with.

switching gears

Eager to put my education and knowledge to practise, these stalls in the workflow made it necessary for me to leave the fabrication side of steelwork fairly early on to join the design team as a draughtsman.

Having managed to convince the boss to let me have a go, I set out to create better drawings that the fabricators would have no problem understanding, and would therefore make the projects coming in run smoothly with less time wasted looking for the missing information.

skilled perspectives

I knew my apprenticeship would serve me well, to interpret from both sides of steelwork. This came in very handy especially when I’d need to roll up my sleeves and demonstrate how pieces would need to come together.

Sometimes I was required to produce my own interpretation of designs from an idea that an architect would have. The in depth knowledge and practice I gained throughout my early career made these requests easy and enjoyable, and delighted clients.

Having empathy for various levels of skilled labour has made designing projects easy since it’s where I came up in steel work. Some draughtsmen lack understanding of how their work will be interpreted in the workshop and this has at times compromised projects.

adapting to changes

Life, as you know, tends to take so many twists and turns, and learning to adapt to changes during lulls in my career has challenged me in ways I needed to grow. It also allowed me to spend more time with family, help my wife with her handmade business, be a part of my children’s childhood, and work in different roles to support them during these downturns.

the way forward

And now in my 40s I’m burgeoning on a new path to build a business and grow a team of talented people who form various arms in steel work. Together, we’ll influence the steel industry for the better and leave a legacy of work we can all be proud of.

The steel industry is past due for an upgrade on developing better ways to support youngsters or anyone who is interested in furthering their career in steelwork. With such high turnover rates for roles, and not enough real talent trained by masters from fabrication to draughting, we are at the mercy of unrealistic expectations affecting budgets and the overall delivery of projects being unnecessarily problematic. Not to mention the quality of life that is the greatest casualty of steel industry workers.

In time I hope to distil my experiences and knowledge through producing quality content on my blog (and other places you can find me online) to help juniors who are up and coming draughtspeople or fabricators to raise the standard of their work and in turn give people the confidence to command more from themselves and employers.

Thanks for being here and looking forward to sharing more soon!

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ATHLETES VILLAGE BLOCK N14

ATHLETES VILLAGE BLOCK N14

by | Feb 22, 2022 | Balustrades, Metalworks, Portfolio, Secondary Structure, Structural Steel

Location: Stratford, London (circa. 2011)

Design Brief: Balustrades and Wintergarden Structure Design

CAD System: AutoCad

I had the pleasure of working with the design team on what would be the Athletes Village for the 2012 Olympics in London that would later become residential housing.

Photo Credit: Haworth Tompkins

A project that consisted of structural privacy screens and balcony balustrades, stair balustrades, rails, and a winter garden joining two adjacent blocks.

The winter garden structure was particularly interesting since the engineer had specific ideas around section use, and the fabricator chosen had limited experience with heavy sections. I was able to offer my expertise with heavy steel as this was the basis of my trade certification.

Photo Credit: Haworth Tompkins

Through the strategic application of heat and cutting methods I was able to demonstrate that it is entirely possible to cut down sections without warping or massive postprocessing treatment.

Having a strong practical grasp of heavy engineering meant that I was able to resolve and help complete this project to exactly what the engineer had envisioned.

Photo Credit: Haworth Tompkins
IMPERIAL 2

IMPERIAL 2

by | Feb 22, 2022 | Balustrades, Metalworks, Portfolio

Location: Bromley-by-Bow, London (circa. 2021)

Design Brief: Balustrades – Block D comprised of 26 Stories & Block B comprised of 14 Stories

CAD System: AutoCad Advance Steel

Mid 2021 I was presented with a project in East London that covered 2 new residential tower blocks. One 14 stories tall, and the other, a commanding 26 stories. The brief was fairly straightforward – come up with a system that could make the fabrication and installation as efficient as possible whilst maintaining the architect’s design aesthetic.

This reminded me of a project I had worked on many years earlier while still in New Zealand. The infill bars weren’t completely welded, instead they were drilled and captivated within the outer frame. The only issue here was that we weren’t using a round bar or tube, we were using flat bars. 

The result was a plasma cut top and bottom rail with just enough clearance to allow the flat bar infills to be inserted and welded from behind. Welding distortion and grinding were kept to a minimum which really helped to speed production.

The other issue was installation: how do you account for early production while still ensuring the balustrades are going to fit? The answer was a unique first fix bracket system that once installed would make allowance of up to 25mm of variance in the concrete structure.

By also making these universal I was able to reduce fabrication set up as well as logistics. If the site teams don’t have to find a particular bracket then they really only need to make sure they have the right quantities delivered at any given time.

So it was with this idea that I was able to help deliver 830m of complete design balustrades in a matter of weeks rather than the originally anticipated months.

WAITAKERE CIVIC CENTRE

WAITAKERE CIVIC CENTRE

by | Feb 22, 2022 | Balustrades, Metalworks, Portfolio

Location: Henderson, Auckland NZ (circa. 2007)

Design Brief: New Council Building Metalworks Package and Temporary Works

CAD System: StruCad

I had the opportunity to work on the handrails and balustrades scattered around what was to be the new Civic Centre for Waitakere City. An audacious concept for a public building it would also become the transport hub for the wider city.

Photo Credit: Arch Daily


One particular feature I enjoyed was the Link Bridge across the main TransRail tracks. This required a temporary works form to straddle the rail tracks so that the reinforced concrete could be placed and poured without disruption to rail traffic.

With millimetre precision and a 4 hour time slot the site team were able to install the framework without incident.

Although destined to be removed I was always proud of the structure designed for a quick installation without fuss.

The Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House

by | Jan 26, 2022 | Metalworks, Portfolio

Location: Covent Garden, London (circa. 2017)
Design Brief: Entrance and Foyer Metalwork
CAD System: AutoCad

I’ve loved the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden since my wife and I visited in 2007 to watch ‘Swan Lake’ on the day of our engagement. I was further delighted to be involved in the renovation of such an iconic space 10 years later.

The team I was part of were responsible for the new steel structure, as well as the lobby metalworks design package. I was responsible for taking the metalworks details that the architect had specified and liaising with our on-site team to provide a suitable fabrication package.

During this time I became further acquainted with glass balustrades, on this occasion it was the curved  balustrade at mezzanine level overlooking the open space of the ‘Linbury Theatre’ entrance.

In the Foyer I was responsible for the wall rails, the accessible ramp, all the glass infill and substructures. As well as the standalone handrails throughout. With the advice and support of our design director I was able to help deliver a quality result for our client.

More often than not designers don’t get to run their hands and eyes over work they have had a hand in getting to the workshop floor. I am happy to have the pleasure of both everytime I walk into this beautiful space.