COR-TEN® Weathering Steel Monolith Signs For HIE Inverness

The Inverness Campus of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is a thriving life sciences community and world-class business location with pioneering facilities. It brings together companies and academia in collaborative research and innovation.

We were asked to manufacture a pair of 4 metre tall 3 panel bilingual COR-TEN® weathering steel monolith signs for HIE’s main entrance by their contractor, Fraser Signs. Important considerations included matching HIE’s campus brand style and sign design, the ability to manufacture to a tight deadline, and providing specialist heavy freight transport.

The team were also keen to find a sign maker capable of undertaking such a large project in premium materials that had the ability to fabricate the required rolled hollow section galvanised steel stanchion legs to approved engineering specifications.

We based our design on the drawings and specifications provided by the client’s architect. We provided technical guidance on the materials for the stanchion legs and the attachment of the monolith panels to them to ensure ease of construction and extended service life.

We made these monolith signs from COR-TEN® weathering steel, with rolled hollow section and steel plate stanchion legs which we hot dip galvanised after manufacture, then painted to match the COR-TEN®. The vibrant warm orange-brown metal of the COR-TEN® and the painted hot dip galvanising of the stanchions will not only give HIE the look they require, they will also offer them maintenance free signs that will last for many decades, and be fully recyclable at end of life.

Customer: Contractor on behalf of economic & community development agency

Purpose: Pair of business brand site entrance monolith signs

Location: Outdoor, coastal

Style guide: Monolith, industrial, contemporary, striking, bilingual brand

Image/s: n/a

Font/s: HIE Inverness campus brand font

Shape: 3 vertical rectangular panels on 2 stanchion legs, 16 mm radius corners

Size: Each panel 1180mm tall x 492mm wide; each monolith 3850mm tall x 492mm wide

Colour/s: Vibrant warm orange-brown COR-TEN® weathering steel; RAL 8023 paint

Finish/es: Bare metal cleanup, edge rounding; paint

Etching/engraving: No

Backlit: No

Material/s: Genuine COR-TEN® weathering steel plate; S275 mild steel hollow section; S275 mild steel plate; hot dip galvanising; mordant solution; high build 2 pack epoxy paint; nylon spacers; stainless steel Ny-lock fastenings

Thickness: 8 mm COR-TEN®; 100x100x6mm hollow section; 12mm plate

Construction: 1 layer, 6 welded COR-TEN® lugs per panel, through bolted to stanchion legs welded with gussets to base plates

Mounting: 4 holes per base plate to take M16 rods set in concrete foundation

Delivery: Specialist heavy freight transport

Great signs! Thanks again for all your help!

Gallery

CNC plasma cutting one of the COR-TEN weathering steel plates

The COR-TEN monolith signs being worked on in our fabrication workshop

Welding the mounting lugs to the back of one monolith sign

Detail of welding and galvanising on legs and base plates

Closeup of underside of one monolith sign showing lugs and fixings

Closeup of painting on legs and base plates

Loading the monolith signs for HIE Inverness onto specialist transport