Hazelwood Railings

The Ties that Bind

The City of Bridges Community Land Trust asked us to design and produce a railing system to be a part of the four new duplexes they built in Hazelwood. Being in the heart of the neighborhood, we knew we wanted to incorporate some unique aspect of Hazelwood into the project.

So, we designed custom metal panels for the front privacy screens and rear porches, that are comprised of hazelnut tree leaf shaped cutouts, a nod to the tree that the neighborhood is named after for its abundance in the area when it was first discovered.

The privacy screens feature a larger hazelnut tree leaf, shaped with hundreds of smaller leaves, to both provide the tenant with privacy on their porch and to bring a unique feature to the facade of the new structures that connects to the neighborhood.

Each section of the duplex had to be precisely measured due to the environmental irregularities that had to be built around. The railings were comprised of 1.5" square box tube that was welded together, complete with brackets at the bottom to fasten the structures to the deck. All of the railings were then joined together with a cap rail to create a seamless unit.

The railings were the perfect way to meld these new structures into the existing area, showing appreciation to its roots and continuous impact on its residents for centuries.