My Object of Desire: bespoke lever door handle in milled brass designed for the redevelopment of the King’s Cross Gasholders.
The Gasholders project at London’s King’s Cross Central development involved the construction of 145 apartments within three conjoined, listed cast iron frames. Each gasholder has a ring of apartments around the perimeter accessed from a central atrium and, for the entrance doors, Wilkinson Eyre designed bespoke milled brass ironmongery in keeping with the conceptual ‘watchmaker’ narrative for the interiors.
The idea started with a sketch for a flat lever handle cut in a triangle with scallop-shaped undulations on the inside to accommodate fingers. This is attached to a circular stub with a rose of the same diameter, to match the size of the lock and escutcheon plate below.
Mock ups were made by our in-house modelmakers to develop the detail, and drawings were prepared for issue to the ironmongery supplier, Franchi, who submitted a sample for approval before it went into production.
What pleases me in particular is the distinctive individuality of such a small functional object and the pleasure it brings the user.
