Material and Finish Masters

Our project portfolio features a wide array of steel applications, including plain carbon (mild steel), weathering steel (also known as Corten), and many grades of stainless steel. Heavy’s Project Development and Design experts work closely with our project engineers to determine the best grade of steel for a given situation.

FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) is a composite material containing a curated combination of polymer resin and interwoven chopped glass fiber strands to create one of the most durable pound-for-pound applications at Heavy’s disposal. The versatility of FRP allows the exploration of an incredibly wide variety of geometric shapes, without the engineering requirements a material such as metal, concrete or wood might require.

Heavy is well equipped to incorporate all types of soft and hard wood products into our projects. Whether a feature requires durable, water-resistant material such as Ipê or the natural, raw aesthetic of Douglas Fir, Heavy has the knowhow to integrate the right species of wood into your creative feature. Our team has you covered for all things wood.

Several of the projects Heavy has brought to life involve the integration of glass, including tempered glass, mirror finish, and dichroic. Incorporating glass products can elevate a placemaking experience to the next level by leveraging light refraction and reflection to it’s fullest extent. Considerations when using glass include expansion/contraction, weathering, maintenance, and aesthetics.

Our coatings experts are well versed in every step of the finishing process. Whether it’s a high-quality automotive grade coating or an organic blackened metal finish, Heavy will be able to recommend the best application for any creative feature in all types of climates and circumstances. Through extensive R&D, Heavy has created procedures to obtain a consistent and repeatable finishes for a wide variety of aesthetic and operational situations.

Our Project Development and Design teams are well suited to ensure highly specialized plastic products are accurately modeled in 3D and incorporated into our overall assembly models to ensure proper fit, clearances, and aesthetic requirements. We closely examine the location and fitting requirements to ensure we select the right plastic material for the job.

Heavy has completed a vast array of projects leveraging the unique properties of aluminum alloy, brass, bronze and other metals. Our experience with a wide variety of non-ferrous metals informs our approach and allows us the freedom to select the right material for the job. Heavy’s unique PLAN—BUILD™ process is well suited to ensure factors such as corrosion, engineering, and connections are properly considered at every step of a project’s life-cycle.

Heavy’s portfolio includes several projects featuring the use of versatile solid surface products, including Avonite, Corian, and Staron. These products can be manipulated through heat-forming techniques and are easily cut manually or by CNC automated tooling. No longer is this material reserved for kitchen countertops, it has become a vital piece of many iconic placemaking experiences because of it’s adaptability and low maintenance properties.

An effective way to amplify a creative feature is by incorporating well considered, programmable lighting schemes. From simple on/off systems to custom interactive lighting control schemes that respond to people and the environment, we work closely with lighting experts to develop and implement the right lighting scheme to properly accent each placemaking feature.