Since 1991, Handrail Design Limited have been pioneering engineered modular handrail systems, providing Architects, Contractors and Developers with a comprehensive end-to-end service, from initial design to final installation.
We design, manufacture, supply and install icon®, our proprietary range of impeccably made architectural handrail and balustrade systems, all within the stringent deadlines and rigorous standards demanded by today’s construction industry.
1991-2021 CELEBRATING 30 YEARS
modular handrail systems
icon modular components are fully engineered and mechanically joined together, offering outstanding performance and a superior quality finish without unsightly welds or exposed fixings. Factory finished and palletised for ease of site delivery, icon handrail and balustrade can be easily and rapidly installed using simple hand tools, without the need for on-site welding, fabrication or finishing.
The icon range currently comprises five main design concepts, expressed primarily by the cross-sections of their uprights, and offer distinctive architectural accents that complement contemporary building styles.
When combined with the wide range of brackets, infills and finishes available, an almost limitless design range can be created. From minimalistic tension wires through steel midrails and glass panels to highly popular solid and laser-cut steel panels, such a comprehensive modular system provides handrail and balustrade solutions that integrate seamlessly into a wide range of architectural environments.
Featured in these galleries are just a few of the many design options available in the icon range.
| A WIDER VIEW |
More often than not, stairwells in buildings are enclosed, restricted spaces - making it difficult to capture in a photograph the full visual effect of a particular handrail and balustrade design. In view of this, we have commissioned a set of digital renders depicting some of our most popular designs, from a strategic viewpoint that would normally be obscured by a retaining wall. Click on the image above to view these renders.
A feature increasingly in demand by architects and developers is handrailing with integral LED downlighting, something easily accommodated by our modular systems. icon employs its own proprietary system called LedLit, featuring state-of-the-art LED arrays and sophisticated drive units for maximum energy efficiency.
Full details can be found in our LedLit brochure.
For balustrade and handrail systems to be truly modular, it is essential the handrail as well as the rest of the balustrade is a conveniently sized unitised component.
Sitting at the heart of icon modular systems, our unique patented NODE connection makes possible exactly that. It enables handrail lengths to be reduced to the distance between support brackets, whilst maintaining structural integrity and properly transferring loads to the supports.
A subtle 0.5mm edge radius makes for a virtually seamless transition along the handrail and the patented design ensures a secure fixing with loads properly transferred to the supports.
Having a fully modular handrail solution enables an entire balustrade system to be delivered, packed and palletised, ready to be safely moved through the site and rapidly installed using only simple hand tools.
Furthermore, NODE enables handrails to be adjusted dimensionally during installation, offering new levels of fixing flexibility whilst reducing the reliance on exact site surveying. The trimmed ends of the handrail are simply concealed within the NODE component itself, so maintaining an unblemished factory finish.
IMPLEMENTATION
the bigger picture
| MODULAR BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION |
icon CUBE handrail and balustrade installed in the modular build for CPI Darlington
Platform Based Modular Construction has become a highly topical aspect of the construction industry today and our involvement with organisations and companies specialising in their design, manufacture and installation is increasingly sought after. Our fully modular icon handrail systems are a natural technical fit for buildings that are largely factory fabricated and then rapidly assembled on site and the high quality of design, materials and finishes that are the hallmark of our products, makes them ideal for a wide range of applications, from education, sports and leisure to healthcare, commercial and residential.
Click on the images above to view a case study of our latest partnership with Seismic, a consortium spearheading the development of platform based modular construction systems.
| MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION |
Since inception, Handrail Design has based its whole ethos on modularity and fully embracing the principals of DfMA and MMC. Our 30 years of experience and a passionate commitment to continual development has resulted in a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the most efficient ways of implementing our icon systems.
Crucial to the total effectiveness of our products, these techniques and protocols offer genuine and substantial cost and time benefits to Contractors and Developers by reducing project timescales and, through off-site fabrication and pre-assembly, taking substantial amounts of preliminary work off the critical path.
| PERMANENT EDGE PROTECTION |
Permanent Edge Protection, where the permanent balustrade is installed concurrently with the core stair construction, is increasingly being called for by Developers eager to avoid the cost and inconvenience of temporary protection scaffolding and eliminating wherever possible hazardous on-site fabrication.
With our modular systems intrinsically suited to this methodology, Handrail Design have been pioneering these objectives for many years, with a proven track record in implementing PEP that is second to none.
The move towards this new way of working has long been hindered by the rudimentary 'back-of-house' balustrades inevitably offered as part of the process. Our patented NODE connection system, however, allows our entire architectural product range to be used for PEP installation and so Developers are no longer obliged to accept compromised fixed assets when adopting these advanced MMC techniques.
Details of our advanced MMC and PEP implementation methodologies as well as other unique features such as our engineered cantilevered glass balustrade infill panels and concealed boss fixings are covered in-depth in our IMPLEMENTATION brochure.
the next level
| OPTIMISED STAIRCASE LAYOUT |
Given early pre-construction engagement on a project, we can work with architects and planners to optimise the layout of core staircases in buildings. This Optimised Staircase Layout technique enables both the well widths to be minimised - thus maximising the net commercial space - and also allows us to design balustrade with shared well end uprights with single intermediate uprights, thereby reducing balustrade components to an absolute minimum. Such design efficiencies are not only visually very elegant but commercially highly advantageous and offer a solution that is architecturally intelligent in every respect.
Our DfMA and MMC compliant icon modular systems, our Permanent Edge Protection methodology and our Optimised Staircase Layout techniques can all individually result in tangible benefits to stakeholders, but combined as a comprehensive package they make for a formidable concept when applied to the handrail and balustrade solutions in tall buildings, yielding considerable time and cost benefits that cannot be ignored.
We call this integrated concept PERFECT STAIRS.
