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The great and the good of the UK galvanizing industry were in London this week for the annual Galvanizers Assn Galvanizing Awards, popularly known as the Gagas.
As ever, architectural firms and artists were commended for their use of galvanized steel in applications including stadiums, statues, sculptural benches and bicycle stands. And as ever, the winners took home gold-piped galvanized watering cans to commemorate their achievements.
The EllisMiller architectural firm took home the prize for galvanizing in architecture for their work on a new campus at Catmose College in Rutland, while Simon Winstanley won the sustainability award in celebration of his design for his zero-carbon home in Scotland, which incorporated a liberal use of galvanized sheet across the roof.
Other winners included Sarah Wigglesworth Architects and Collective Architecture, while eye-catching shortlisted entries included a set of outsized galvanized chairs in Carlisle, a stylish bench in Derbyshire and an impressive set of gates in South Lanarkshire.
Hotline’s personal favourite was Snell Associates’ Garsington Opera Pavilion, a 600-seat temporary amphitheatre in a Bucks estate that can be dismantled within four weeks at the end of each opera season.
The versatility and importance of zinc in the construction industry is well-known to the insiders present at this year’s Gagas, but there was also a reminder that the galvanizing metal is essential for human life, and should be of interest to everybody.
“Zinc is really good. You may be bored about it, but if you didn’t have zinc, you wouldn’t even be able to be bored,” University of Nottingham scientist Martin Poliakoff said in a video featured at the Gagas. Hear hear!
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