Structural Steel, Pipe Racks & Truss Systems
Architectural steelwork is structural steel that stays visible once the building is finished, such as an entrance structure or an exposed frame. It is for owners and architects who want the steel to be part of the design.
Drawings or a written scope is enough to price it.
Architectural Steelwork & Entrance Structures
When steel is on show, the finish has to be specified, not assumed.
Masas engineered, fabricated and erected a new entrance at InterContinental Doha, including its building envelope. For Qetaifan Projects in Lusail, it designed, fabricated and supervised erection of eight retail buildings, with steel exposed to a public promenade and the coast.
Architectural Steelwork & Entrance Structures
In most buildings the steel frame is hidden behind cladding, ceilings or fireproofing, so nobody sees the welds or the joints. Architectural steelwork is the opposite. The columns, beams and connections are left exposed on purpose, and they carry the building while also forming part of how it looks.
Because people see it up close, the standard changes. A weld that is structurally sound may still look rough, and a bolt pattern that works may look untidy. The drawings and the specification have to say how every visible joint should look, and the workshop has to make it that way.
Exposed steel also has nothing covering it from the weather. Outdoors in Qatar it faces sun, dust and, near the coast, salt in the air, which speeds up corrosion. The protective coating is therefore both the appearance and the defence, and it is chosen with both in mind.
Hotel and building entrance structures
Exposed frames on retail and public spaces
Steel that meets glazing or cladding in view
Coastal and waterfront structures
Before you decide
Exposed steel is hard to correct once it is made. These three decisions belong in the drawings, not on site.
Decide which welds are ground smooth, whether connections are welded or bolted, and where bolts may show. A welded joint made to be seen takes more workshop time than a hidden one, so agreeing this early keeps the price honest and avoids rework.
Indoor steel, outdoor steel and steel near the sea need different protection. Salt air, direct sun and people touching the steel all affect the choice between a paint system and hot-dip galvanising. Tell the designer where each part will stand.
An entrance structure is rarely steel alone. Glazing, roofing or panels fix to it, and those joints are visible. When one subcontractor carries the frame and the envelope, as at InterContinental Doha, one team is responsible for how that line fits and looks.
Plain terms
These words decide how the steel will look when it is finished, and how long it will keep looking that way.
Exposed steel follows the same approved stages as any steel package, with more attention on appearance at each one.
01
Masas confirms the scope in writing before quoting, including which steel is exposed, how its joints should look and which protective coating the specification requires.
02
Shop drawings show each connection as it will be built. They go to the consultant with a method statement, an inspection and test plan and a risk assessment, for approval against QCS 2014.
03
Steel is cut, welded to AWS standards, blast-cleaned and coated in the Masas workshop, and inspected against the approved plan, so the finish is made under cover rather than on site.
04
Erection is sequenced to the main contractor’s programme. Snagging, as-built documentation and the certificates the consultant needs close the package.
For a quotation
Both sets, because the architectural drawings show what will be seen and the structural drawings show what carries the load.
Any requirement for weld finish, connection type, paint system, colour or galvanising. If it is not decided yet, say so.
Indoors or outdoors, how close to the sea, and whether the public can touch it. This decides the protection the steel needs.
Glazing, roofing, cladding, lighting or signage, and whether you want Masas to include the envelope in the same package.
Record
Contract values are not published. Scale is stated in area and clear span.
Engineering, fabrication and erection of a new hotel entrance, including building envelope solutions. Architectural steel at a hotel entrance is seen at arm's length by every guest, so the weld and finish standard is an architectural one, not a structural one.
View projectDesign, fabrication and erection supervision for eight buildings in a single retail plaza — a repeated structural bay with architectural steel exposed to a public promenade and to coastal conditions.
View projectEvery published Masas project, named or anonymised, with its scope and scale.
See all projectsThe other parts of this service, each on its own page with its own evidence.
Send drawings or a scope and we will come back with a quotation.
