In high-quality garden designs, it is increasingly not just about planting. Materials, sightlines, architecture and objects together determine the atmosphere of the outdoor space. Corten steel has taken a special place in this. The material is robust and distinctive, but at the same time blends surprisingly naturally into its surroundings.
Add fire to that and something else is created. A place where people are drawn, where a terrace also comes to life in the evening and where an object is part of the garden design during the day and takes on a completely different function in the evening.
Why do Corten steel and fire work so well together?
From industrial material to architectural element
Corten steel was originally developed for applications where steel is exposed to the elements for a long period. What is special is that the material protects itself.
Under the influence of moisture and oxygen, a characteristic oxidation layer forms on the surface. Where ordinary steel can continue to corrode, Corten steel develops a relatively dense patina layer under suitable conditions that protects the underlying steel.
This technical property, however, only partially explains why Corten steel has become so popular in garden and landscape architecture.
The material has a property that many modern materials lack: it changes.
A new Corten steel object looks different than the same object months or years later. The steel reacts to its surroundings and gradually develops shades of orange and reddish-brown to deep dark brown.
Because of this, every object eventually gets its own character.
Why Corten steel works so well in a garden
A garden consists for a large part of living materials. Plants grow, trees change with the seasons and wood weathers. A completely sleek and unchanging material can sometimes stand in stark contrast to this.
Corten steel does something different.
Although it is an industrial material, it develops a warm, earthy appearance. The brown and orange shades easily match the colors that occur naturally in a garden.
That is why Corten steel is widely used for, among others:
- planters and borders;
- retaining walls and level differences;
- art objects;
- water features;
- edge enclosures;
- outdoor kitchens;
- wood storage;
- and outdoor fireplaces.
The material can be distinctly present, but does not have to shout for attention. That makes it interesting for both modern architectural gardens and more natural designs.
The strength lies in the combination of materials
A high-quality outdoor space is rarely built from a single material. It is precisely the combination that creates tension.
Corten steel, for example, combines beautifully with natural stone. The cool and often calm character of stone forms a contrast with the warm patina of the steel.
With concrete a different combination is created. The sleek, architectural appearance of concrete becomes softer when the warm surface of Corten steel stands next to it.
Also wood works well. Both materials change under the influence of weather and time, but each in its own way.
And perhaps most importantly: greenery.
Grasses, hedges, trees and other plantings often stand out extra strongly against the warm rust color of Corten steel. Especially that combination explains why the material is so often used by garden designers and landscape architects.
And then fire is added
With an outdoor fireplace, Corten steel gets an extra dimension.
During the day, the fireplace is an object in the garden. The shape, height, proportions and the material determine how it relates to the architecture of the house and the rest of the garden design.
But as soon as the fire is lit, that object changes.
The warm shades of the Corten steel are enhanced by the light of the flames. Shadows start to move. The fire becomes visible from different parts of the garden and the attention naturally shifts to the place where it burns.
That makes an outdoor fireplace fundamentally different from many other elements in a garden.
It is at the same time an object and an experience.
Why people gather around fire
Our attraction to fire is much older than the modern garden.
For centuries, fire meant warmth, light, protection and the possibility to prepare food. But it also had a social function. People gathered around the fire.
That attraction still exists.
Put a group of people on a terrace where a fire is burning somewhere and there is a good chance that the attention will slowly move to that fire. People will stand or sit around it, look at the flames and often stay outside longer than they originally planned.
A well-placed fire therefore naturally creates a centerpiece in the outdoor space.
That principle can be consciously incorporated into a garden design.
Fire as part of the garden design
The position of an outdoor fireplace therefore deserves more attention than simply looking for a free spot on the terrace.
First look at the garden as a whole.
From which position do you look outside from the house? Where do people sit most often? What sightlines has the architect or garden designer created? And what does the garden look like when the fireplace is not used?
An outdoor fireplace can, for example, be placed at the end of a sightline. From the house, a view towards the fire is then created, which also creates a connection between inside and outside on cooler evenings.
On a large terrace, the fireplace can actually help create different zones. Not by literally forming a wall, but because the fire gets a natural destination within the space.
In smaller gardens, restraint is more important. There, the proportions and the position of a large object can be decisive for the entire design.
An outdoor fireplace stands there even when it is not burning
That last part is easily forgotten.
An outdoor fireplace may burn dozens of evenings a year. But it stands 365 days a year in the garden.
With a permanently placed outdoor fireplace, the design is therefore at least as important as the function.
A fireplace must fit the scale of the garden, the house and the materials used. Especially in a carefully designed outdoor space, you want to prevent a functional object from becoming something you would rather keep out of sight after use.
A good outdoor fireplace may just stay standing.
In that respect, it can be approached just as a garden architect also looks at an art object, tree or water feature: as part of the composition of the outdoor space.
Corten steel becomes more beautiful with time
That brings an interesting property of Corten steel to light again.
It does not have to look the same every year.
A new Corten steel fireplace can initially still be relatively uniform and steely. Under the influence of the weather, oxidation begins and the characteristic patina gradually develops.
That process does not go exactly the same speed everywhere. Rain, humidity, location and exposure to the open air all play a role.
Precisely that change belongs to the material.
Where discoloration is seen as wear and tear in many products, it is part of the design in Corten steel.
Fire, steel and outdoor life
A garden can be beautifully designed without fire. But fire adds something that stone, wood, water and planting cannot offer: movement, warmth and a constantly changing light image.
Corten steel forms a particularly suitable frame for this.
The material is robust enough to be present as an architectural element, while the warm patina seeks connection with the natural colors of the garden. When fire is added to that, material and function come together.
That starting point was also central to the design of the VENTOR® Original. The fireplace was not only developed around the fire, but also as an object that can permanently become part of a terrace or garden. The height, the Corten steel and the view of the flames all around make the appearance change as soon as the fire is lit.
During the day, an object of steel.
's Evening, a place where people come together.
And perhaps that is the most beautiful combination of Corten steel and fire: one gets character through time, the other changes every second.
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