High-Tolerance Bronze: Atelier Viento's Coastal Installations

The Workshop

Atelier Viento occupies a 200-square-metre workshop in the Polígono San Pedro de Alcántara. The space is organised around a single 6-metre workbench where bronze extrusions are cut, mitred, and hand-finished before assembly. The workshop produces no more than 14 window units per month — a deliberate constraint that keeps quality control at the individual craftsman level.

The Material

Architectural bronze — a copper-zinc alloy with 60% copper content — develops a self-healing oxide layer that protects against saline corrosion. Unlike aluminium, which requires anodising or powder-coating, bronze needs no surface treatment. It patinas naturally, deepening from a warm gold to a rich brown over five to seven years.

Bronze does not fail. It ages. There is a difference.

Engineering

Each frame is engineered for wind loads up to 1.2 kN/m² — well beyond the 0.8 kN/m² required by the Andalusian building code for coastal zones. The extrusion profiles are custom-designed with integral drainage channels that prevent water retention at the sill.