ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURE

We interviewed Rick Bulan, owner and designer at Golden Gate Design & Furniture ten years ago. We recently spoke again with Bulan about himself, his passion for his work and his love of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, in San Francisco, California.

The colorful expanse of orange across the San Francisco Bay began to take shape in 1933. After four years of muscle and grit, the 894,500 ton bridge opened to the public.

A Golden Opportunity

BY ASHLEY FERRAGUT JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF RICK BULAN

The transformation from handrail section to living room end table is an involved artistic process which results in "International Orange" in all its glory. As Bulan says, "some sweat, blood and burns" go into every project.

Pictured here is a section of handrail being removed by workers in 1993. Each section is twelve and onehalf feet in length and weighs one-thousand pounds. Bulan rented a truck to bring his first section home.

Grinding and cutting the historic steel section into manageable pieces takes about a month. Using plasma and blades yet maintaining the distinct weathered patina from 56 years of wind and salt exposure is an arduous process.

The vibrant color, "International Orange" is the official paint color of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. The paint is applied using the same techniques as currently utilized on the bridge.

On a sunny San Francisco afternoon in1994, artist Rick Bulan happened to catch the end of a local TV news story that was destined to impact his life. The fate of the sea salt-weathered steel handrails removed from the Golden Gate Bridge in1993 was the topic. What would become of the orange steel was to be decided by the contractor. Would he decide to sell it or melt it down and recycle? Bulan’s immediate thoughts would shape the next 23 years of his life.

“When I saw the story, I just thought to myself, ‘Wow, that would make a cool headboard!’ The history of the material and the childhood memories of the bridge spoke to me, and I just wanted a piece of it for myself,” Bulan says.

Bulan, born and raised in San Francisco, has never lived outside the Bay Area. “I have many childhood memories of spending weekends at the Golden Gate Bridge … playing underneath, walking across it, picnicking next to it and bringing family out to see it,” he says.

Call it fate or anticipated opportunity, Bulan made a call to the news station to garner more information about the Golden Gate Bridge restoration project. After speaking with the contractor, he realized the scrapped steel rails were twelve and half feet long and weighed one thousand pounds each. A deal was struck and, with a rented truck, Bulan brought the handrail home, spending the next month cutting it up into manageable pieces. “I created not one but four 115-pound, queen-sized headboards,” he says.

With a natural interest in design, Bulan studied architecture and drafting in college, graduating with a degree in finance. A perfect marriage for what was about to happen. People began to express interest in his iconic functional pieces of history, and he began to consider a company based on that idea. After negotiating and purchasing the remaining scrapped handrails from the contractor, Bulan formed the Golden Gate Design & Furniture Company. The rest is, indeed, history.

Designing smaller, more practical pieces was initiated by Bulan to accommodate requests of customers desiring a historic Golden Gate Bridge keepsake. Shown: Paperweight.

Book ends incorporating the hand railing – another artistic option to eternally preserve a historic piece of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

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Architecturally distinct in design, this desk lamp, much like Bulan's other work, reflects the Art Deco style of the 1930s. Clean and sleek lines define them.

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In terms of design, headboards gave way to tables, end tables, coffee tables, lamps and a line of smaller home décor pieces, including lamps and picture frames. More recently, smaller gift items such as bookends, paperweights and jewelry have been created. Bulan is mindful not to waste any portion of the large pieces of orange steel.

“I try to create new items that utilize the entire section of handrail as I am cutting it up to create the larger furniture pieces, so that nothing goes to waste,” he says.

Because each piece is handcrafted, the actual design process takes weeks, involving cutting, welding, grinding for smoothing rough areas and painting. Welding burns off a lot of the original paint so a fresh coat of the original “International Orange,” a color specifically mixed for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District is applied. Bulan is quick to add, “I make sure to preserve any distinctive weathering, patina or markings from where the steel was produced by the Bethlehem Steel Company back in the 1930s. Many of these pieces contain numbers or a BSC (Bethlehem Steel Company) stamp imprinted in the steel, which I try to highlight.” Bulan feels honored to create items that enable his customers to keep a tangible and memorable connection to the Golden Gate Bridge. The steel removed from the bridge in 1993 was originally placed in 1937, taking 60 years for the material to become available to work with. When asked what he will do when the historical steel is gone, Bulan says, “Since there is a finite supply of original Golden Gate Bridge steel, there will come a time when this stock is exhausted. Everyone always wonders what will become of the company once this supply of handrail is gone and to this I say I guess I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.”

Want to know more? Contact Rick Bulan at info@goldengatefurniture.com, visit his website at goldengatefurniture.com or call 415.661.6263.

A sentimental piece, the brightly colored headboard became the initial Golden Gate Bridge steel project. Little did Bulan realize it was the beginning of new career.

The contemporary design of this table reveals Bulan's ability to custom design. He is very careful in the production of all pieces to have the "Bethlehem Steel – BSC” stamps remain in the steel.

This table will remain a great conversation piece for all time. One of Bulan's earlier pieces, the importance of preserving the history of the iconic bridge fueled his passion.

The globe sitting near this table is the perfect symbol representing the global interest for the beauty and awe-inspiring architecture of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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