Perimeter fencing, Embassy, Delhi

An embassy in Delhi needed fencing in three places: along the perimeter, around the tennis court and inside the grounds. The same system serves all three, so the grounds read as one. Acier designed, supplied and installed the mesh, ropes and posts in 2018.

Fencing for a diplomatic site has to be secure, durable and well finished, because it is seen by every visitor. The mesh had to resist climbing, yet the fence was meant to be as unobtrusive as possible. Here the whole system was to be black, and consistent across every part: mesh, ropes and fittings. A mismatch at a single fitting would show. Colouring stainless rope mesh evenly, including where ropes cross and join, is harder than painting a flat panel. The team also needed security clearance and worked inside a live diplomatic site.

The fencing is Jakob Webnet in Ø2 mm stainless rope with a 60 mm mesh width, carried on Ø8 mm stainless ropes. The mesh size was chosen to resist climbing. The same mesh runs along the perimeter, around the tennis court and inside the grounds, so one detail serves the whole site.

Every element, from mesh to fittings, is finished black. The finish combines spectral colouring with a two-stage electrostatic wet coat, applied to the mesh, ropes and fittings alike. Black was chosen because it recedes against planting and shadow, so the fence is far less visible than bright steel would be.

The embassy now has one fencing system across its perimeter, tennis court and internal areas, in a single black finish. It is strong and see-through, and it sits quietly within the grounds. The project shows that Webnet can be delivered in a full colour finish, fittings included, when a design calls for it.