Kloeckner Metals Corporation, one of the largest producer-independent distributors of steel and metal products in the U.S. (and an AISC member), opened the doors to its newly expanded Greenville, S.C., plant yesterday. The addition encompasses a 50,000-sq.-ft bay with 43-ton cranes and a new, highly automated slitting line for processing advanced high-strength steels and aluminum.

The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) desired a headquarters building designed to not only provide office space, but to also serve as an educational tool for sustainable technologies. HARC leadership worked with Walter P Moore and their director of sustainable design, Dirk Kestner, to perform a whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate multiple structural systems from the very outset of the building design process—and a steel frame with a minimized amount of concrete was proven to reduce carbon emissions.

A 10-ft-tall steel sculpture was erected at Drexel University in Philadelphia on SteelDay, September 15. It joins the more than 170 AISC steel sculptures located on university and college campuses across the country (and even around the world!) that are designed as a teaching tool to give students a visual understanding of steel framing and steel connections. 

Robert J. Connor, a professor with the Purdue University School of Civil Engineering and director of the school's S-BRITE Center, has been selected as the winner of the 2018 AISC T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award.

Modular steel-plate composite (SC) walls are improving overall schedule and quality in safety-related nuclear structures, and building designers now have a comprehensive resource to facilitate their design with AISC’s Design Guide 32: Design of Modular Steel-Plate Composite Walls for Safety-Related Nuclear Facilities. 

The Steel Joist Institute is presenting a webinar, “Evaluation and Modification of Open Web Steel Joists and Joist Girders,” on Wednesday, October 18, from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. (ET), followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.

A new steel-concrete composite high-rise core wall system is revolutionizing the design and construction of tall buildings. 

The structural design team for SFMOMA’s new addition got creative with steel to accommodate tight building foundation and footprint parameters.

The manufacturing industry’s sixth annual national Manufacturing Day is tomorrow, October 6. American manufacturers and partners are hosting more than 2,500 events meant to celebrate modern manufacturing and educate and inspire future generations to pursue careers in manufacturing and engineering.

There’s still time to enter your steel-framed building projects in the 2018 IDEAS² Awards competition! The deadline for entries has been extended to Friday, October 13.

Seventy percent of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released by Autodesk (an AISC member) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

The fourth quarter 2017 issue of AISC’s Engineering Journal is now available at www.aisc.org/ej. You can view, download and print the current digital edition.

Congratulations to our winners! They are: Derek Hoffman, a detailer/designer with SWF Industrial, Inc., Wrightsville, Pa.; and Nep Viajar, a civil/structural engineer at Fluor Corp., Houston.  

AISC is offering a four-part webinar series, “Introduction to Steel Bridge Design,” beginning on Thursday, October 12. 

There’s a little over a week left to enter your steel building projects in the 2018 IDEAS2 Awards competition! Showcase why your project deserves to be recognized for outstanding achievement in steel-frame building design.

AISC has revised its indemnity agreement for certified erectors to make it more equitable for all parties. 

AISC presented members of the project team of the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium West Pavilion with the 2017 IDEAS2 Award for excellence in steel-framed building design during a ceremony conducted at the pavilion on Friday.

The refurbished Dodge Street Overpass in Omaha, Neb., celebrated its 50th anniversary with a rededication ceremony today. Danielle Kleinhans, PE, PhD, AISC’s vice president of bridges and managing director of NSBA, was in attendance to reaffirm the bridge’s “Most Beautiful Bridge” designation from AISC in 1969, an award category used by the historical version of today’s Prize Bridge Awards program, and unveil a new plaque for the steel bridge. 

The Atlanta Falcons and EarthCam have released a time-lapse video documenting the three-year construction of the Mercedes-Benz stadium, which features a signature steel-framed retractable roof structure. The two-minute video shows the transformation of the new sports and entertainment venue, which held the Falcons’ first home football game last weekend.

Congratulations to the five structural steel sculpture finalists in AISC's Steel Sculpture Competition, which are headed to NASCC: The Steel Conference where the ultimate winner will be selected by conference attendees. They are: “Steel Time for Growth” by High Steel Structures, LLC; “Steel Is Only As Strong As Those Who Fabricate It” by Cody Builders Supply; “Point of Inspiration” by Cody Builders Supply; “A Novel Idea” by Novel Iron Works; and “Heavy Metal Thunder” by High Steel Structures, LLC. 

Do you know a deserving individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and provided significant contributions to the structural steel industry? Nominate them for AISC’s awards programs recognizing exceptional industry professionals.

Happy SteelDay! Today is the ninth annual national celebration of the U.S. structural steel industry.

The second edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) officially opens to the public this Saturday, September 16, and will run through January 7, 2018. The event is the largest free architecture and design exhibition in North America and features over 140 artists and architects presenting unique architectural projects, on view at the Chicago Cultural Center and other sites across the city. AISC sponsored the exhibit “Chicago Reframed,” created by Design With Company (Dw/Co), a Chicago-based architectural collaborative of Stewart Hicks and Allison Newmeyer, representing historic Chicago steel skyscrapers.

For the sixth consecutive month, architecture firms reported an increasing demand for design services as reflected in the July Architecture Billings Index (ABI), produced by the American Institute of Architect’s Economic and Market Research Group. The ABI reflects the approximate nine- to twelve-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.

This Friday, September 15 is SteelDay! Have you made your plans yet? SteelDay offers plentiful opportunities to learn more about the structural steel industry and the structural steel supply chain. Numerous events, ranging from facility open houses to project site tours to webinars, are occurring throughout the U.S. -- and they’re all free. As part of the celebration, AISC is holding a social media contest for students to share what they love about structural steel.

Spacing and budget challenges become opportunities and learning experiences in a new Texas STEM school, thanks to structural ingenuity.

David Zalesne, president of Owen Steel Company, Inc., Columbia, S.C. (an AISC member and certified fabricator) and vice chair of AISC, is prominently featured in a New York Times article on American business leaders urging President Trump to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects children of undocumented immigrants -- known as “Dreamers” -- from deportation.

The first supplement to AISC’s Prequalified Connections for Special and Intermediate Steel Moment Frames for Seismic Applications (AISC 358-16) is available for public review until October 6, 2017.

AISC members spent all summer creating scintillating structural steel sculptures, and now’s your chance to vote for your favorite! 

The current draft of the 2017 AISC Specification for Safety-Related Steel Structures for Nuclear Facilities (AISC N690-17) is available for public review until October 13, 2017. 

AISC presented members of the project team of New York’s 4 World Trade Center with the 2017 IDEAS2 Award for excellence in steel-framed building design during a ceremony conducted at the tower today.

The Steel Joist Institute has announced the winners of its 2017 Design Awards, which are presented in three categories: industrial, non-industrial and unique.

Swinerton Builders and Phase3 Real Estate Partners recently celebrated the topping out of the Genesis North Tower in the hub of biotechnology in South San Francisco, hosting an event with subcontractors and Mayor of South San Francisco, Pradeep Gupta. This high-visibility project uses about 4,500 tons of structural steel, fabricated by The Herrick Corporation (an AISC member and certified fabricator). 

The first span of New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge replacement opens to westbound traffic today. The three-mile-long, twin-span steel crossing, which is on track to open next year and on budget at $3.98 billion, is one of the largest active bridge projects in the nation and a testament to the work and capabilities of America’s steel fabricators and constructors.

Nine student design projects have been recognized as winners in the 17th annual Steel Design Student Competition for the 2016-2017 academic year. 

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between July 2016 and July 2017, yet only half the states added construction jobs between June and July amid declining public-sector investments in infrastructure and other construction projects, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released last week.

The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) is now accepting entries for the 2018 Prize Bridge Competition. This prestigious awards competition, held biennially, honors significant and innovative steel bridges constructed in the U.S.

AISC presented members of the project team of the Lamar Station Classroom for Urban Farming in Lakewood, Colo., with the 2017 IDEAS2 Award for excellence in steel-framed building design during a ceremony conducted at the structure on Friday. 

AISC presented members of the project team of the Southwest University Park baseball stadium in El Paso, Texas, with the 2017 IDEAS2 Award for excellence in steel-framed building design during a pregame ceremony conducted at the ballpark on Tuesday.

AISC presented members of the project team of the Pterodactyl Office in Culver City, Calif., with the 2017 IDEAS2 Award for excellence in steel-frame building design during ceremonies held at the building on Monday. 

Modjeski and Masters announced that construction has started on a new I-74 bridge connecting the Quad Cities region across the Mississippi. The dual-arch steel structures will replace the existing Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge. Industrial Steel Construction, Inc. (an AISC member and certified fabricator) is the steel fabricator for the project.

You're invited to join in celebrating the structural steel industry's ninth annual SteelDay on September 15! 

AISC presented members of the project team of the Samsung Americas Headquarters (Device Solutions) in San Jose, Calif., with the 2017 IDEAS2 Award for excellence in steel-frame building design during ceremonies held at the building yesterday.  

The first span of New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge replacement — officially renamed the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (after current Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo) — will open to westbound traffic on August 25, Gov. Cuomo recently announced. 

The Steel Joist Institute has released its 44th edition of the catalog, Standard Specifications, Load Tables and Weight Tables for Steel Joists and Joist Girders. 

Here's a glimpse of our annual compendium of fun projects showcasing steel. One of this year’s Cool List projects takes us deep into a volcano.

Acrow Bridge (an AISC/NSBA member and AISC certified fabricator) recently announced that it designed and fabricated a temporary steel bridge for use as a detour during the replacement of an obsolete structure on U.S. Route 34 in Chariton, Iowa.

The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) has developed and released an online video series, “Touch-Up and Repair of Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel.” These six short videos detail the specifications and methods used to touch up and repair hot-dip galvanized steel.

Architectural and engineering firms, structural steel companies, general contractors and building owners are encouraged to enter their steel-framed building projects in the 2018 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (IDEAS²) Awards competition. 

The 15th Edition AISC Steel Construction Manual is now available. AISC will be presenting a half-day seminar in Chicago on Tuesday, August 15, from 8 a.m. to noon, that will discuss important changes and clarifications that have been incorporated into this new edition, as well as the 2016 AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings.