The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) recently announced the winners of this year’sExcellence in Hot-Dip Galvanizing Awards. More than 100 projects representing the versatility of hot-dip galvanizing were submitted and judged online by a panel of architects and engineers.
This year’s highest honor, the Most Distinguished award, was given to the San Diego Central Library. It features a hot-dip galvanized steel facade, including the magnificent three-story arched domed terrace. (The dome portion of the project is also a National Award winner in this year’s AISC IDEAS2 Awards program and will be featured in the May issue of Modern Steel.) In addition, more than $75 million, or 40% of the project cost, was donated by more than 3,000 private individuals – a record for funding a public works project of this kind.
The Lifetime Achievement award, which recognizes a galvanized project with at least 15 years of service, was given to the Bridges of Stark County in Ohio. In the early 1970s, Stark County engineer Rich Larocco decided to dismantle the bridges, galvanize the steel beams, and reinstall them in an effort to lower maintenance costs. After seeing the impact of the recycled bridges, Stark County continued to install new galvanized bridges.
In addition to these two awards, 13 other projects were selected to represent the best of the best in 12 categories that are common sectors for the use of hot-dip galvanized steel. In addition to the Bridges of Stark County, three other categories, Bridge & Highway, Civic Contribution and Duplex Systems recognized bridge and/or bridge-related projects. Another popular theme in this year’s winners were projects affiliated with universities, including a classroom building and parking garage.
View all of the winning projects in the AGA Project Gallery at galvanizeit.org/project-gallery.