The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) has announced the winners of this year’s Excellence in Hot-Dip Galvanizing Awards. The winning projects highlight the vast array of uses for hot-dip galvanizing, with many taking advantage of the utilitarian coating, while others used the coating in a more whimsical fashion. More than 100 projects were submitted and judged online by a panel of architects and engineers.
Winners were selected to represent the best-of-the-best in various categories that are common sectors for the use of hot-dip galvanized steel.
The Charlotte Douglas International Airport – Rental Car Facility & Hourly Parking Deck in Charlotte, N.C., won the Building and Architecture category. This is the fourth of five similar structures built at the airport since 2004. The galvanized truss and stainless skin allow natural light into the structure, and by night, the panels are backlit, and the glass and galvanized stair towers glow like dynamic blue lanterns welcoming passengers like a beacon on the horizon. Commercial Metals Corp (an AISC Member) was the project’s steel fabricator.
The Point Cadet Pavilion in Biloxi, Miss., won the Duplex Systems award with its combination use of paint over galvanized steel. The Pavilion revitalized a park devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and is now used to host family events, symphonies, crawfish boils, and other special events for the community. The dual-coated steel, which was fabricated by S&H Steel Corporation (an AISC Member) and galvanized by AZZ Galvanizing Services - Jackson, Miss. (also an AISC Member), will provide corrosion protection and beauty for the Pavilion for generations to come.
Awarded in the Recreation and Entertainment category was the Big Cat Crossing, Philadelphia Zoo project. This elevated, caged walkway hovers 14 ft above the visitors' walking path and winds around the park for more than 300 ft, providing the zoo’s felines a path to stretch their legs and gaze upon the people below. The caged portion of the walkway consists of 5-ft diameter tubular steel rings, fabricated by locally-based Crescent Ironworks (an AISC Member), and nearly hidden mesh netting that optimizes the free space for the animals and the visual experience for visitors.
The Daytona Rising project at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., also was awarded in the Recreation and Entertainment category. An expansion designed to improve the spectator experience, the project includes more than 15,000 tons of hot-dip galvanized steel that rises from the original galvanized grandstand structure. AISC Members SteelFab and FabArc Steel Supply, Inc. fabricated the steel for the project.
A complete list of the winners as well as a library featuring all of the project submissions can be found in the AGA Project Gallery.