A narrative photography exhibit that shines a spotlight on the skilled workers powering the built landscape along Florida’s Gulf Coast is now open, attracting nearly 100 local architects, engineers, fabricators, and other AEC professionals to its unveiling Tuesday.
Visions in Steel: The People Who Bring Designs to Life, on display at the Center for Architecture & Design, Tampa Bay through March 11, tells the unique stories of 10 featured welders, quality control inspectors, and other fabrication professionals through written profiles and photographs.
Tuesday’s opening reception, a collaborative effort between the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Tampa Bay chapter, drew in AIA Tampa Bay members and leaders from the three featured companies (GMF Steel Group, Morrow Steel, and Precision Build), as well as several of the exhibit’s subjects and their families.
“We have terrific steel fabricators in the Tampa Bay area, and it’s gratifying to be able to bring some of their stories to the CA+D,” said Larry Flynn, architectural liaison and resource manager for AISC’s Architecture Center. “When architects and designers collaborate with the companies and skilled craftspeople who bring their designs to fruition, everyone benefits--and so does our built environment. AIA Tampa Bay has a unique ability to unite the design and construction community, and Tuesday’s reception was no exception.”
Attendees enjoyed dinner and steel-themed cocktails as they moved throughout the exhibit, taking the time to get to know each featured fabricator. Although the designers and fabricators in attendance may well have already worked on the same project, they almost certainly didn’t know one another’s names or stories--and fabricators don’t usually get the public recognition an architect does.
“There’s nothing like catching the participating fabricators’ reactions to seeing their own names, photos, and stories blown up for exhibit--and then their faces when they see how many people in their community showed up to learn about them, too,” said Hope Hrabowy, AISC’s industry initiatives specialist and coordinator behind Visions in Steel.
AISC, a technical institute and trade association working to advance the domestic structural steel industry, created Visions in Steel to bring exposure to the complex labor required to ready structural steel components for a jobsite--and the individuals who step up to the plate every day to make it happen. In climates like Tampa’s, that often means working 12-hour days in extremely hot conditions while wearing protective gear like long sleeves, work gloves, welding helmets, and steel-toed boots.
“Welders, fitters, machine operators, and other tradespeople are often behind the scenes and don’t get that face-to-face interaction with designers or recognition for their work on these projects,” Hrabowy said. “That’s why we’re working to bring exhibits like this one to cities all over the country.”
AISC also partnered with local fabricators in Dallas and Philadelphia, as well as Philadelphia’s AIA chapter, to bring Visions in Steel to their communities in 2023 and 2024. Stories from previous exhibits (and a few new faces!) will be on display at NASCC: The Steel Conference from April 2 to 4 in Louisville, Ky.
Are you interested in bringing Visions in Steel to your city or bringing your hard-working staff into the spotlight? Reach out to Hope Hrabowy at hrabowy@aisc.org.