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| Photo courtesy of
Centex Construction and John Wong Photography" |
Steel’s Role
in Construction
After the hurricane damage
to the Gulf Coast, we are going to see a huge
rebuilding effort in the South, and have to wonder
not only how steel can most effectively be used
there, but also how the price and supply of steel
will be affected.
Ham Lott, executive vice
president of Nucor, assessed the possibilities
this way: “Katrina certainly had some impact
on commercial buildings that use steel joist and
steel deck. The storm also damaged some industrial
sites, which will require roof work and other
repairs that will have a small impact on steel
demand. But the majority of the damage was to
residential structures, which will have more of
a minor impact on steel demand.”
Here’s how Gary Higbee,
director of Industry Development for The Steel
Institute of New York, responded: “There
is still uncertainty over the extent of damage
from Katrina and how long it will take to recover.
It’s also early in the hurricane season.
But projects under way in New York City—and
there are major ones—are generally not affected
by supply disruptions suffered by inland steel
producers. Pricing and availability problems were
resolved before Katrina’s devastating impact
on markets, and softness in demand over recent
months increased scrap inventories. As a result,
unlike some other materials, there is capacity
in the market to build in structural steel.”
According to Steve Collins,
president of Desana Partners, “The destruction
and devastation in the Gulf Coast were greater
than anyone would have imagined. Americans, both
individually and corporately, have risen to the
challenge of aiding and rebuilding the stricken
areas. Each company is doing whatever it can to
ease the strain and do its part. Steel companies
are making cash donations to the American Red
Cross and providing aid to suffering families.
In some cases, employees with special talents
are cooperating directly with FEMA to provide
assistance.
 In
a most revealing case, Kelly Ginn, president and
COO of MBCI, the largest supplier of metal roofs
and walls in North America, isays, “Our concern
is for the people of the Gulf Coast who have suffered
so greatly. To that end, we are making a humanitarian
donation of a million dollars’ worth of products
to help rebuild vital shelters and structures
and are sending in representatives from different
parts of the country who can help local construction
professionals in the rebuilding process.”
Fabral, another leading supplier of metal roofs
and walls, has made a cash donation to the relief
efforts in the wake of Katrina.
This special section identifies
what peer review has identified as some of the
most interesting steel projects of the year, and
also offers commentary on steel construction in
general.
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 Fastening
a Bridge
The Ravenel Bridge
connects the city of Charleston, SC with
the town of Mount Pleasant, SC. It is the
longest cable stay span in North America
and was a 38,000 ton steel job. Of that,
High Steel supplied 28,000 tons, Carolina
Steel 9,000 tons and Augusta Steel 1,000
tons.
Nucor
Fastener of Indiana manufactured approximately
one million mechanically galvanized bolts
and nuts for this project, primarily in
7/8-in. and 1-in. dia.
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10 to Watch
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U.S. Census
Bureau Headquarters
Suitland, MD
Under construction
This new 1.5-million-sq-ft
building is using 10,000 tons of steel.
It is laid out on an 800-plus-ft radius
with 8 floors of office space plus a mechanicals
floor under the roof, for a total 10 floors
of steel framing. A design-build project,
it is designed to resist progressive collapse
and is LEED certified.
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by Frank Starmer
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Ravenel Bridge
Charleston, SC
Opened in July 2005
This $632 million
design-build project replaced two existing
bridges in South Carolina. With a length
of 2.5 miles, this bridge has the longest
cable stay span in North America—1,546
ft over the river. The structural-steel
girders and precast-concrete deck panels
are suspended from two 573-ft-tall towers
by 128 cable stays.
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U.S. Marine
Corps Semper Fit Fieldhouse
Camp Pendleton,
CA
Recently completed
The 65,000-sq-ft
structure is prominently topped by a red
standing-seam 22-gauge steel roof coated
to reduce heat absorbance. Though the location
in southern California is near the ocean,
it is nevertheless in a hot climate.
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Nuclear Waste
Vessels
Hanford, WA
Completed November 2004
The Steel Tank Institute/Steel
Plate Fabricators Association named this
the “Fabricated Product of The Year”
in the Pressure Vessel category for the
primary containment vessels at the U.S.
Dept. of Energy’s waste-treatment facility.
The four vessels are for the primary storage,
mixing, and treatment of 525,000 gallons
of radioactive liquid waste. The material
for the vessels is U.S.-made 1-to-1.75-in.-thick
316L stainless steel, contributing to a
net weight of 270 tons each. This is a highly
critical steel application.
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Hearst
Magazine Tower
New York, NY
Under construction
The tower was
topped out on February 11, 2005 and construction
continues into 2006. About 90% of the 10,480
tons of steel used in construction comes
from recycled material. As it will consume
much less energy than an average office
building in the city, the tower is set to
become the first office building in New
York City to achieve a ‘Gold Rating’
under the US Green Buildings Council’s
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Program. The building is to be naturally
ventilated for up to three quarters of the
year. Its triangular steel frame uses 21%
less steel than a traditionally framed building.
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Five-Million-Gallon
Reservoir Tank
Huntsville, AL
Began operation January 2005
The Steel Tank Institute
gave this project its Reservoir Tank award.
It comprises an all-welded radial-cone roof,
on a 32-ft-high, 164-ft-dia. tank. It required
a solid-slab concrete foundation to carry
the tank’s weight over potential sinkholes.
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Steel-Framed
Houses
Juarez, Mexico
Under construction
Building more than
330 single-family houses in Juarez with
steel framing is transforming the culture
and industry of this city. They replace
the traditional concrete-block houses that
required little skill. But with steel framing,
the area is able to retain its skilled workers
who would otherwise go across the border
for work. And working from plans generated
by sophisticated design software and with
framing members from Texas, the workers
are further enhancing their skills.
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Dallas
High-Five Panelized Steel
Housing Project
Hayward CA
Recently completed
This 14-building
complex of panelized light-gauge steel three-story
houses is on a confined site less than 1.5
miles from a Type-A fault within Seismic
Zone 4 with high-plasticity soils. The unusually
high seismic load and restricted construction
staging required imaginative steelwork.
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Surge-Arresting
Structure
Base of Mt. Saint
Helens, WA.
Nearing completion
As one part of the
repair of Cowlitz PUD’s Swift No. 2
hydroelectric plant, damaged by a power-canal
embankment failure in 2001, a steel surge-arresting
structure is being built next to the intake
structure. This includes 200 ft of 16-ft-diameter
penstock splitting into two runs of 11-ft
via a bifurcation with a 2-in.-thick crotch
plate. What makes this noteworthy are the
size and complex curves and bifurcation.
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Inn
of the Mountain Gods Hotel & Casino
Mescalero, NM
Completed summer 2005
This project comprises
a 273-guest-room hotel, a casino, and a
1,500-space subterranean parking garage.
The hotel towers used beam-in-wall, conventional
composite-steel construction to achieve
low floor-to-floor heights. The subterranean
parking garage utilized long-span SmartBeam
spanning 60 ft, creating a clear open span
for parking. The fire protection for the
parking was achieved by using an intumescent
paint. The steel alternative saved six months
of construction time over the concrete,
allowing the owner to generate revenue sooner.
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Another
Way
The new University of Medicine and Dentistry structure
in Newark, NJ, is incorporating the girder-slab
system. Girder-slab is an alternative to cast-in-place
concrete or masonry bearing systems. This non-proprietary
system has been used in more than 3 million sq
ft of construction. The D-beam girder projects
below the floor slab 9/16 in. Low floor-to-floor
heights are easily achieved and no shoring is
required. A lighter frame often results in foundation
savings, and installation is not delayed by freezing
temperatures. Nine elevations of the girder-slab
system are being erected above a concrete parking
deck. Involved are architect Kitchen & Associates,
structural engineer Timothy Haahs & Associates,
builder Joseph Jingoli and Son Inc. Contractors;
Berlin Steel Co., J L Erectors.
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U.S.Census Bureau
Topped Off
The
final piece of A992 structural steel was
attached on July 19. That accounts for 10,000
tons of steel in this $292-million project
in Suitland, MD. As 20% of the steel had
to come from within a 500-miles radius to
satisfy requirements for Leadership in Energy
& Environmental Design certification,
it was fabricated in Virginia. The other
80% came from Alabama.
The
two-phased, 1.5-million-sq-ft complex will
house 6,000 employees and contain offices,
a conference area, cafeteria, credit union,
fitness center, library, and a mechanical
floor, resulting in a total of 10 levels
of steel framing. And there are two 500,000-sq-ft
parking garages for more than 3,000 vehicles.
The
first phase will be completed in May 2006.
The second phase is scheduled for completion
October 2006.
Most
of the steel came from Nucor-Yamato, was
fabricated and shipped by SteelFab Inc.,
and erected by Memco Inc. The architect
of record is HKS Inc., the design architect
is SOM LLP, the engineer is Walter P. Moore
and the design-build contractor is Skanska
USA Building Inc.
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To Hot Dip Galvanize
or Paint Steel
Using data collected in nationwide surveys of
the hot-dip galvanizing industry (conducted by
the American Galvanizers Association) and the
paint industry (conducted by the National Association
of Corrosion Engineers), an economic analysis
of original and life-cycle costs provides an interesting
comparison.
Original Costs
Although not recommended as reflecting the true
cost of a corrosion protection system, original
costs are sometimes the primary determinant for
selection. Hot-dip galvanizing is more economical
from an initial cost standpoint for all but the
one-coat zinc-rich paint and the two-coat acrylic
waterborne paint. This is the case when galvanizing
is compared to many of the commonly used industrial
paint systems. Additionally, hot-dip galvanizing
may be even more economical when the project calls
for small-weight-per-beam-length structural steel
and/or assemblies, because of the efficient handling
of many pieces in the galvanizing process.
Life-cycle Costs
Because of the long life of the hot-dip galvanized
coating and its virtually maintenance-free performance,
galvanizing is consistently a better value than
paint over a structure’s life. Galvanizing
durability and lifetime performance make it the
logical choice when it is the lowest original
cost system.
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