Modern Steel Construction

MSC
May 2011
MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION
2011 IDEAS Awards

2
IN THIS ISSUE
Expansion Joints
Robotics and Data
Designing to be Green
May 2011
54
awards
28
36
features
Designing green
by EmILy LorENZ, P.E., LEED aP, aND martha
g. VaNgEEm, P.E., LEED aP
here are two ways structural engineers can

meet the added challenge of accounting for
environmental impact.
54
greening Steel Construction

by aNgELa aCrEE guggEmoS, Ph.D., aND
ShauN fraNKLIN, P.E., LEED ga
Low-impact facility sets high standard for

future sustainable construction.
58
Is a Robot in your future?

by IVaN JIVKoV
as various machine control technologies

begin to mature, the prospect is great for
increasing your competitive advantage
with robotics.
in every issue
departments
6
EDITORS NOTE
STEEL INTERCHANGE
12
STEEL QUIZ
16
NEWS & EVENTS
NEW ProDuCtS
72
marKEtPLaCE
73
EmPLoymENt
44
Merit Awardgreater than $75 Million

510 MADISON AvENUE, NEw yORk
columns
steelwise
60
Expansion Joint Considerations for

Buildings
by matthEW D. braDy, P.E.
guidelines for dealing with dimensional

changes in building structures due to
changing temperatures.
sustainability
64
Let Engineers Be Engineers
Merit AwardLess than $15 Million

MONTECITO RESIDENCE, MONTECITO, CALIf.
50
by gEoff WEISENbErgEr
as the LEED system continues to evolve,

the role of the structural engineer is
elevated.
quality corner
66
resources
70
National AwardLess than $15 Million

RIO ROCA ON ThE BRAZOS,
pALO pINTO, TEXAS
2011
52
The Only Constant Is Change

by ZaNE KENIStoN
Why document and data control

procedures need to be dynamic within your
organization.
people to know
74
Its All About the process

after plunging into kayaking, Ken Stelter
now is helping show others the way to go.
presidential Award of Excellence in Engineering

OTTAwA STREET pOwER STATION,
LANSINg MICh.
ON ThE COvER: the National alabama Corporation railcar manufacturing facility, Cherokee, ala., one of the award-winning entries in the
2011 IDEaS2 program.
moDErN StEEL CoNStruCtIoN (Volume 51, Number 5. ISSN (print) 0026-8445: ISSN (online) 1945-0737. Published monthly by the american Institute of Steel
Construction (aISC), one E. Wacker Dr., Suite 700, Chicago, IL 60601. Subscriptions: Within the u.S.single issues $6.00; 1 year, $44; 3 years $120. outside the
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aISC does not approve, disapprove, or guarantee the validity or accuracy of any data, claim, or opinion appearing under a byline or obtained or quoted from
an acknowledged source. opinions are those of the writers and aISC is not responsible for any statement made or opinions expressed in moDErN StEEL
CoNStruCtIoN. all rights reserved. materials may not be reproduced without written permission, except for noncommercial educational purposes where fewer than
25 photocopies are being reproduced. the aISC and mSC logos are registered trademarks of aISC.
MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION may 2011
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editors note
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Editorial Contacts
DID yOU EvER pLAy ThE gAME whERE yOU TELL whO yOUD LIkE TO hAvE DINNER
wITh? Sometimes you can pick a historical figure, sometimes a living person. If you ask my
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And while some of the people you think youd
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I recently attended a wonderful conference
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Conference. And while I learned some useful
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same has held true for each of the score of Steel
Conferences Ive had the pleasure to attend (this
year the conference is in Pittsburgh beginning
May 11check out www.aisc.org/nascc for
more details). Whether it was my first meeting
of Socrates Ioannides in 1990 (the first person I
met at a conferencewe actually met in the hotel
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EDItor & PubLIShEr

Scott L. melnick
312.670.8314
melnick@modernsteel.com
SENIor EDItor
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312.670.8316
klemens@modernsteel.com
aSSIStaNt EDItor
tasha oberski
312.670.5439
oberski@modernsteel.com
DIrECtor of PubLIShINg
areti Carter
312.670.5427
areti@modernsteel.com
graPhIC DESIgNEr
Kristin Egan
312.670.8313
egan@modernsteel.com
AISC Officers
ChaIrmaN
David harwell
VICE ChaIrmaN
William b. bourne, III
trEaSurEr
Stephen E. Porter
SECrEtary & gENEraL
CouNSEL
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PrESIDENt
roger E. ferch, P.E.
VICE PrESIDENt aND ChIEf
StruCturaL ENgINEEr
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VICE PrESIDENt
Jacques Cattan
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John P. Cross, P.E.
VICE PrESIDENt
Scott L. melnick
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gurthet@modernsteel.com
for advertising information, contact Louis gurthet or visit
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steel interchange
If yOUvE EvER ASkED yOURSELf why? about something related to structural steel design or construction, Modern
Steel Constructions monthly Steel Interchange column is for you! Send your questions or comments to solutions@aisc.org.
Elliptical hollow Sections
AISC 360-05 currently does not address the design of

elliptical hollow sections. I was wondering if there are any
other resources that can be used to design with these shapes.
The AISC website has a page related to HSS at www.aisc.org/
hss. It provides information for rectangular and round HSS.
Elliptical HSS are currently not as common (and not typically
produced) in the U.S. However, the International Committee for
the Development and Study of Tubular Structures (CIDECT)
publishes design guides that have information on elliptical shapes
(www.aisc.org/cidect).
There are some producers and possibly service centers that
have elliptical shapes available for your project. However, they
may not be produced to an ASTM standard. A link to a list
of producers and service centers can be found on our steel
availability web page (www.aisc.org/availability).
Erin Criste
high-Strength Bolts
Are high-strength bolts, nuts and washers required to be

produced by the same manufacturer?
Neither the AISC nor RCSC specifications require that bolts, nuts
and washers be produced by the same manufacturer. However,
there are two conditions where they must be supplied as an
assembly: galvanized fasteners and TC bolts. These assemblies
can be made up of components from different manufacturers.
FAQ 6.2.3 on the AISC website (www.aisc.org/faqs) discusses
when fasteners must be supplied as assemblies.
Heath Mitchell, S.E., P.E.
Ceramic weld Backing
Can I use a ceramic backing material for complete-jointpenetration groove welds?

AWS D1.1 Section 5.10 lists acceptable materials for backing.
Ceramic backing is allowed. However, the prequalified joint
details use steel backing, so welding procedure specifications
(WPSs) that call for ceramic backing must be qualified by test.
Larry S. Muir, P.E.
Strength of pJp groove welds
Is it possible to use the 13th Edition AISC Steel Construction

Manual Tables 8-4 through 8-11 to determine the capacity
of a PJP groove weld group by converting the groove weld
size to an equivalent fillet weld size?
No. Tables 8-4 through 8-11 in the 13th Edition AISC Steel
Construction Manual include the directional strength increase
from AISC Specification Section J2.4(b). This directional strength
increase can only be applied to fillet welds, so these cannot be
used to design a PJP groove weld. The elastic method, outlined
on page 8-12 of the Manual, can be used in the design of a PJP
groove weld group.
Larry S. Muir, P.E.
weld Intersection fatigue Category
that pass over the flange splice. Does this intersection of two
welds, the fillet weld passing over the groove weld, fit into a
stress category of AISC Specification Appendix 3 Table A-3.1?
There is no specific fatigue category for the fillet weld over
the groove weld detail you describe. Each joint is evaluated
separately. Based on the general condition you describe, the webto-flange fillet weld is consistent with AISC 360 Table A-3.1 Case
3.1. This is a Stress Category B detail. The flange splice likely is
either Case 5.1, 5.2 or 5.3. As long as Fy is less than 90 ksi, Stress
Category B applies. Of course you need to confirm this based on
your actual detail.
Use of finger Shims
Are finger shims allowed in snug-tightened and pretensioned

joints?
Yes, finger shims are allowed in snug-tight and pretensioned
connections. They are specifically mentioned in RCSC and AISC
standards with regard to slip-critical connections, only to address
concerns that the lack of bearing surface at the finger might
reduce the slip resistance. The RCSC Specification makes it clear
that the loss of bearing (clamping) area does not reduce the slip
resistance of a slip-critical connection.
Larry S. Muir, P.E.
plugging weep hole in galvanized hSS
When exposed HSS members are galvanized, is there an AISC

requirement that the vent holes be plugged after the member
is erected?
There is no AISC provision that specifically requires vent holes
for galvanizing be plugged in exposed HSS. However, AISC
Specification Section M2.10 requires that HSS exposed to water
either be sealed or a drain hole provided at the base. The idea is
either to prevent moisture from getting in or to allow it a way to
get out.
Drawing Completeness
Are there any industry standards or accepted industry

practices that should be expected to be met for drawings
issued for erection?
There are no standards that cover this. AISC Code of Standard
Practice Section 4.2 simply says that erection drawings must
be complete. The structural steel frame should be able to be
erected, bolted and welded using the approved erection drawings.
The typical expectation is that sufficient information is provided
to locate and install the structural steel members and components,
install the proper grade, diameter and length of bolts and make all
field welds.
Examples of shop and erection drawings do appear in AISCs
Detailing for Steel Construction. These illustrations may be useful
to you in showing what is usual.
We have a welded plate girder that has a bottom flange with a

groove welded splice. The web-to-flange welds are fillet welds
may 2011 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION 9
steel interchange
End-plates and CJp welds
On page 18 of AISC Steel Design Guide No. 4, 2nd Edition,

there is a requirement that CJP groove welds must be used
when the beam flange thickness exceeds 38 in. Why is there a
restriction on the use of fillet welds?
The use of CJP groove welds was meant as a recommendation for
non-seismic connections and is not a hard requirement. All of our
test specimens with 38 in. or greater flanges had CJP groove welds.
Thomas M. Murray, P.E., Ph.D.
Erection Tolerances
Beam elevations are measured relative to the upper finished

splice line per the AISC Code of Standard Practice. What
affects the actual elevation of the upper finished splice line of
an erected column shaft? The COSP seems to allow that the
actual position of the upper finished splice line is affected by
the following:
Column length(s) below the upper finished splice line,
which vary by allowable fabrication tolerance in cut
length per Code Section 6.4.1.
Bearing device (leveling nut under base plate) location,
which may vary in elevation per Code Section 7.6.
Or, is the beam elevation tolerance applied independent of
the framing and relative to an arbitrary datum?
The actual elevation of the upper finish splice line can and
normally does vary based upon the actual length of the fabricated
column shaft and the elevation of the base. The tolerances for
these variations are given in the AISC Code of Standard Practice.
Note that these are not the only sources for variation. Other
factors, such as fit of splices, differential loading, and temperature
variations may contribute to column splice elevation variances.
This is why Section 7.13.1.2(b) in the AISC Code of Standard
Practice says the beam elevation tolerance is applied relative to the
measurement from the actual position of the upper finished splice
line. The beam elevation tolerances are not applied independently
from these other variations.
Charles J. Carter, S.E., P.E., Ph.D.
Minimum Number of Bolts
We were told that a minimum of two bolts per connection

is required for erection before a beam can be released from
the crane regardless of the beam size. Is this correct? I have
looked in the AISC Code of Standard Practice and the AISC
Steel Construction Manual and cannot find a section that
covers this.
The two-bolt minimum is an OSHA requirement for stability
during erection. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.756 Beams and Columns
requires a minimum of two bolts per connection before releasing
the hoisting line. Separately, AISC does not have any minimum
requirement for the number of bolts in a bolted connection other
than the requirement that simple shear connections must extend
deeper than T/2 of the supported beam. Thereafter, the number
of bolts must be sufficient to transfer the required loads.
Erin Criste
Column Base fix
We have been contacted by a local fabricator to provide a fix

for a field-modified gravity column. Due to a conflict with
the anchor rods, portions of the column flange were removed.
Can we provide either plate or angle reinforcing for the
flange to make up the area lost by the notches or should we
recommend removal and replacement of the column?
Removal and replacement of the column is most likely
unnecessary. The easiest option likely is to replace the area lost in
a manner such as you propose. Depending on the size and shape
of the affected area, removal of flange material at the column
base may not have an effect on the performance and strength
of the column in terms of its flexural buckling strength. That is,
perhaps the variations in cross-section can be accounted for in
design. However, depending on the number of columns that were
modified, it may cost more for you to determine whether or not
a fix is needed than it will cost to just provide local reinforcement
in the first place.
Special Inspection and AISC Certification
When a steel fabricator has an AISC Certification indicating

they have met the quality certification requirements for
Standard for Steel Building Structures, does that fulfill the
requirements of IBC Section 1704.2.2 Fabricator approval?
Also, if a fabricator has an AISC Certification, is shop
welding inspection required?
2006 IBC Section 1704.2.2 does not specifically mention AISC
Certification. Rather, it refers to a fabricator that is registered
and approved to perform such work without special inspection.
This approval is obtained from the local jurisdiction and
most jurisdictions do deem AISC Certification as meeting the
requirements of Section 1704.2.2.
The exemption in IBC Section 1704.2.2 allows fabricators
with approved QA/QC procedures to use in-house personnel
to perform the required inspections. It exempts the need for an
inspection agency independent from the fabricator, but it does not
exempt the fabricator from performing the required inspections
in accordance with IBC Chapter 17 and AISC 341.
10 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION may 2011
the complete collection of Steel Interchange questions and answers is available online.
find questions and answers related to just about any topic by using our full-text search
capability. Visit Steel Interchange online at www.modernsteel.com.
heath mitchell is director of technical assistance, Charlie Carter is vice president and chief
structural engineer, and Erin Criste is staff engineer, technical assistant at aISC. Larry muir
and thomas murray are consultants to aISC.
Steel Interchange is a forum to exchange useful and practical professional ideas and
information on all phases of steel building and bridge construction. opinions and
suggestions are welcome on any subject covered in this magazine.
the opinions expressed in Steel Interchange do not necessarily represent an official
position of the american Institute of Steel Construction and have not been reviewed. It is
recognized that the design of structures is within the scope and expertise of a competent
licensed structural engineer, architect or other licensed professional for the application of
principles to a particular structure.
If you have a question or problem that your fellow readers might help you solve, please
forward it to us. at the same time, feel free to respond to any of the questions that you
have read here. Contact Steel Interchange via aISCs Steel Solutions Center:
one East Wacker Dr., Suite 700

Chicago, IL 60601
tel: 866.ASK.AISC fax: 312.803.4709
solutions@aisc.org
steel quiz
LOOkINg fOR A ChALLENgE? Modern Steel Constructions monthly Steel Quiz tests your knowledge of steel design and
construction. the answers for this months questions can be found in the 2010 aISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings
(aNSI/aISC 360-10), which is available as a free download at www.aisc.org/freepubs.
Which of the following topics is new in Chapter b in

aNSI/aISC 360-10?
a) material grades
b) Loads
c) Load combinations
d) Structural integrity
Which method of design for stability now appears in

Chapter C?
a) Effective Length method
b) Direct analysis method
c) first-order analysis method
d) Cantilever method
Which of the following advancements in composite

design have been made in aNSI/aISC 360-10 Chapter I?
a) better provisions for local buckling effects for
filled members
b) more permissive provisions for composite
compression members
c) New information on composite diaphragms and
collector beams
d) all of the above
true/false: In aNSI/aISC 360-10, slip-critical connection
design provisions are no longer based upon parallel
service-level and strength-level limit states.
true/false: the safety factor has been revised for column bases and for bearing on concrete in aNSI/aISC
360-10 and matches the safety factor used in aCI 318.
In aNSI/aISC 360-10, Chapter K, Design of hSS and box

member Connections, has been reorganized into what
format?
a) bulleted list
b) Side-by-side
c) tabular
d) appendix
true/false: Chapter N is a new chapter in aNSI/aISC 36010 that addresses all quality requirements for steel building
construction in gravity, wind and low-seismic applications.
true/false: appendix 1, Design by Inelastic analysis, is

limited to use in continuous beams.
appendix 6, Stability bracing for Columns and beams,

has added provisions for which of the following?
a) beam-columns
b) hSS sections
c) Composite diaphragms d) Collector beams
10
true/false: most of the revisions made to Chapters D,

E, f, g and h in aNSI/aISC 360-10 are primarily for
clarification and ease of use.
turN to PagE 14 for aNSWErS
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steel quiz
aNSWErS
1 (d) a new discussion on structural
integrity, including how it relates

to connection design, has been
added to aNSI/aISC 360-10 in
Section b3.2.
2 (b) Chapter C and appendix 7 have
been reorganized to place the Direct

analysis method in the main body of
the Specification (Chapter C). other
explicitly listed methods of design
for stability (effective length method
and first-order analysis method) are

now located in appendix 7.
3 (d) aNSI/aISC 360-10 Chapter I has
been updated to incorporate the

current research and understanding
regarding the design and behavior
of composite members. Chapter
I has also been updated and reorganized to simplify its use in the
design of composite members.
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4 true. In aNSI/aISC 360-10 Section
J3.8, provisions for determining

the available strength of slip-critical
connections have been streamlined
and simplified. they no longer differentiate between service-level and
strength-level slip resistance.
5 false. this could be considered a
trick question, because aCI 318

does not address safety factors and
aSD. however, the provisions in
aNSI/aISC 360-10 Section J8 for
LrfD now are identical to equivalent
provisions in aCI 318-08.
6 (c) Chapter K in aNSI/aISC 360-
10 has been reorganized into

a tabular format that includes
figures illustrating the connection
configurations. Some technical
revisions also have been
incorporated. the new format
is a significant improvement in
helping the reader understand what
provision applies to what case.
7 true. Chapter N, Quality Control
and Quality assurance, is a new

chapter in aISC 360-10. It is a
combination of specific requirements
and incorporation by reference of
other applicable requirements in
documents like the aISC Code of
Standard Practice, aWS D1.1, and
the rCSC Specification.
8 false. appendix 1 of aNSI/aISC

360-10 is generally applicable to
frames, members and connections.
9 (a) appendix 6 of aNSI/aISC 360-10

has been revised to include beamcolumn bracing.
10 true. In aNSI/aISC 360-10, Chapters

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D, E, f, g and h include revisions

incorporated primarily for clarification and ease of use without major
revisions to the technical content.
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anyone is welcome to submit questions and

answers for Steel Quiz. If you are interested in
submitting one question or an entire quiz, contact
aISCs Steel Solutions Center at 866.aSK.aISC or
at solutions@aisc.org.
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AISC Sophisticated Coatings Endorsement

SSPC-QP3 Certication for the Application of Protective Coatings
PA DEP Environmentally Compliant
100-Foot Long Heated Staging Area
100-Foot Long Steel Grit Blast Booth
3 Separate 200-Foot Long Coating Booths
31-Foot Hook Height of All Overhead Cranes
Up to 4 Coat Epoxy Coatings
Metalizing for Food Grade and Highly Corrosive Environments
Personnel trained in accordance with the NACE International
Corrosion Society Program to conduct surface preparation and
application of coatings
Call 800-782-2110 for a free quote on your next project.
www.greinerindustries.com
Structural Steel Fabrication

Steel Plate & Sheet Metal Fabrication
Miscellaneous Metals
Machining
Rolling & Forming Services
Cutting Services
Industrial Coatings
Industrial & Electrical Contracting
Crane Rental & Trucking Services
Heat-Bending Services
(AISC Certied for Major Steel
Bridge Fabrication)
news
people and firms
MAy 2011
This Month in MSC

Each year the IDEAS2 awards program highlights innovative design in engineer-
ing and architecture using structural steel. Read about this years 14 outstanding
projects beginning on page 22.
Green isnt just about materials any more. Today its a design and construction
philosophy. Learn about how one project is raising the bar for sustainable construction (p. 54) and how you too can make your designs green (p. 52).
How does a robotic solution compare with CNC equipment? (Do you still prefer
to work in DOS?) One proponent of advancing the state of the art explains the
flexibility advantage that robots offer, beginning on page 58.
When does a structure need one or more expansion joints? And whats the best
place to put them? These and other related considerations are the subject of this
months SteelWise, beginning on page 60.
COMING NEXT MONTH: An industry expert in field bolting discusses proper
installation of galvanized bolts and nuts, and how to troubleshoot the most common field problems associated with their use.
Newly Certified facilities: March 131, 2011
A p p l i e d B o l t i n g Te c h n o l o g y ,
manufacturer of Squirter DtIs and an
aISC member firm, offers a set of eight
short videos on its website (www.
appliedbolting.com) that explain various
aspects of direct tension indicator (DtI)
washers. two videos describe how the
technology works, with one specifically
for engineers and another for inspectors.
Several others focus on questions
frequently fielded by the company,
including common reasons for not being
able to squash the bumps.
Buro happold North America has
received Diamond awards for Excellence
in two categories from the american
Council of Engineering Companies New
york. the firms design for the Curtis
r. Priem Experimental media and
Performing arts Center at rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in troy, N.y., was
honored in the Structural Systems
category. In the Special Projects
category aCECNy recognized the firm
for its design of the Expanding Video
Screen for u2s 360 tour of 2009.
buro happold Na also received two
additional awards in the building/
technology Systems and research and
Consulting categories.
to find a certified fabricator or

erector in a particular area, visit
www.aisc.org/certsearch.
AISC member hirschfeld Industries

has partnered with Martifer Energy
Systems, based in Portugal, to
manufacture wind towers at a new plant
under construction in San angelo, texas.
When completed in 2013, the plant will
be able to produce 400 towers per year
and will service the North american
continent. the wind energy market has
grown dramatically, and the joint venture
has secured multiple orders for towers.
Newly Certified Fabricator Facilities
Existing Certified Erector Facilities
Newly Certified Erector Facilities
Existing Certified Bridge Component Facilities
Newly Certified Bridge Component Facilities
Newly Certified fabricator facilities

bell bros. Steel Inc., riverside, Calif.
Cb&I Inc. (Island Park fabrication facility),
beaumont, texas
Duluth Steel fabricators, Inc., Duluth, minn.
grunau metals, oak Creek, Wis.
Joiner & associates, Louisville, ga.
Peter J rozell mechanical, Ltd., Queensbury, N.y.
Standard Iron & Wire Works, Inc.,
monticello, minn.
16
Newly Certified Erector facilities

amfab Steel Erection Division, LLC,
North Salt Lake, utah
bear Steel Erectors, Inc., oakdale, Conn.
highland Steel, LLC, Phillipsburg, N.J.
L & L Construction, Inc., Quakertown, Pa.
mr metals, Inc., frederick, md.
Newly Certified Bridge Component facilities
Standard Iron & Wire Works, Inc.,
monticello, minn.
mark fisher
Existing Certified Fabricator Facilities
Eyp Architecture and Engineering has

established expanded headquarters
and operations at the College of
Nanoscale Science and Engineering
of the university at albany, N.y., in its
new green high-tech buildings. the
companys new address is Nanofab
East, 257 fuller road 1st floor, albany,
Ny 12203. the telephone number is
518.795.3800.
pROJECT MILESTONE
Two-Span UDOT Bridge Rolled into place Overnight

The Utah Department of Transportation
and contractor Provo River Constructors
(PRC) made history overnight on March
26-27 with the successful move of the Sam
White Bridge over Interstate 15 in American
Fork, Utah. Working with the longest twospan bridge ever moved by Self-Propelled
Modular Transporters (SPMTs) in the
Western Hemisphere, crews set the new
bridge into place at approximately 4 a.m.
Sunday and reopened the freeway at 7 a.m.,
three hours ahead of schedule. The move
was part of UDOTs $1.725 billion Utah
County I-15 Corridor Expansion (I-15
CORE) freeway reconstruction project.
The Sam White Bridge move demonstrates our commitment to employing the
latest technology to minimize delays to the
traveling public and delivering our projects
as fast as possible, said John Njord, executive director of UDOT. Utah includes the
cost of traffic delays and other inconveniences to the public as part of its project
estimating and bidding process. Using the
bridge transport technology reduced delays
from months to days to meet the projects
aggressive three-year timeline.
Building the bridge using Accelerated
Bridge Construction (ABC) eliminated the
need for as many as 10 full freeway closures, said Dal Hawks, I-15 CORE project
director. This reduced traffic delays and
benefited the states economy by keeping
people, goods and services moving while
the bridge was being constructed.
PRC, the consortium of expert local,
regional and national contractors and engineers acting as the projects design-build
contractor, constructed the 354-ft, 1,900ton structure on falsework in a bridge
farm along the east side of I-15. A steelplate girder design was chosen for the Sam
White Bridge due to its relatively light

weight and its ability to follow the profile grade line. AISC and NSBA member
Utah Pacific Bridge & Steel Corporation,
Lindon, Utah, fabricated the steel for the
bridge, which was designed by the Moon
Township, Pa.-based Michael Baker Jr., a
member of the PRC consortium.
Moving the bridge perched 21 ft in the
air involved precise coordination. The twospan structure was raised off the falsework,
then moved simultaneously using four lines
of SPMTs, which are hydraulic jacks on
wheels, controlled by a single joystick.
To accommodate the bridge move, I-15
was closed in both directions between the
American Fork Main Street and Pleasant
Grove Boulevard interchanges on Saturday,
March 26, starting at 11 p.m. until Sunday,
March 27, at 10 a.m. Approximately 1,000
people came out to witness the operation.
In addition, state elected officials, more than
100 delegates from other Departments of
Transportation and the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), and transportation
industry professionals from as far away as
China also watched the move.
After raising the structure off its falsework, crews
moved the bridge approximately 500 ft across eight
freeway laneswhich
included rotating it to the
crossings final 48 skew
and lowered into place. To
see a two-minute preview
and animated simulation
of the move sequence, go
to http://bit.ly/euZizx.
UDOTs five-minute time
lapse video of the actual
move is also available at
http://bit.ly/eAvSaP.
Located 30 miles south of Salt Lake
City, the Sam White Bridge is one of 59
new, modified or rebuilt structures on the
24-mile Interstate reconstruction project.
The state-funded project is reconstructing
the highway from Lehi to Spanish Fork
which connects the northern and southern
halves of the state. The I-15 CORE project
is scheduled for completion by December
2012. To learn more about the bridgerelated aspects of the project, visit http://
bit.ly/fcHc8c.
The state has been using SPMT technology for nearly four years. Its first move
was on October 28, 2007, when the 172-ftlong 4500 South Bridge was moved over
I-215. The Sam White Bridge is UDOTs
23rd ABC bridge movenearly double
the number moved by all other states combined. The FHWA designated UDOTs
move as a Showcase event for leaders
to learn more about ABC technology and
how it can be applied to other transportation systems in the country.
utah Dot
OBITUARy
AwARDS
ACSA and AISC Celebrate 10-year Collaboration

At its 99th annual meeting, held March 3-6
in Montreal, the Association of Collegiate
Schools of Architecture presented AISC
with a plaque in recognition of AISCs 10
years of continued sponsorship support
of the Steel Design Student Competition.
Nancy Gavlin, AISC director of education,
and AISC president Roger Ferch accepted
the plaque from ACSA president Daniel S.
Friedman, Ph.D., AIA. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/i8lwfk.
Larry Don pope, 67,

past president of NISD
Larry Don Pope died Sunday, January 16,
2011, in Lewisville, Texas. He was 67. Pope
was a longtime resident of Arlington, Texas.
A graduate of Mineral Wells High School
and the University of Texas at Arlington,
he was a professional architect and steel
designer for 40 years. Pope was named the
National Institute of Steel Detailers man
of the year in 1985, and served as NISD
president from 1995 to 1999. Memorials
can be made to Hope Lodge of American
Cancer Society, Lubbock, Texas.
may 2011 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION
17
news
STANDARDS
Nuclear Spec Available

for public Review
EDUCATION
2011 Engineering Seminar Series Offered

CMC Steel Products, in cooperation with
that has revolutionized the structural
the American Institute of Steel Construction
steel industry. Topics will include the
and Bentley Systems, Inc., presents its 2011
design of the Smartbeam, introducStructural Engineering Seminar Series,
tion of new design software, case
Working Smarter in Todays Marketplace,
studies, and applications in floor and
in 16 cities nationwide. This half-day semiroof construction.
Bentley Systems will present the
nar consists of industry experts presenting
aspects of the latest RAM Structural
the following topics:
A rapid-fire look at what the new
System version 14.03.02 showcasing
challenges and opportunities will
steel building design in a completely
be for structural engineers as the
integrated environment includconstruction economy recovers.
ing foundations, connections, CAD
Topics will include economic condrawings, and BIM based on current
ditions, material costs and availcodes and standards.
ability, changing expectations in the
Each attendee will receive informative
marketplace, 3D modeling, sustain- AISC handouts and new CMC Smartbeam
ability, collaboration, specifications, structural design software. CMC and
codes, standards, delivery systems, Bentley will provide a certificate for 4.0
modularization, off-site fabrication, PDHs for each engineer who attends.
innovative systems and robotics Breakfast is provided. There is no cost for
and where structural steel fits into the seminar, but registration is required.
this changing environment.
To register, go to www.cmcsteelproducts.
Smartbeam Systema review of the
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US Hollo-bolt
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A draft of the 2011 AISC Specification for

Safety-Related Steel Structures for Nuclear
Facilities (AISC N690) is now available for
public review on the AISC website. This
document is written as a supplement to the
2010 AISC Specification for Structural Steel
Buildings; therefore, the primary revisions
are related to revisions in that standard.
The document and public review form
are available on the AISC website at www.
aisc.org. Please submit your comments
electronically to duncan@aisc.org using the
review comment form, or mail to Cynthia
Duncan, AISC, 1 East Wacker Drive, Suite
700, Chicago, IL 60601-1802 by May 30,
2011. A hard copy is also available for a
nominal fee of $15 by calling 312.670.5411
or by emailing cummins@aisc.org.
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THE
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the newest BIM technology. Using advanced 3D modeling capabilities, BIM from Vulcraft renders a level of detail far ahead of
the industry standard. Providing data through multiple steel packages, including Tekla and SDS/2, Vulcraft allows you to see
as-built joist configurations, actual member sizes, specific panel layouts, accurate bridging, and a variety of specialty profiles.
More than a conceptual modeling tool, Vulcrafts BIM technology pieces together intelligent objects that leverage the power of
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Innovative Design in Engineering and architecture with Structural Steel
IDEAS
awards
ThE DESIgN aND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRy

recognizes the importance of teamwork, coordination, and collaboration in fostering successful construction projects today more than
ever before. In support of this trend, aISC is
proud to present the results of its annual IDEaS
awards competition. This program is designed
to recognize all team members responsible for
excellence and innovation in a projects use of
structural steel.
wards for each winning project were presented to the project team members involved in the design and construction of
the structural framing system, including the architect, structural engineer of record, general contractor, detailer, fabricator, erector and owner.
New buildings, as well as renovation, retrofit, or expansion projects, were eligible. The
projects also had to display, at a minimum, the
following characteristics:
a significant portion of the framing system
must be wide-flange or hollow structural
steel sections;
Projects must have been completed between
January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2010;
Projects must be located in North america;
Previous aISC IDEaS or EaE award-winning
projects were not eligible.
a panel of design and construction industry
professionals judged the entries in three categories, according to their constructed values
in U.S. dollars:
Less than $15 million
$15 million to $75 million
Greater than $75 million
22
From left: Zimmerman, Klemens, Walls, Long, Theel, Tofighi, Schneider
The judges considered each projects use of structural steel from both an
architectural and structural engineering perspective, with an emphasis on:
Creative solutions to the projects program requirements;
applications of innovative design approaches in areas such as connections,
gravity systems, lateral load resisting systems, fire protection, and blast;
The aesthetic and visual impact of the project, particularly in the coordination of structural steel elements with other materials;
Innovative uses of architecturally exposed structural steel;
advances in the use of structural steel, either technically or in the architectural expression;
The use of innovative design and construction methods such as 3D
building models; interoperability; early integration of specialty contractors such as steel fabricators; alternative methods of project delivery; or
other productivity enhancers.
Both national and merit honors were awarded. The jury also selected
one project for the Presidential award of Excellence in recognition of distinguished structural engineering.
2011 IDEaS2 awards Jury
Kent Long, P.E., joined Plantation, Fla.-based Balfour
extensive experience in seismic design standards and threedimensional dynamic analysis of complex and specialty
Beatty Construction in 1988 and has experience as a
structures. For the past 15 years, Tofighi has been involved
project engineer, chief estimator, project manager, vice
in the structural design of many leading Las Vegas hotels
president of estimating, senior vice president business
and casinos as well as non-gaming projects.
acquisition and currently as senior vice president of
He received his Bachelor of Science in Civil/Structural
federal projects for the Southeastern U.S.
Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston
a licensed professional engineer, he is particularly
and is a registered professional engineer in several
strong in civil and structural design analysis. In his current
states. He is an active member of aISC, Structural
role, he oversees the strategic marketing, business
Engineers association of Nevada and California, and
development and operational execution efforts of the
the International Code Council. Tofighi is also currently
federal market in the Southeast.
serving as the co-chairman of the Southern Nevada
Long is the past chairman of the associated Builders
Building Code Committee.
and Contractors Florida East Coast Chapter and is
currently the incoming president for the South Florida
a founding partner and lead designer for Little Rock, ark.Society of american military Engineers.
based Polk Stanley Wilcox architects, Wesley Walls, aIa,
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
has helped elevate the firm to high standard of design
from the University of missouri and a Bachelor of Science
excellence. Walls has been recognized for his work with
in Construction management from the University of
numerous state, regional and national awards. His creative
Louisiana at monroe.
and innovative talent has earned him a strong reputation in
Jay W. Schneider is editor of Building Design+Construction,
the architectural community, and his attention to detail and
an SGC Horizon publication based in arlington Heights,
schedules is predominant in all of his projects.
Ill. BD+C serves more than 75,000 architects, engineers,
With more than 20 years of experience, he has led the
contractors, building owners, and real estate executives.
firms focus on higher education and research commissions.
The magazine has won four Jesse H. Neal awards, as
In the past year alone, Walls managed more than $100
well as accolades from the american Society of Business
million in successful projects of all sizes and complexities.
Publication Editors (aSBPE) and the Construction Writers
His recent work includes the One-Stop Student Services
association.
building at the University of arkansas at Little Rock; the
Schneider received an Honorable mention from the
College of Public Health building and the Psychiatric
Construction Writers associations Kneeland Godfrey
Research Institute at the University of arkansas for medical
award for Body of Work category in 2007 and 2009.
Sciences; and the Faculty Office Building at the arkansas
He was elected to the Construction Writers association
Childrens Hospital. Walls earned his Bachelor of arts in
board in 2009.
architecture at the University of arkansas.
Prior to joining BD+C, Schneider was an editor for
Elmen Publications, San Rafael, Calif., and Hanley-Wood Duff Zimmerman, P.E., is the manager of operations
with aISC member Cooper Steel Fabricators Inc.,
Inc., Washington. He is a graduate of Syracuse University.
Shelbyville, Tenn., an aISC-certified, full-service steel
Robert P. Theel, aIa, serves as the U.S. General Services
fabrication and erection company.
administrations chief architect in the six-state Great
He currently serves on the Steel Erectors association
Lakes Region headquartered in Chicago. He is the senior
of america (SEaa) board as immediate past president.
advisor to the regional administrator of GSa and the
Zimmerman has been the editor of The SEaa Connector
regional commissioner of the Public Building Service (PBS)
magazine. He is also a member of the aISC Research
regarding federal architecture, design, construction policy
Committee and TI/BIm Committee. He has been a
and innovation. He provides leadership for the regional
member of the aISC Safety Committee and been a
design and construction programs for U.S. courthouses,
presenter at the NaSCC: The Steel Conference. He
federal office buildings and border stations.
holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University
Theel is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology
of Tennessee in Civil Engineering.
and has served the government as a design architect,
project manager and design director prior to establishing Thomas L. Klemens, P.E., is senior editor of Modern
Steel Construction magazine, published by the american
the position of chief architect for the Great Lakes Region
Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago. His editorial
of GSa in 1999. In 2005, he was also appointed director of
career spans two decades with a variety of engineering
the regional Design & Construction Division. For his role
and construction related magazines.
in establishing and supporting GSas Design Excellence
Prior to entering the publishing field, Klemens
Program, Theel is a recipient of GSas Excellence in
worked as a structural engineer with the Chicago-based
Public architecture award.
consulting engineering firm Sargent Lundy, spending
Farro Tofighi, P.E., is a managing principal at DeSimone
nearly three years on site at the Braidwood (Ill.) Nuclear
Consulting Engineers. He joined the firm in 2005 to help
Power Station. He also was a project manager for
open its Las Vegas office. His dedication to the field of
Northwest Group, one of the contractors involved in
structural engineering and excellent client service is an
construction of the United airlines terminal at Chicagos
integral part of his firms business ethics.
OHare International airport, and a field engineer with
Tofighi has more than 25 years of experience that covers
highway and bridge contractor S.J. Groves and Sons,
a broad range of project types including office buildings,
minneapolis. Klemens also is an adjunct instructor at
high-rise condominiums, educational facilities, entertainment
Harper College, Palatine, Ill.
complexes, and hospitality and gaming facilities. He has
23
National awardgreater than $75 Million
MINETa INTERNaTIONaL aIRPORT TERMINaL B aND CONCOURSE,

SaN JOSE, CaLIF.
ombined, the new concourse and Terminal B at mineta San Jos International airport (SJC) stretch more than
2,100 ftthe length of seven football fields
with soaring spaces up to 55 ft high. although
limited by site constraints to just a 90-ft width,
the 1,600-ft-long concourse adds 380,000 sq.
ft of passenger space, with ticketing, security,
retail/dining, baggage operations, support
space, and new departure curb. Terminal B,
which is 254,028 sq. ft on thee levels, has
been designed for future phased expansion
in the form of a 12-gate south concourse.
The need for the new structure had become apparent by the late 1990s. The airport
was undersized, outdated, and at risk of losing
resident airlines. Fearing the negative impacts
from that for itself and area businesses, the airport hired architectural firm Gensler to undertake master planning. Ultimately, the San Jos
City Council approved a $4.5 billion, 12-year
modernization program. The scope and small
sitetightly bounded on six sides by a river,
roadways, Faa regulations, and a high water
tablepresented significant challenges.
Work began first on a new concourse building, with Gensler leading the design team which
included Steinberg architects and magnusson
Klemencic associates (mKa) as structural, seismic, and blast engineer. To meet the owners
goals of long-term space planning flexibility
and operational efficiencies, mKa developed
a structural system never before used at a major airport known as a special truss moment
frame (STmF).
The brace-free openness of the STmF system provided several significant benefits:
Extremely ductile and robust performance during a seismic event, important given the airports location in the
most active and populous earthquake
area in the U.S.
accommodation of restrictive site geometries while fitting all desired program elements.
Increased architectural freedom and layout
flexibility, both initially and in the future,
with simplified routing of ducts, pipes,
and conduits in the spaces between the
diagonal trusses and center segment.
Triple-duty performance, resisting
gravity and earthquake/wind loads in
one system.
24
Simplified erection, with STmF com-
ponents delivered preassembled and

erected with bolts and fillet welds.
Just as Clark Construction began erecting the concourse, aviation business at SJC
was challenged by the terrorist attacks on
9/11/2001 and the dotcom decline, and the
modernization program beyond the new concourse building was
put on hold.
With the owners
desires reined in by
new economics, the
design team implemented a revised
$1.3 billion, 3-year
improvement
programwith similar
scope but at one
third the cost and on
a compressed schedule. Terminal B was
prioritized as the next
project and proceeded using a design/
build approach led
by contractor Hensel
Phelps with Fentress
architects to accelerate the schedule,
minimize costs, and
reduce risks.
a value engineering review by the HP team
discovered that if Terminal B were moved
several hundred feet from its location in the
master plan and physically connected to the
still-under-construction concourse, substantial economic and operational benefits could
be realized. This relocation and revision was
possible only due to the adaptability of the
STmF system. The acceleration of design for
Terminal B and the HP teams idea of shifting
the terminal immediately adjacent to the concourse meant that the terminals structural system had to be designed well before its architectural layout had been established. mKas
solution was to use the highly adaptable
STmF system from the concourse in Terminal
B as well. That allowed the structural system
for Terminal B to be designed and early construction packages issued for excavation and
structural steel before the architectural layout
was completed.
Steel seems
well integrated,
not just a
means to an end.
Jay Schneider
Ultimately the two buildings were tied together without the need for
new foundations, with minimal additional reinforcing, and without a separating building joint and corresponding double row of columns.
Engineers also disconnected the Terminal B roof from the concourse to
minimize potential damage during a major earthquake. Wherever the arched
roof ribs touch down curbside, they are supported on three Teflon-coated
elastomeric bearing pads that allow up to 28 in. of horizontal movement.
another cost savings was realized in the way the curved architectural features were achieved. Creating the architectural building shapes found in Terminal B and the concourse out of uniquely curved steel members was possible, but prohibitively expensive. Instead, engineers employed nontraditional
straight-line generation techniques. In areas where a ruled surface existed,
systems were designed with straight members in one direction and curved
in the other. When curved members were necessary, parametric and costing
studies optimized spacing and minimized the number of curved pieces, and
the radius of a curve was repeated where possible to minimize set-up time
and fabrication costs.
For architectural feature walls, cladding elements were supported on
metal deck bent naturally along its weak axis to form a curve. Terminal B
was designed using curved steel roof girders spanning 100 ft and spaced
30 ft on center. In the concourse, leaning y-shaped columns on 30-ft centers support curved roof beams, with additional steel members parallel to
the length of the concourse.
Terminal B and the concourse both were delivered under budget and
ahead of schedule. Terminal B is expected to receive LEED Silver, and the
concourse already has.
Owner
mineta San Jose International airport, San Jose, Calif.
architect Terminal B
Fentress architects, San Jose, Calif.
architect Concourse
Steinberg architects, San Jose, Calif. / Gensler, San Francisco
Structural Engineer
magnusson Klemencic associates, Seattle (aISC member)
Steel Fabricator
Gayle manufacturing Company, Woodland, Calif. (aISC member)
Beck Steel Inc., Lubbock, Texas (aISC member)
photos by Sherman Takata
Bender/Roller
Chicago metal Rolled Products Company, Chicago (aISC member)
Steel Erector
California Erectors, Benicia, Calif. (ImPaCT member)
general Contractor
Clark Construction Group, LLC, Oakland, Calif.
Design-Build Contractor Terminal B
Hensel Phelps Construction Company, Los angeles
Structural Software
Revit, SaP2000
25
National awardgreater than $75 Million
NaTIONaL aLaBaMa CORPORaTION RaILCaR MaNUFaCTURINg FaCILITy, ChEROKEE, aLa.
an expansive facility that pays
close attention to detail.

Robert Theel
pon completion in 2009, National alabama Corporations 2.1-million-sq.-ft railcar manufacturing facility immediately set the standard for other railcar facilities to
emulate. Housing fabrication, construction, finishing and administration operations under one roof, the facility is capable
of producing up to 12,000 cars annually.
Located on 635 acres in Barton Riverfront Industrial Park in
Cherokee, ala., the facilitys orientation followed the existing topography, which minimized site grading, allowing natural areas to
remain untouched. The north-south orientation of the facility takes
full advantage of sunlight for natural lighting opportunities. The
facility accesses the Norfolk-Southern rail line along its southern
boundary and a 500-car capacity storage yard was constructed
east of the manufacturing facility. Steel rail sidings connect to the
existing rail line to facilitate delivery of completed railcars.
Constructed at a cost of approximately $300 million, the project recorded many impressive construction statistics. more than
22,600 tons of structural steel was erected in a remarkably short
period of just four months. The superstructure included 27,000
pieces of steel, 200,000 bolts, three miles of handrail and more
than five miles of crane runways. The manpower effort included
more than 50,000 detailing hours and 305,000 fabrication hours.
Four erection crews with four crawler cranes worked concurrently
to keep pace with the arrival of 100 truckloads of steel per week,
enabling the installation of an average 1,600 pieces per week.
From the earliest planning stages, it was clear the facility design needed to provide maximum flexibility to accommodate
concurrent production of multiple styles of railcars. With railcars
measuring nearly 90 ft long, 20 ft high and weighing close to
70,000 pounds, it was evident that only a steel structure could
provide the long-span and clear heights necessary to meet this
critical program requirement. Due to the size and weight of even
26
Photos: Justin maconochie
the simplest components, the fabrication and construction of

railcars uses cranes extensively for material handling. The construction area of the facility incorporates jib cranes, semi-gantry
and gantry cranes, as well as top-running bridge cranes, all of
which are integrated into the building in a complex marriage of
process and building structural elements. Typical bay size parallel to the process flow was set at 30 ft to optimize crane runway
support framing. Bay sizes perpendicular to the process flow
ranged from 93 ft to 120 ft with the majority being 103 ft or 120
ft. Roof trusses were used to span the long direction with bar
joists or wide-flange beams spanning the 30 ft.
During initial scheduling discussions it became apparent that
procurement of structural steel was on the critical path. The project design team engaged a structural steel fabricator and erector
very early in the design process, allowing for optimization of the
structural steel design and streamlining of the procurement process. applying their joint expertise to the fullest extent, the project
team produced a structural steel mill order in less than a month
while still in the schematic design phase. This extraordinary joint
effort enabled the project team to meet a window in the steel mill
production, avoiding a three-month delay in schedule.
By modernizing a design innovation first implemented by albert
Kahn himself a century ago, the structural engineering firm created
a 2,000-ft-long roof monitor over the construction area that not only
functions as an enormous glass skylight but also ventilates heat
through its built-in louvers. Louvers located along the facilitys lower
perimeter walls work in tandem to create a natural draft by pulling
cooler air in below while hotter air escapes above.
The design uses single columns to support the roof and
crane girders in lieu of separate building and crane columns.
The crane girder support brackets were shop fabricated integrally with the column to minimize effects of fatigue and
eliminate the possibility of laminar tearing of the flanges. That also reduced the
number of erected pieces, shortened the
erection schedule and simplified the support of the multiple levels of cranes as
well as the continuous 8-ft-wide equipment platform straddling the column.
although the manufacturing process
is linear, a need existed for lateral movement of parts, tooling and jigs between
parallel production lines. Where required,
these 90-ft-long, 18-ft-high openings necessitated the elimination of two crane/
building columns at each crossover. Large
transfer trusses weighing 25 tons were
utilized at the roof to support the roof as
well as supporting the crane girders at 30ft intervals. Hangers replicating the typical
crane column in size and detailing were
connected to the transfer truss and used
to support the two levels of crane girders and the equipment platform. This approach eliminated the need for special
plate girders that otherwise would have
been required to span the 90-ft opening.
The design of the administration building required roof cantilevers of up to 22 ft
and floor cantilevers of up to 12 ft while
minimizing the depth of structure. This,
obviously, could only be accomplished using steel. Visualize Wrights Falling Water
but without the cracks in the structure.
aesthetically the building embodies

stylistic elements from the golden age of
american industrial design, the strong linear character associated with railway functions and the NaC brand image. Horizontal metal panels and glass bands are the
primary exterior materials. The facility incorporates broad expanses of glass curtain
wall and roof monitors that permeate the
manufacturing spaces with daylight and
natural ventilation. The south faade of the
facility is a celebration of glass and classic
industrial plant design for which Kahn is renowned. This exit for finished railcars has a
transparency and light quality rarely seen in
conventional industrial facilities. The result
is a design that is functional while maximizing sustainable design and optimizing the
work environment to achieve an efficient,
collaborative and inspiring image for National alabama Corporation.
This facility is expected to achieve LEED
Silver certification, and in so doing, may
become the largest industrial project to
achieve this distinction in the new construction category. One example of the many
sustainable design features incorporated
into the NaC facility is the harvesting of
rain water from more than 37 acres of roof
and hard surface areas and diverting it to a
two-acre irrigation pond. The extensive use
of steel in the facility is inherently sustain-
able as a highly recyclable product that can

be transformed many times over and gain
new life when combined with other materials. a great example of resource reuse can
be seen in the railcar storage yard. This
area incorporated more than eight miles of
reused steel rail sections, rescued from the
scrap yard and recycled, along with steel
rail ties, to form the storage yard rail spurs.
This used rail was also incorporated into
the facility production lines, reducing costs
and conserving natural resources.
Spanning nearly of a mile in length,
and made possible with innovative
structural steel design and construction,
NaCs railcar manufacturing facility is a
marvel of modern industrial architecture.
The fusion of function, form and sustainable design creates a flexible production
environment with a reduced carbon footprint that will endure for decades.
Owner
National alabama Corporation,
Cherokee, ala.
architect and Structural Engineer
albert Kahn associates Inc., Detroit
(aISC member)
Steel Detailer
mcGill Engineering, Inc., Tampa, Fla.
(aISC member)
Steel Fabricator
Cives Steel Company, Roswell, Ga.
(aISC member)
Steel Erector
midwest Steel, Inc., Detroit (aISC
member)
general Contractor
yates-Walbridge Joint Venture,
Philadelphia, miss.
Joist Manufacturer
Quincy Joist Company, Quincy, Fla.
(aISC member)
Structural Software
RISa-3D, Ram Structural System
27
Merit awardgreater than $75 Million
510 MaDISON avENUE, NEW yORK
Photos: David dearmas/moed dearmas & Shannon
28
10 madison avenue is a 429-ft-tall, 30-story boutique office building on East 53rd Street in the Plaza district of midtown manhattan. This modernist
tower provides clean faade lines and flexible interior
spaces for tenants. The project is pursuing LEED Gold
certification. The building includes a fitness club with
50-ft pool and a private restaurant, both reserved for
tenants and their guests, along with a large landscaped
terrace overlooking madison avenue. The upper office
floors have views to Central Park.
The building sounds like any other plain vanilla office building until you look more closely. The structural
steel virtually disappears, taking up less floor space and
providing additional headroom. This is not a traditional
economical structure where the lightest steel members
were selected to reduce the steel tonnage. Rather it is
a modern, value-driven structure, providing the most
value for the owner by squeezing the structure, opening up the floor area, raising the ceiling and letting aesthetic requirements control the design.
510 madison is engineered to allow open columnfree floors. Trusses and transfer girders connect the
towerseventh floor and aboveto the base, allowing
the tower floors to cantilever over the adjacent building
to the west. The upper floors have no interior columns,
while the lower floors have only three.
The typical floor-to-floor height is 13 ft, 6 in. which allowed for 10-ft clear height to the finished ceiling. Floor
slabs are constructed of 2.5-in. normal-weight concrete
over 3-in., 18-gage metal deck. Floor framing members
are designed to work compositely with the floor slab,
and typically span approximately 55 ft. These beams
are limited to W18 series to allow maximum headroom
with future flexibility.
The building core is compactly located on the south
side of the tower. The core is surrounded by steel braced
frames which were carefully coordinated with the design team to provide adequate door opening clearances and passages for ductwork from the mechanical
room. all building columns are engaged in the lateral
load resisting system.
The braced frames incorporate outrigger trusses
at the 6th and 30th floors providing lateral stiffness in
the north-south direction. Braced frames combined
with moment frames along the north and south sides
provide resistance in the east-west direction. The
braces are wide-flange sections ranging from W1453
to W14500. The design was also assessed for multihazard, progressive collapse resistance.
The perimeter columns are disengaged from the
glass; the faade is anchored into the slab edges. Spandrel beams are W30s with round openings through the
web for sprinkler line access to the glass faade.
The truss at the 6th floor is supported by 6-ft, 9-in.deep built-up plate transfer girders in the ceiling of the
fifth floor to reduce the number of interior columns in
the lower floors.
value-driven steel design

what a concept!
Tom Klemens
The site was studied in a wind tunnel. Using that data and the
building properties, engineers at the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory at the University of Western Ontario performed
desktop studies and determined the controlling design parameter was to limit torsion at the top-most corner office space.
The fitness club in the cellar is accessed by an architecturally
exposed steel stair. The skylight over the pool and the glass
footbridge leading from the elevators to private dining are also
framed using steel.
GmS designed all the steel connections, provided special
inspection of the steel and served as the faade consultants.
Owner
Boston Properties, New york
Developer
macklowe Properties, New york
Design architect
moed dearmas & Shannon, New york
architect of Record
SLCE architects, New york
Structural Engineer
Gilsanz murray Steficek, New york (aISC member)
Steel Detailer
WSP mountain Enterprises, Sharpsburg, md. (aISC member)
Steel Fabricator
Banker Steel Co., LLC, Lynchburg, Va. (aISC member)
Steel Erector
Helmark Steel Inc., Wilmington, Del. (aISC member)
Construction Manager
Tishman Corporation, New york (aISC member)
Structural Software
ETaBS, Ram Steel, SaP
29
National award$15 Million to $75 Million
NEW gaTEWay BUILDINg, WESTChESTER COMMUNITy COLLEgE, vaLhaLLa, N.y.
attractive and inviting facility
that seamlessly blends

modern architecture with indigenous materials.
Kent Long
photos by Goldberg/Esto Photographics Inc.
he Gateway Center is a 70,000-sq.-ft academic building

on the Valhalla, N.y., campus of Westchester Community
College. The three-story building houses a welcome center, classrooms, offices, computer and language labs, an auditorium, and a caf. Construction was completed in fall 2010 for a
total cost of $33 million, and received LEED Gold certification.
The heart of the project is a 48-ft-tall glass cube that creates a striking lobby and connects the north and south wings
at two levels. Early in the project, the team began to pursue a
modular design, using prefabricated elements in a kit-of-parts
approach. Ultimately, the structure and architecture of the
lobby became the expression of a manufacturing process. although this idea has been explored in various ways, including
through the use of shipping containers in building construction, the team settled on a more customized approach: 233
architecturally exposed structural steel (aESS) boxes were
assembled to create a light, transparent volume. The boxes
were fabricated from channels and plates and based on eight
basic templates to maximize repetition and efficiency in the
shop. almost all field connections were made with shims and
bolts, minimizing field welding and cutting erection time. Curtain wall connections were made to steel plate tabs that were
attached to the boxes in the shop.
In addition to the boxes, the main lobby staircase and the
bridge between the north and south buildings are aESS, with
laminated glass treads and flooring. The bridge is supported
in part by two steel hanger rods, which connect to the main
stringers with custom pin and jaw fittings.
at the northern end of the building, the third floor cantilevers out over its base on all sides, with cantilever lengths
varying from 6 ft to more than 30 ft. On the east side of the
building, where the largest overhang occurs, the floor is hung
30
from four steel roof trusses which also form a parapet wall to
screen rooftop mechanical units from view.
The original design included a cantilever of more than 40 ft
on the west side of the building. as part of a value engineering effort, the roof trusses in this area were eliminated, and an
additional support was provided to reduce the cantilever to 24
ft. This additional support is an aESS element in an inverted tripod configuration, with three legs supported on a steel column
that is embedded in a concrete wall below. Each leg of the tripod consists of two parallel plates stitched together at regular
intervals with round spacer bars, creating ladder-like elements.
To eliminate bending forces in the tripod, each leg terminates
in a steel pin detail. The 4in.diameter pins are tied together
at the base by a plate assembly designed to transmit gravity
and lateral forces to the concrete structure below.
Steel was also chosen for an architectural sunscreen to shade
the south facing faade of the north wing. The screen, approximately 19 ft tall and 160 ft long, was assembled from 13 separate panels that hang from steel supports cantilevered off the
main building structure. Each panel provides shade with a field
of closely spaced horizontal 38-in.-diameter steel tubes supported within X-shaped frames formed with steel plate. Panel
connections to the base building were designed to accommodate movement due to thermal expansion and contraction.
adjacent to the south wing of the building is one of the
projects most prominent features, a 60-ft-tall tower built of
steel and clad in zinc panels. The structure tapers from 10 ft
wide at the base to less than 3 ft at the top and consists of
two interconnected plates built up into an 18-in. overall cross
section. along the east-facing narrow edge of the tower is a
full-height LED, allowing the tower to serve as a beacon for
the entire campus at night as well as during the day.
Owner
Westchester Community College, Valhalla, N.y.
architect
Ennead architects, New york
Structural Engineer
Leslie E. Robertson associates, New york (aISC member)
Steel Detailer
JCm & associates Ltd., Frankford, Ontario, Canada (aISC and
NISD member)
Steel Fabricator
R & S Steel, Rome N.y. (structural steel) (aISC member)
manufab, Kenner, La. (sunscreen panels) (aISC member)
general Contractor
Worth Construction Company, Bethel, Conn.
Structural Software
ETaBS
31
Reuse of salvaged pipe
was particularly appropriate

for this energy lab structure.
photos by Frank Ooms Photography
Tom Klemens
32
NREL RESEaRCh SUPPORT FaCILITy, gOLDEN, COLO.
triving to become a model for building efficiency and net-zero energy design, the
222,000-sq.-ft NREL Research Support Facility (RSF) in Golden, Colo., identifies and addresses issues of building sustainability on multiple scales. Large-scale building components
like form and orientation are rooted in passive
solar design principles using the natural and
predictable processes of the earth to give the
RSF an energy advantage over traditional office
buildings. Smaller scale solutions using active
energy generating systems and both innovative
new construction materials as well as recycled
materials help the RSF target aggressive energy
goals culminating with the desire to be a netzero energy office building.
The building form is best described as a lazy
H with long narrow wings maximizing northsouth exposure. This exposure and thin profile
allows the interior office spaces to be naturally
ventilated and receive 100% daylight, greatly reducing mechanical energy consumption.
The insulated precast concrete panels and
zinc cladding are both attached to the steel
frame structure. By painting the exposed concrete and structure white, many of the interior
spaces, including all of the office spaces, need
no interior gypsum board. Louvers and shade
boxes are built around the triple-glazed, thermally broken windows balancing the solar heat
gain while allowing daylight to penetrate deep
into the space after passing through a light louver system. To produce an even spread of light,
interior columns are eliminated while long-span
steel trusses rest on perimeter columns. The
steel decking runs perpendicular to the exterior
walls to reduce any potential daylight from being lost in the ridges and valleys of the deck.
The perimeter columns are recycled natural
gas pipe harvested from fields in Louisiana. Now
rather than extracting fossil fuels deep underground they are the literal pillars of strength of
a building supporting the effort to minimize the
impact of human life on earth through research
and development. One of those developments
at NREL led to the invention of the transpired
solar collector, a steel panel used as part of the
exterior cladding on the RSF. The panel is perforated such that natural convection draws outside air into the cavity between the panel and
the thermally massive, insulated precast concrete panels. In the cool months this air is naturally preheated before entering the building,
reducing the temperature differential between
indoor and outdoor air. This panel along with
the nightly purging of the building through operable windows keeps the RSF at temperatures
close enough to human comfort levels that a tra-
ditional HVaC system is not required. However,

to account for the remaining minimal heating
and cooling needs of the RSF, approximately 42
miles of radiant tubing runs through the floor of
the building. Uncharacteristically the radiant tubing propagates the conditioned air down to the
space below using the exposed steel decking as
a medium to evenly distribute this conditioned
air through the space.
To help compensate for the remaining energy
needs, the RSF has 1.6 mW of photovoltaic panels installed directly to the standing seam steel
roofing. The power generated by these photovoltaic panels is dedicated for use by the RSF. The
RSF is expected to perform 50% better than the
aSHRaE 90.1 2004 standard and expects an energy use of 35 kBtu per sq. ft per year.
With expansive views of the Rocky mountains and bright, collaborative workspaces, the
RSF hopes to change the culture of the modern workplace. Rather than high partitions and
closed offices, the open floor plans allow the
RSF to remain flexible and encourage social interaction. Workstations are located within 30 ft
of windows and employees are able to ventilate
the office when conditions are favorable. Huddle
rooms are provided for meetings and sensitive
conversations that require acoustical privacy.
The improved lighting conditions and indoor air
quality are key factors in the RSF achieving LEED
platinum status.
Through thoughtful design strategies and by
focusing on all scales of the building and its processes, the Research Support Facility is on track
to meet the aggressive energy goals set forth
during project conception. If so, the building will
enter into a new category that aims to enhance,
rather than simply sustain, the built environment.
Owner
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
Golden, Colo.
architect
RNL, Denver
Structural Engineer
KL&a, Golden, Colo. (aISC member)
Steel Fabricator
Paxton & Vierling Steel Company, Carter Lake,
Iowa (aISC member)
Steel Erector
LPR Construction Company, Loveland, Colo.
(aISC and SEaa member)
general Contractor
Haselden Construction LLC, Centennial, Colo.
Structural Software
Ram, ETaBS, SDS/2, Revit
33
hyPaR PavILION aT LINCOLN CENTER, NEW yORK
incoln Center for the Performing arts is

one of the largest and best-known arts
complexes in the world, with 12 independent companies and 15 venues bringing
a wide range of events to five million visitors
per year. Over the past decade, the center has
undertaken an ambitious modernization of its
midcentury campus. The central design challenge: reactivating the connection between
the 16-acre campus and its manhattan neighborhood, increasing the visibility of resident
organizations and drawing in new audiences.
One of the key architectural solutions to
emerge from the modernization project is the
new restaurant pavilion. Topped by a striking
warped green roof and housing a glass-walled
restaurant, the pavilion is a distinctive yet accessible urban form that fulfills complex programmatic requirements while maintaining
much-needed public space on the campus.
In addition to creating an iconic shape that
stands out among its rectilinear neighbors, the
pavilions unique geometry addresses a number of practical concerns. The lowest point
of the structure brings the roof flush with the
plaza, extending a friendly invitation onto
the grass to both Lincoln Center patrons and
casual passersby. The twisting planes tilt the
7,200-sq.-ft lawn away from 65th Street, reducing visitors exposure to noise and traffic.
The open, serene atmosphere is carried
into the 11,000-sq.-ft restaurant, called Lincoln, which features an exposed central kitchen flanked by four public dining areas. Glass
walls and a contoured mahogany ceiling frame
views to the outside and draw the publics
gaze inward. accessible from both plaza and
street level, Lincoln has been praised as one
of the nations best new restaurants since its

September 2010 launch.
The simple, streamlined form of the pavilion gives no indication of the complex, densely
packed facilities beneath. In addition to three
new subterranean Lincoln Center Film Society
theaters, the restaurant sits atop the central
utility plant, which provides chilled water and
steam to the entire campus.
arup has been engaged at Lincoln Center
for more than 10 years, providing structural,
mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and fire engineering services for the full
range of modernization projects. Serving as
subconsultant for the lawn, restaurant and film
center spaces (and as prime consultant for the
renovation, expansion and upgrade of the
central mechanical plant), arup used modeling technologies to craft highly tailored, multidisciplinary engineering solutions suited to
the complexity of the program.
The layout for the geometry of the pavilions
steel superstructure follows the mathematical
principles and main generating lines of a rectilinear hypar. as a result, straight steel members were able to be used for all floor beams.
Thoughtful rationalization of the architectural
form and use of steel for the primary structure simplified fabrication and enabled rapid
construction. The latter was particularly important due to Lincoln Centers need to remain
open throughout the design and construction
process. The design team and contractors exchanged 3D models, further easing fabrication
and aiding interdisciplinary coordination.
arups structural design thoughtfully addresses the requirements of each programmatic element. metal decking with concrete
Iwan Baan
34
Gordon LaPlante/Rockwell Group
This pavilion is a substantial
element delicately inserted

into an existing urban space.
Robert Theel
Iwan Baan
poured on top forms the warped floor structure. Columns at

regular intervals transfer vertical loading into the existing building. an additional layer of transfer beams underneath the columns transfers vertical loading around the movie theaters and
the central mechanical plant into existing footings. On one
end, the lower tip of the hypar sockets into the existing waffle
slab of the plaza, allowing the transfer of lateral loading into
the existing shear diaphragm. On the opposing side, braced
frames transfer horizontal loading into the ground.
Throughout the five-year design and construction period, the
project team created and coordinated multiple document packages corresponding to the logistical challenges and sequencing
of the work, consistently exercising a high level of oversight to
minimize conflicts and mitigate unforeseen field conditions.
The new pavilion and improved facilities will enable Lincoln
Center to continue providing world-class performances to local,
national and international audiences for decades to come. With
its unique space-generating structure, complex interface of new

and old, and challenging logistical and scheduling requirements,
the pavilion pushed New york Citys design and building community to the boundaries of existing construction technologies.
Owner
Lincoln Center for the Performing arts, New york
architect
Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New york
Structural Engineer
arup, New york (aISC member)
general Contractor
Turner Construction Company, New york (aISC member)
Structural Software
autoCad 3D, Revit
35
National awardLess than $15 Million
RIO ROCa ON ThE BRaZOS, PaLO PINTO, TExaS
Beautiful building with simple structure.

Farro Tofighi
his steel, glass, stone, and wood chapel is situated on a

bluff overlooking the Brazos River. It was constructed to
provide a spiritual retreat for visitors, and a private venue
for religious services, performances, and weddings. a flagstone walkway connects the chapel forecourt to a conference,
living building higher on the bluff. The chapel seats 50 people
in built-in pews.
The steep slope of the site is cut into by a 10-ft-tall stone wall
visitors must pass through to reach the chapel. This retaining wall
continues through the chapel and supports each steel column
to the north. The southern wall is floor-to-ceiling glass with steel
columns framing the view. The lateral bracing is placed toward
the inside of the chapel to maximize the natural light coming in
and minimize any obstruction.
The earth drastically slopes away from the chapel exposing
it to high winds. Steel HSS columns and cross bracing are concealed in the stone walls to the south to provide extra support.
all of the exposed steel is coated with automotive enamel to
keep it from weathering.
Each column is composed of a group of steel HSS wrapped
in wood trim. The trim provides the connection to the insulated
glass. The steel columns are welded to steel flitch beams that
support the copper roof. Steel turnbuckles, threaded rods, and
acorn nuts provide a delicate structural system so as not to detract from the chapel surroundings and are connected to the
flitch beams and columns to resist spread. The majority of the
steel was fabricated in a sheltered environment off site. It was
predrilled and painted to assist in the ease of construction. Because all the steel was shop built, the architects also were able to
use a known fabricator from previous projects instead of trying to
identify a skilled local craftsman in a remote location.
36
Once on the site, the column and rafter system was erected
and bolted into the anchor bolts cast into the foundation. The
turnbuckle and tension bar system was assembled and aligned
without any on-site welding. The steel in the chapel provides
a strong and delicate structure in juxtaposition to the heavy
masonry base.
Custom-designed and fabricated steel elements are used
throughout the site. an observation deck surrounded by a steel
and glass rail overlooks the river. a 20-ft-tall steel sculpture beckons visitors to the chapel at the top of the bluff, acting much like
an obelisk of a pilgrimage church. Three steel channels pierce
the stone retaining walls to carry the water into a stone basin on
the other side. Steel lights and lanterns illuminate the structure
and the surrounding landscape.
Owner
Rio Roca Ranch, Palo Pinto County, Texas
architect
maurice Jennings + Walter Jennings architects, PLLC,
Fayetteville, ark.
architect of Record
maurice Jennings architect, Fayetteville, ark.
Structural Engineer
myers-Beatty Engineering, PLLC, Van Buren, ark.
general Contractor
English Heritage Homes of Texas, Dallas
Structural Software
RISa-3D, Revit
photos by maurice Jennings architect
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3/15/2011 1:59:39 PM
an outstanding example of
leveraging LEED design elements

with architecture.
Kent Long
Photos: James West
National AwardLess than $15 Million
BUCKNER COMPANIES HOME OFFICE, GRAHAM, N.C.
photo by: j. west productions
he new headquarters building for a nationwide crane leasing and steel erection company was a long-contemplated
update to a venerable, family-run enterprise. Business
was good and growing, but market conditions demanded better teamwork and communication. Existing space was cramped
and poorly arranged. most important to the third generation of
family leadership, the companys existing ofces said nothing
of the rms work, capability, or success.
The Buckner Companies turned its need into opportunitya
chance to project itself as a dynamic and resourceful contracting
partner. The rms new open, airy headquarters in central North
Carolina is a showcase for the steel erectors trade. It also tells
the story of steel, beginning with the materials salvage and reuse,
to its integration with other building systems, and ending with its
powerful impact when simply expressed and carefully detailed.
To make a place that would clearly express the companys
line of work, Buckner turned to its own crane-rigging yard,
which was piled with steel building parts rescued from various
construction sites over several decades. Company president
Doug Williams provided an inventory of materials from this
boneyard, challenging the design and construction team to
incorporate all they could in the new building.
Engineers combed the list and assessed hundreds of steel sections and fabrications for condition, strength and suitability. They
found wide-ange members for columns and composite oor and
38
roof beams, cellular beams for oor girders, and open-web steel
joists for lightweight spans. Corrugated metal decking found second life supporting the roof and oor, and two sections of 15-ft-tall
plate girders became the walls of a new conference room, cantilevered out the front of the building to shelter the main entrance.
Buckner rescued a 15-ton, 58-ft-long pedestrian bridge from
the college campus where the company had rst installed it 30
years before. The bridge and its pylons became the connector
between the new building and the existing ofces. Even old
crane parts and pieces of rigging found their way into the project, as stair hangers, column braces, and furniture pedestals.
In all, 83 tons of steelmore than 40% of all the steel in the
buildingcame directly from Buckners yard. This direct reuse eliminated the energy costs normally involved in refabricating salvaged
steel, going, in effect, beyond green in making use of a material
already widely appreciated for having high recycled content.
Virtually all of the structural steel in Buckners headquarters
is left exposed, yet steel is not the only or even the most distinctive structural element in the project. Overhead are pairs of
8-in. by 30-in. curved wood glue-laminated beamsalso salvagedthat create the buildings roofs and south-facing clerestory. Integrating the steel structure with these wood members
was a special challenge for the designers and constructors.
From the beginning, the architects, engineers, contractor, fabricator and erector collaborated closely to determine how the
1 5 M A I N E NT R ANC
5 W14 MOMENT FRAME COLUMN

ED GLULAM 4
9 I NT EG R AT I O N + D ETA I L
connection between wood and steel would be expressed.

Custom-fabricated steel extensions, or tails, at the ends
of the wood beams served two purposes: to provide the additional length needed to span the buildings central space, and
to achieve the moment-resisting connections that allowed the
wood and steel to work together.
In another carefully considered move, the wood beams pass
through slots cut into the webs of an interior line of W14 columns, like thread through the eye of a needle. This interaction
has the effect of showing off the ability of the steel to accommodate less malleable structural members.
Despite the challenges inherent in the assembly of the buildings
many exposed connections, the steel erector, who happened in this
case to be project owner, credited the close collaboration on the
team with producing a project that was very erector friendly.
Because most of the building structure was to be left exposed
to visually tell the story of the owners business, detailing and construction quality was a significant focus of the project. The team
considered following aESS criteria but rejected that approach,
largely because of the desire to repurpose as much salvaged material as possible. Instead, the team placed rigorous emphasis on
planning and detail to achieve high aesthetic results. Close coordination among the designers, contractor, fabricator and erector
took into account the spacing of framing, types of connections,
bolt patterns, and even the orientation of cotter pins.
The new building took form around the notion of surrounding
a double height space with the offices of project managers and
administrative staff, creating vertical, visual connection among
all employees. The project added 15,000 sq. ft to Buckners ex-
CE/CO NFER ENCE
isting office building, which was extensively refurbished to make

a cafe, exercise area and other high-profile common spaces.
These shared places, and the second-level enclosed pedestrian
bridge linking the new building with the old, are key to making
all employees feel a connection to the new construction.
Fueled by the realized possibilities for reusing existing materials, the Buckner project grew to embrace an all-points sustainable building effort. Green building practices incorporated
into the project include a chip-and-tar drive, stormwater bioretention pond, new materials with high recycled content such as
galvalume roofing and linoleum floor covering, and water conservation measures including low-flow toilet fixtures and roof
drains supplying a 15,000-gallon cistern for vehicle washing.
The 15,000-sq.-ft project was completed in may 2010.
photo by: j. west productions
Owner
The Buckner Companies, Graham, N.C. (aISC member)
architect
Weinstein Friedlein architects, Carrboro, N.C.
Engineer
Stewart Engineering, Raleigh, N.C.
Steel Detailer and Fabricator
CmC South Carolina Steel, Greenville, S.C. (aISC member)
Steel Erector
Buckner Steel, Graham, N.C. (aISC and SEaa member)
Contractor
Romeo Guest, Durham, N.C.
39
Simple and beautiful.

Farro Tofighi
National awardLess than $15 Million
CUTTINg hORSE RaNCh, NORTh TExaS
his 175-acre ranch in the cross timbers region of Texas was created for the care, training and breeding
of cutting horses. The master plan includes a steelframed arena, horse barns, cattle pens and service structures placed among woods, pastures, roads and trails.
The structural engineer and steel fabricator were early
members of the design team that developed the structural
and aesthetic vocabulary for approximately 100,000 sq ft
of exposed steel structure. The exposed steel columns
and trusses express the regional barn vernacular while
offering clean, modern lines to the ranch buildings; the
perforated, corrugated metal cladding opens the spaces
to daylight and breezes, eliminating the need for operable
windows. These elements come together to provide a
comfortable environment for the horses and staff. The
few air-conditioned spaces are clad in galvanized metal
and wood, allowing a continuity of design vocabulary and
refuge from the hot Texas summer for the ranch hands
and managers.
The long structures of the barns and arena sit along a
tree-lined creek to block the north wind while taking advantage of summer breezes from the south. The arena cuts
into the sloping grade to reduce the impact of this tall
structure. Repeating gable roof forms, supported by steel
pipe trusses, continue from the arena to the training barn
and provide cover for a connecting ramp, horse walker,
and wood-clad ranch office. The covered ramp continues
40
photos by Frank Ooms Photography
alongside a long water trough to the outdoor arena

and gathering pavilion. Isolated against the tree line to
the west is the mare barn while the tall hydrotherapy
barn fills the space between barns and arena.
The pastures are defined by a five-rail pipe fences
with steel-framed loafing sheds placed throughout for
sheltering horses, while selective clearing left stands
of mature trees for shade. The loafing sheds, made of
oxidized steel and weathered wood, sit in the grassy
landscape of the pastures.
Classic barn shapes surrounded by rolling fenced pastures provide a familiar quality to a project with a modernist application and detailing of structural and clad steel.
architect
Lake|Flato architects, San antonio, Texas
Structural Engineer
Datum Engineers, austin, Texas (aISC member)
Steel Erector
CN Construction, Inc., Fort Worth, Texas (ImPaCT and
SEaa member)
general Contractor
Lincoln Builders of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas
Structural Software
RISa-3D, RISa-2D, Revit
41
Merit awardLess than $15 Million
ThE POWER PLaNT aT ROCKETTS LaNDINg, RIChMOND, va.
Urban renewal
at its best.
Duff Zimmerman
he Power Plant at Rocketts Landing, constructed in the

late 19th century, was once the primary power supply for
the industrial citys fleet of trolleys. as train transportation
became increasingly obsolete, so did the need for this oncebooming plant. When private developers made plans for a new
residential and business neighborhood, the design team was
charged with preserving and repurposing the plant. Beautifully situated along the historic James River, the goal was to
maximize connectivity between the plants indoor and outdoor
spaces with the nearby waterfront while maintaining its historic
integrity street side.
Through the use of structural steel, the design team was
able to innovatively transition the 27,000-sq.-ft mixed use facility. Embracing the industrial aesthetic of the Power Plant,
the team incorporated a steel frame skeleton to overlap the
buildings existing structure, merging antiquity and modernity.
approaching from the west, a soaring, industrial smokestack
emerges from a new skeletal structure of steel and glass. The
stack is a reminder of the buildings legacy, while the modernistic steel structure communicates a renewed sophistication for
the revived waterfront district.
42
The adaptive reuse integrates a five-story indoor and outdoor piazza that begins at the flood plain level and rises to the
roof. The first and second levels are utilitarian spaces, assumed
by the Virginia Boat Club for the storage of crew hulls. The
Boathouse Restaurant occupies a 12,000-sq.-ft space on the
third and fourth floors. The waterfront dining areas and outdoor decks offer 180 views of the James River and the Richmond skyline.
The plants stairs and mezzanines are constructed of exposed
steel that accentuates the industrial aesthetic, while providing
efficient access to the main facility. Structural steel provided
the lateral bracing through the use of rods and moment connections to accommodate the code-required loading as well as
bracing to prevent uncomfortable movements perceptible to
the occupants.
In keeping with the original industrial use of the building,
the new stair and elevator tower features the use of exposed
W1235 wide-flange columns on the street side that have been
built up with a vertical open-web joist. Double 63 steel
angles form the chord attached to the W12 while the opposite chord consists of the same size double angles attached to
photos by Eric Taylor Photography
the back of a C1030. The diagonal web members are

-in. steel plate 2 in. wide. The canopy at this entrance
features steel members cantilevered from the building
faade supported at the free ends by a #3 clevis and
1-in.-diameter rods.
The interior spaces were renovated using structural
steel to reinforce the existing structure as well as provide a new roof structure for the dining room and kitchen. The building roof was designed to accommodate
the desire for an exposed structure and large storefront
enclosure to provide natural daylighting and dramatic
views of the river. Crowning the building is a glass and
steel pavilion topped with a butterfly roof angling upward for a clear, multi-dimensional view of the water. Exposed steel includes a custom built-up truss consisting
of double 63 top and bottom chords with 2-in.wide, -in.-thick steel plate diagonal web members.
The new design elements also accommodate natural
daylighting, including an enhanced view of the surrounding waterfront. The new plant is crowned with a glass and
steel pavilion, featuring a butterfly-angled roof.
The new plant design utilizes a combination of
RISa-3D for the structural analysis and REVIT for the architectural models, providing a more accurate visualization of the structure for both the project owners and the
design team. These models were invaluable for detailing and coordinating fabrication and later during erection of the steel elements.
Because this renovation is part of a larger brownfield
redevelopment, the fact that its design played a significant role in reducing waste and promoting sustainability
during the redevelopment and redesign of the facility
was significant.
The newly repurposed plant honors the timeless
beauty of the past infrastructure, while encouraging future growth and innovation through the use of modern
technology and design. Enhanced with structural steel,
the newly repurposed $3.5 million Power Plant incorporates a modern-industrial edge while honoring the
storied past of this historically significant building.
Owner
The WVS Companies, Richmond, Va.
architect
H&a architects & Engineers, Virginia Beach, Va.
Structural Engineer
Draper aden associates, Richmond, Va. (aISC
member)
Steel Joist Manufacturer
Vulcraft, Florence, S.C. (aISC member)
Structural Software
RISa-3D
43
MONTECITO RESIDENCE,
MONTECITO, CaLIF.
ocated in the hills above montecito, Calif., the residence was designed to take advantage of the sites
prominent features, including majestic oak trees and
large boulders. The house is divided into two wings. a
public wing includes living, dining and kitchen areas and
opens up to the main outdoor dining and lounging areas.
The second, more intimate wing contains bedrooms, bathrooms and a library, all of which open up to small outdoor
courtyards and terraces. The property also includes a lap
pool and an existing guest house.
The most striking feature of the house is its expression of
exposed structural steel frames and insulated metal panels.
Continuing the architects ongoing steel residential design investigation, initiated in the 1970s, the montecito Residence
is the fourth completed iteration in an ongoing research project that has been tested for the past seven years in a design
research studio in a renowned Los angeles-based school of
architecture. The intention behind the design strategy is tectonic design research that creatively envisions a flexible prototype for mass-produced housing using steel construction
and standardized off-the-shelf industrial components.
Because structural steel is manufactured primarily from
scrap metal it is inherently a green material. after being
fabricated offsite, the steel frame can be rapidly erected
and does not generate the typical amount of construction
waste caused by wood frame construction. The design advances concepts of adaptive space while creating a kit
of parts that can be assembled into 20-ft modules as an
alternative to the manufactured buildings mitigating the
unpredictable link of manufactured units to serviced land.
Contrary to most steel-framed buildingswhere the
steel is ultimately concealed from viewthis building was
designed so all its steel connections are exposed and visible in the final product. Great care was required from the
entire team, including architect, structural engineer and
the fabricators who carefully crafted a final product. The
steel wide-flange columns were designed by the structural
engineer as cantilevered posts, fixed below grade by concrete grade beams in two directions, allowing the exposed
connections between columns and beams to be elegantly
welded as moment frames.
One of the clients desires was that their residence
would be designed to take full advantage of the indooroutdoor living made possible by the California coasts mild
climate. Structural steel is particularly well suited to allow
for a maximum amount of glazed openings, from large expanses of fixed glass to operable glazed garage doors
and sliding doors. another important factor in choosing
materials for this residence, located in a fire-prone area, is
steels inherent non-combustible nature.
Designed specifically without air-conditioning, the
house is cooled by cross-ventilation. Large operable sectional glass doors, sliding doors and windows can be
opened and closed to quickly adjust to the climate conditions and the occupants comfort. In addition, the houses
radiant heating system is fed by solar collector panels.
Other sustainable features include highly efficient boilers,
photovoltaic panels and an Energy-Star rated cool roof.
44
This home showcases the
greatest advantage
of steel design:
openness and
floor plan flexibility.
Duff Zimmerman
photos by Ciro Coelho Photography
Owner
John and Dorothy Gardner, montecito, Calif.
architect
Barton myers associates, Inc., Los angeles
Structural Engineer
Norman J. Epstein Structural Engineers, Los angeles
Steel Detailer, Fabricator and Erector
anvil Steel Corporation, Gardena, Calif. (aISC member)
general Contractor
Caputo Construction Corp., Los angeles
45
hOUSE OF aIR, PRESIDIO BUILDINg 926, SaN FRaNCISCO
n 2010 two young entrepreneurs with an interest in action sports opened House of air, a trampoline facility
that caters to the young, energetic population of active
San Francisco. The single-story, steel-framed building is a
historic aircraft hangar located at the western end of Crissy
Field and the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge within The
Presidio of San Francisco, a national park.
The facility includes more than 6,500 sq. ft of conjoined
trampolines. a large field trampoline for bouncing sits
alongside a trampoline dodge ball court and three performance trampolines used for competitive jumping and ski,
snowboard, and wakeboard training. Flanking the trampoline area is 10,000 sq. ft of amenity space including two
pavilions housing a caf, meeting facilities, lockers, and a
lounge. Translucent blue walls lit from within are graphic
interpretations of the vertical motion which takes place
throughout the facility.
The clients objectives were purely to construct and operate a facility that could accommodate their business plan.
The architects objective was to create a space that would act
as a branding device in a visual manner, thus elevating what
could otherwise have been a base commercial experience to
a level matching the sophisticated site and clientele.
The seismic strengthening of the structure included
new ductile steel special moment resisting frames, which
are integrated into the existing building with a tension rod
roof diaphragm. The strengthening scheme was carefully
detailed to minimize the impact on the existing building
fabric and allowed many of the buildings characterdefining features to remain.
The Presidio has stringent requirements for maintaining the history behind its existing buildings. as with most
historically significant buildings the way in which they were
built tells a story about both construction practices and
social and economic circumstances at the time. maintaining the story associated with this historic biplane hangar
was an important driver for the approach taken with the
House of air. Very little of the original building fabric was
removed and the inherent strength of the existing structure
was used to the greatest extent possible. In addition, the
House of air project is LEED certified with many of the
credits coming from the reuse of existing materials.
The renovation and remodeling of the existing historic
hangar was no small task. The existing building consists of
a steel trussed roof spanning 110 ft. Steel columns support
the roof at the perimeter creating a 17,500-sq.-ft columnfree floor plate. The existing structure is built on artificial fill
prone to liquifaction in a high seismic zone. adding to that
the 3-in.-thick concrete roof structurebomb-proof by
1920s standardswhich had to remain intact, it was clear
that the building was in need of strengthening.
architecturally, the hangar remains a large-volume
structure with free-standing elements installed within it.
The original roller door was removed and a 45-ft glazed
overhead bifold door was constructed at one end of the
building. Internally, this large oculus is flanked by structurally independent pavilions housing discreet programmatic
elements and clad in translucent blue polycarbonate.
Large openings in these walls are fitted with pivoting panels to provide privacy to the interior rooms. an exposed
46
structural steel catwalk connecting the upper floors of the

pavilions allows for elevated vantage points from which to
observe activity on the trampolines below.
Providing a cost-effective and efficient method to
strengthen the building and developing details for the
new trampolines to accommodate the uneven slab were
the two most difficult tasks the design and construction
team had to address.
The addition of new special moment-resisting frames
(SmRF) to the building was a straightforward solution, but
developing a methodology for tying the building together
at roof level was challenging. The existing roof includes a
10-ft pop-up clerestory space effectively separating the roof
into two halves. These separate roof sections also change in
pitch at their midpoint creating out-of-plane reactions at the
roof diaphragm. In addition to the geometric constraints,
the roof is clad with 3 in. of unreinforced concrete.
The final solution provides isolated strengthening to the
existing gravity truss top chords which could then be utilized as compression members in a new roof diaphragm.
New diagonal rod bracing, 2 in. in diameter, was installed
to complete the diaphragm truss while the out-of-plane
reactions resulting from the change in roof pitch are resisted
by the strengthened gravity trusses. By addressing these
two issues in unison, the design team was able to limit the
addition of new material to an existing historic building and
deliver a diaphragm stiff enough to protect both the existing gravity frames and the brittle concrete roof.
Investigating materials at the outset of the project
showed that the original steel was suitable for welding,
which facilitated the integration of the new lateral bracing
and gravity strengthening, one of many advantages of using structural steel.
In addition to the base building seismic retrofit and core
and shell work, the structural engineer designed a vast network of conjoined trampolines, providing detailing as well
as structural calculations and drawings to meet the requirements of the California Building Code.
The design required complex analysis of the individual
trampoline framing members. a finite element analysis model was used to capture the various stresses in the
members and back checked against static catenary action
spreadsheets. The resulting member sizesHSS 31
with wall thicknesses from 316 in. to 14 gaugewere strong
enough to demonstrate compliance with a wide range of
impact loads while still being easy to fabricate. The trampolines were modeled in Revit to simplify the fabrication
and installation process. That proved to be especially helpful with the complex geometry in the dodgeball court and
double bowl.
The trampoline framing uses more than 6,500 ft of HSS.
a system of adjustable legs detailed to accommodate more
than 5 in. of undulation in the existing hangar slab. That permitted fabricating all trampoline legs the same length while
at the same time allowing the trampoline beds to be perfectly
level. By using a section of threaded rod and locking nuts for
each leg, its overall length could be shortened or extended
to suit its location by simply spinning the base plate, saving a
significant amount of time during the 350-leg installation.
Blake marvin
Ethan Kaplna Photography
The more this is studied,
the more impressive are its attributes.

Wesley Walls
Owner
House of air, San Francisco
architect
mark Horton architecture, San Francisco
Structural Engineer
Holmes Culley, San Francisco (aISC
member)
general Contractor
Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Co.,
San Francisco
Structural Software
RISa-3D
47
Talk about your

LaDy BIRD LaKE hIKE aND BIKE TRaIL RESTROOM,

aUSTIN, TExaS
he Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail is a linear park of scenic
trails and landscaping that follows the banks of the Colorado
River in downtown austin, Texas. Very popular among runners
and bike riders, the park provides residents and visitors with a rural
escape in an urban setting. The Restroomthe first public restroom
built in the park in more than 30 yearswas built by the Town Lake
Trail Foundation, a community-based non-profit organization, in
partnership with austins Parks and Recreation Department.
The Restroom was conceived as a sculpture in a park, a dynamic object along the active trails. The structure consists of 49 vertical
aSTm a588 weathering steel plates, each in. thick. The width
and height vary significantly, from 1 ft wide by 1 ft, 6 in. tall to 2 ft
wide by 13 ft tall. The panels are arranged along a spine that coils
at one end to form the restroom walls. The plates are staggered in
plan to control views and to allow for the penetration of light and
fresh air. Both the door and roof were fabricated from -in.-thick
steel plates as well.
The restroom is handicapped accessible and includes a drinking fountain and shower outside in addition to a commode, urinal,
sink and bench inside. The simple building requires minimal maintenance: the plumbing fixtures are made of heavy-duty stainless steel,
there is no need for artificial light or mechanical ventilation inside,
and the steel panels will weather naturally over time.
Owner
The Trail Foundation, austin, Texas
architect
mir Rivera architects, austin, Texas
Structural Engineer
architectural Engineers Collaborative, austin, Texas
(aISC member)
general Contractor
The Trail Foundation, austin, Texas
photos by Paul Bardagjy Photography
48
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Presidential award of Excellence in Engineering
OTTaWa STREET POWER STaTION, LaNSINg, MICh.
onstructed in 1939, the Ottawa Street Power Station along Lansing, michigans Grand River was decommissioned in 1992 and sat idle for more than a
decade. Its resurrection for use as a national headquarters
by Lansing, mich.-based accident Fund Insurance Fund
of america began in 2007. Converting the abandoned
vintage power station into prime office space relied on a
detailed erection plan and flawless execution.
Imagine building a 10-story steel-framed office building inside an existing masonry structure, all the while
having to both preserve and support the heavy shell.
Then add the complication that much of the existing
steel had to be removed before the new framing and
floors could be installed. These were just some of the
challenges facing the project team.
The teams collaborative solution was much like
building a ship in a bottle. The construction manager,
Christman Company, turned to Douglas Steel and Ruby
+ associates to provide design and construction expertise in evaluating design alternatives to convert the
power plant into a modern, energy-efficient 10-story office building without disturbing the historical exterior.
This team began in the spring of 2008, and completed
the main structural steel erection ahead of schedule,
even with a late start due to site delays.
The existing building consisted of two primary areas:
a 10-story tower and the original turbine hall. Working
within the confines of an existing structure posed major
access obstacles. Douglas Steel developed an innovative technique that enabled erection of the internal
structure without disturbing the building exterior. The
process involved installing two temporary 14-ft by 40-ft
roof hatches at the top of the 10-story tower, hoisting
all of the steel through these roof hatches, and setting
the new steel from the ground up. That meant that all
steel would be set in the blindthe crane operator
would not see the piece being lowered into position,
nor would he see the ironworker setting the piece. This
required a detailed erection plan with a reliable communication system between the ironworkers and the crane
operator. To capitalize on this effort, Ruby carefully analyzed the tower structure to maximize first pass demolition, giving the trades a safe working environment
while minimizing obstruction.
To maneuver the steel in the turbine hall, Douglas
Steel took advantage of the existing crane way. The
original overhead crane was to remain in the structure as
a historic artifact, but it had not been operated for more
than 25 years. Douglas creative solution consisted of
installing a new custom overhead crane for the duration
of the project which used the existing crane runway and
original rails. In the turbine hall, new steel for the fourth
floor was attached to the original and architecturally exposed crane girders. The third floor steel was then hung
from the bottom of the fourth floor steel.
Initially arup, the structural engineer of record (EOR),
used documents from the original 1939 construction of
the power plant to create a Revit model of the structure. Engineers then deleted and added members to
the model as required.
50
Rehabilitating a public
landmark is always noble,

always complex, and this
project redefines both.
Wesley Walls
When the framing design was completed, the EOR provided a CIS/2 version
of the model so the fabricator could import it into its SDS/2 modeling software.
Douglas and Ruby provided ongoing value engineering suggestions to help
minimize fabrication and erection costs, such as changing the 4-in.-diameter rod
bracing to HSS sections.
In preparing for fabrication, Douglas Steel used both the historical documents
and the building model to locate where each new member attached to either an
existing column or member. Each location was laid out on the existing steel, photographed and measured. The fabricator developed a method to use the existing
riveted steel end connection as part of the new design. Because of variance in
existing column-to-column dimensions, the member could be up to 1 in. longer,
which required designing the connection for the maximum eccentricity.
This process of evaluating each connection condition was used for approximately 2,000 beams. The bracing connections were attached to existing columns, which consisted of built-up shapes riveted together. Ruby helped to design these unconventional connections along with complex gravity connections
that mated new framing to the original.
Ruby also performed a structural analysis for the renovation using a finite
element model, and provided floor-by-floor sequencing, to maximize internal
demolition while still achieving stability. Rubys largest challenge was to balance
the systematic removal of the 10-story structures interior with ever-changing
load paths, levels of acceptable stress, and overall lateral deflections on the
fragile brick faade.
Through that analysis, Ruby identified which existing steel members had to
be retained as reconstruction occurred, and when those members could be
surgically removed as reconstruction progressed from the ground up. With
careful analysis and planning, structural stability was maintained during demolition and reconstruction without the need for additional bracing.
The team carefully coordinated structural steel elements with other materials
to preserve the aesthetic and visual impact of the project:
Exposed interior steel beams and columns demonstrate the original industrial structure.
Design incorporates the historic structure by leaving exposed historic brick
masonry and by holding back the new ceilings from the exterior walls allowing the full height of the windows to be viewed from each floor.
Original turbine hall overhead crane, rails, structural steel girders, and
bearing support points remain as an esthetically exposed feature.
The Ottawa Street Power Station is now registered on the National Park Services National Register of Historic Places. The project is expecting to be LEED
certified. Construction waste management has achieved nearly 100% waste diversion, by weight (7,000 tons), including 800 tons of steel and 600 tons of concrete. about 75% of the buildings existing brick and 95% of its existing masonry
was cleaned and reused.
Owner
accident Fund Holdings Inc., Lansing, mich.
Construction Manager and Developer
The Christman Company, Lansing, mich.
architect of Record
HOK, St. Louis
architect
Quinn Evans architect, ann arbor, mich.
Structural Engineer of Record
aRUP, Chicago (aISC member)
Construction Engineer
Ruby + associates, Inc., Farmington Hills, mich. (aISC member)
Steel Detailer, Fabricator, and Erector
Douglas Steel Fabricating Corporation, Lansing, mich.
(aISC and ImPaCT member)
Structural Software
SDS/2, Ram, RISa-3D, SaP2000, Revit Structure
51
Here are two ways structural engineers can

meet the added challenge of accounting for environmental impact.
Designing green
By Emily lorEnz, P.E., lEED aP, anD martha G. VanGEEm, P.E., lEED aP BD+C
ATTEMpTINg TO DESIgN more sustainably and being green

is common in the construction industry. Structural engineers
hear these terms and wonder how they can contribute to more
sustainable designs. The challenge isnt how structural engineers
can contribute, instead it is meeting the typical requirements of
safety and serviceability while collaborating with design team
members to innovate and find more synergistic solutions. In this
article, we address challenges for the structural engineer related
to two sustainable design strategies: designing for deconstruction and local sourcing.
Designing for Deconstruction
Read any article about deconstruction and it begins by stating
facts and statistics about the huge amount of construction and
demolition waste that goes to landfills every year. Great strides
have been made toward recycling, but even that often requires
energy to manufacture new products. And no one involved in
the construction industry has any real doubt that we could be
better at reducing waste, reclaiming materials, and reusing components. Design for deconstruction (DfD) has gained popularity
over the last few years in theory, but few projects exist where the
concept has been put into practice.
The basic idea behind DfD strategies is that durable components can be taken apart and reused, even if the structure for
which they were originally designed is no longer in use. Intuitively, it makes sense that disassembling buildings and reusing
their parts reduces environmental impacts related to construction by reducing:
Transportation impacts related to processing and shipping
of raw materials, and transporting demolished components to the landfill.
The energy needed to process virgin materials into new
products and the emissions to air associated with the
energy source.
The amount (and related impacts) of raw material extraction.
Bradley Guy and Scott Shell succinctly expressed the underlying rationale in their paper Design for Deconstruction and
Materials Reuse, which is included in the Proceedings of CIB
Task Group39 Deconstruction from its April 2002 meeting
in Karlsruhe, Germany. According to Guy and Shell, the goal of
52
DfD is to increase resource and economic efficiency and reduce

pollution impacts in the adaptation of and eventual removal of
buildings and to recover components and materials for reuse,
re-manufacturing, and recycling.
In the article Design for Deconstruction in the June 2004
Modern Steel Construction, (available at www.modernsteel.com/
backissues). Guy along with Michael Pulaski, Christopher
Hewitt and Michael Horman set forth several concepts and
strategies that can play a role in designing for deconstruction.
These include:
Using prefabricated, preassembled, or modular components
Simplifying and standardizing connections (fewer connections, consolidation of types and sizes of connectors)
Simplifying and separating out building systems (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing)
Considering worker safety
Minimizing the different types of building components
and materials
Selecting connections that allow for fast disassembly and
removal of materials
Designing to accommodate deconstruction logistics
Reducing building complexity
Designing using reusable materials
Designing for flexibility and adaptability
From a structural engineers perspective, the real obstacles
to designing for deconstruction seem to be lack of information,
time and economics.
Lack of Information
If you mention deconstruction and reuse of components to
a structural engineer, she or he is likely to have some immediate questions related to exposure of those components to loading during its current life, and residual capacity for use in the
future. In existing buildings, these concerns could prove a barrier to deconstruction. Unknowns such as in-service history, the
necessity for proof-loading to determine capacity, or risk related
to possibly contaminated materials (such as fireproofing), could
hinder reuse of components currently in use. There is a definite need for tools, techniques, skills, and markets to assist with
deconstruction of the current building stock.
Understanding Local
local sourcing is one of the primary strategies related
to sustainable design and material selection. it is true
that choosing local or regional materials and products
reduces the environmental impacts related to transportation, and local sourcing also supports local economies and industries. For steel, sourcing from north
american mills also reduces embodied environmental
impacts related to manufacturing.
in 2008 China produced one-third of all types of
steel made globally, and was responsible for 50% of
the carbon dioxide emissions for steel manufacturing,
according to a 2009 report from the alliance for american manufacturing. the aSCE Structural Engineering
institute in its Sustainability Guidelines for the Structural
Engineer warns against specifying steel that is only
available from foreign sources because these sources
may have less-restrictive environmental regulations.
often the competitiveness of foreign steel is a result of
For new construction, concerns related to lack of information

can be avoided by several methods. One is through creation of a
deconstruction plan. A deconstruction plan would detail all loads,
connections, and member capacities, among other items, and most
importantly, it would be kept by the owner for future use.
As an alternative to a deconstruction plan, the Structural
Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers recommends in its Sustainability Guidelines for the Structural Engineer clear labeling of all materials, like using paint or
etching on all steel members. The guidelines note that as-built
drawings should be stored in a safe place as a resource for future
use. These measures are always a good practice for a green building because they allow the building to be more easily assessed
for alterations, additions or changes of intended use during its
useful life.
Time and Money
Designing a structural component for future reuse is one
challenge in new construction, and so is pricing a component
that is durable and can be used for longer than the buildings
service life. In the U.S., there is still a desire to build new at the
lowest cost and a tendency to undervalue materials we currently
view as waste. Because there are few costs placed on environ-
two factors: (1) foreign steel mills may not be required to

make as many capital improvements related to reducing
environmental impacts, and (2) raw materials extraction
processes do not control particulate emissions and are
stopped short of returning the affected land back to a
natural state. the impacts due to transporting long distances are often small compared to these manufacturing and extraction impacts.
according to the american iron and Steel institute,
the steel industry in north america has reduced greenhouse gas emissions per ton of steel, while increasing
energy efficiencies. Foreign steel companies may emit
as much as 3 to 20 times the pollutants as U.S. steel
companies. Structural engineers can protect the environment by having an understanding of the true cost, in
terms of environmental impacts, of the products specifiednot only their mass (whether they are efficiently
designed) but their source (impacts due to their extraction and manufacture).
mental impacts of extraction of materials (see sidebar, Understanding Local), products are not truly valued.
Thus, many times it is less expensive to demolish and recycle
or landfill a structure than take the time to carefully separate
components and reuse them. This may change as new buildings
are designed to be deconstructed, but in the interim, it will be
a challenge for all in the construction industry. In their article
Design for Deconstruction, published in the spring 2005 issue
of Building for a Future magazine, Chris Morgan and Fionn Stevenson highlighted the advantages of DfD. It is possible, they
wrote, to design buildings taking into consideration disruption
to occupants, waste, and cost to client during renovation, and
for easier repair and maintenance of components, which makes
DfD more simple and cost effective.
Sustainability and green strategies require creative thinking
by all design team members. For new construction, familiarity
with green terminology will assist structural engineers in collaborating with the project team. Published reports indicate
that DfD has merit but most likely will entail additional initial
costs and a learning curve. The benefit is lower environmental
impacts because the life of the component is extended.
Emily Lorenz, P.E., LEED AP, and Martha G.

VanGeem, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, work in building
and sustainability at CTLGroup, Skokie, Ill., where
Lorenz is an engineer and VanGeem is a principal
engineer. Both are AISC Professional Members.
They can be contacted at elorenz@ctlgroup.com
and mvangeem@ctlgroup.com, respectively.
53
Low-impact facility sets high standard for future sustainable construction.
Greening
Steel
Construction
By anGEla aCrEE GUGGEmoS, Ph.D., anD ShaUn Franklin, P.E., lEED Ga
ThE SUSTAINAbILITy MOvEMENT has been solidly embraced

within the design and construction industry in recent years. Owners and developers now frequently require new buildings to be
LEED certified. On these LEED projects the majority of the sustainability focus is often placed on the operational efficiencies of
the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. However the sustainability impact of the structural systems and the energy used in
the actual construction of the structure often receive less attention
and are not as well understood.
The recently completed Research Support Facilities (RSF) at
the National Renewable Energy Laboratorys (NREL) campus in
Golden, Colo., aims to be the prototype for the next generation
of sustainable office space. The 220,000-sq.-ft, $64-million building was designed around 23 sustainability goals, including the U.S.
Green Building Councils (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, net-zero energy
usage and inclusion of visible alternative energy technologies.
The NREL RSF project challenged the design team to find
creative ways of reducing the overall environmental impact of the
building process as well as operation. The structural design team
was inspired by the projects ambitious sustainability goals, but saw
limited guidance for greening the structural steel process within
the LEED framework. The projects structural engineer took this
opportunity to fill a void in green building knowledge by commissioning a study with Colorado State Universitys Institute for the
Built Environment in the Department of Construction Management to investigate opportunities for reducing the environmental
impacts of structural steel design, fabrication, and erection processes. This article summarizes the research findings.
This study quantified the environmental impacts of the structural
54
steel construction process throughout the RSF project and evaluated

alternative methods or subprocesses that can be used to minimize
environmental impact on future projects. The study was divided into
two parts: (1) analysis of the structural steel fabrication and erection
for the NREL project using environmental life cycle inventory assessment (LCIA) methodology and (2) a series of interviews with representatives of all those involved in the project design and construction that identified potential sustainability and process improvements
through integrated design and delivery of structural steel.
LCIA is concerned with the energy use and environmental emissions from all life cycle phases of a product or process. Results include
estimation of energy use and CO2 emissions for the RSF steel fabrication and erection processes, evaluation of scenarios to reduce
environmental impacts from these processes, and potential benefits
from transitioning toward a more integrated structural steel delivery
process. Although this study focused solely on the RSF project, the
results are intended to inform the steel industry in general.
Energy Use and Emissions
Process diagrams detailing the steps of the fabrication and erection processes were the foundation of the LCIA. These diagrams
depict each process that the generic steel shapes arriving at the
fabrication plant go through until they are installed as structural
members in the RSF building. The materials, energy consumption,
and equipment usage associated with each step were estimated
using onsite observation at PVS and the NREL RSF site, discussions with team members, electricity records, and published data.
The accompanying chart shows relative contributions of CO2
by source for the structural steel activities for the NREL RSF project. As a portion of total environmental impacts, the material pro-
located in Golden, Colo, the national renewable Energy laboratorys new research Support Facility is designed to become a model
for building efficiency and net-zero design, in part through the use
of natural daylight and ventilation but also by using reclaimed and
recycled materials in the construction process.
duction category dominates at 59%. However, the contributions

from fabrication (13%) and erection (12%) are still significant in
absolute terms. For instance, erection activities generated 342,000
kg of CO2 which is equivalent to the emissions from 30 average
homes or 65 cars in
one year.
To evaluate how
these impacts could
be reduced, alternative scenarios were
investigated for the
material production,
fabrication and erection phases.
Material Production: The primary source of the energy use
and CO2 emissions is from the material production phase. The
steel manufacturing industry has seen a reduction in energy consumption of 33% per unit volume in the period between 1990
and 2007, but this process is still the dominant part of the overall
production. This study found two possible ways that raw material production energy use and environmental emissions can be
reduced for a given project: material salvage and reuse, and waste
reduction in fabrication. Salvaged oil and gas piping was used for
the majority of columns on the NREL RSF project, as described
in the article Reclaimed Structural Steel and LEED Credit MR
3Materials Reuse in the May 2010 issue of MSC (available at
www.modernsteel.com/backissues). Of the 560 tons of structural steel that went into the project, 107 tons of reclaimed piping
was used for pipe columns.
This salvaged material saved 69% of the CO2 emissions and
68% of energy consumption as compared to newly manufactured
equivalent structural sections.
Fabrication: Electricity for fabrication processes and operations is a primary input to the steel delivery process. In exploring
opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts within the control of steel fabricators, this is the obvious starting point. Interestingly, shop lighting is one of the larger consumers of electricity.
the lazy h configuration of the nrEls new 220,000-sq.-ft research

Support Facility is conducive to minimizing energy use while providing top-notch serviceability and occupant comfort.
reclaimed material used in the perimeter columns and elsewhere is colored red in this computer model of the nrEl research Support Facility.
The fabricator for this project currently uses high-pressure sodium

and metal halide fixtures for shop lighting. However by changing
to fluorescent fixtures with equivalent lumen output the energy
consumption could be reduced by 56%. This would translate into a
$55,300 annual savings, an annual reduction of 405,000 kg of CO2,
emissions, and a simple payback period of three years for the anticipated cost of the lighting change.
Erection: The environmental impact of the erection activities
is dominated by the transportation of workers to and from the site.
Increased carpooling and a work week of four 10-hour days generated some of the most significant savings. The magnitude of the
Angela Acree Guggemos, Ph.D., is an assistant professor

of construction management at Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, Colo. Prior to her academic career, she was a
project manager for a commercial general contractor. She
can be reached at angela.guggemos@colostate.edu.
Shaun Franklin, P.E., LEED GA, is the vice president of
construction services and engineering manager at KL&A
Inc., Loveland, Colo., and an AISC Professional Member.
He can be reached at sfranklin@klaa.com.
55
ate technology in the planning process. Adopting an integrated steel

delivery model (where one firm is responsible for all aspects of the
design, detailing, fabrication and erection) could positively impact the
teams communication, improve overall design efficiency, reduce the
need for RFIs and shorten response times for questions. As demonstrated in the LCIA portion of the study, reductions in waste and project schedule have measurable environmental benefits.
erection impact also is directly related to the duration on site. In the

case of RSF, the erector estimated that the erection duration could
have been reduced by three weeks with a larger staging area and
preferred crane. If these requests could have been accommodated an
estimated 21,900 kg of CO2 emissions would have been eliminated.
Interviews and Focus Groups
Several opportunities for improving the structural steel delivery
process on future projects emerged as a result of individual interviews
and a focus group session with those involved in the project. These
include: (1) establish direct lines of communication among the structural steel team members, (2) ensure early involvement of the erector
and fabricator in the steel design process, and (3) utilize appropri-
Consulting Services, Inc.
56

1
Conclusion
The structural steel industry has made great progress in reducing its environmental impact which has resulted in steel being one
of todays most sustainable building materials. Steel mills are using
new processes to minimize the energy required to produce steel
shapes. Fabricators and erectors downstream from production
facilities have realized process efficiencies through technological
advancements such as computer-controlled equipment that minimizes waste. However, opportunities for improvement still exist at
the project level. The ability to capitalize on these opportunities
rests with the ownership, design and construction team. By reducing inefficiencies in the design and fabrication process, the total
amount of material consumed can be reduced. By repurposing
salvaged material, the designer can significantly reduce the environmental impacts attributed to the manufacturing process for the
materials that are used. Through an integrated steel delivery process the needs of the fabricator and erector can be better addressed
during the design phase resulting in decreased durations and waste
during construction. All of these opportunities have quantified
environmental benefits and are possible to implement on todays
projects if they are approached as an integrated team.
{ }
0.pmd
Some of the 107 tons of reclaimed natural gas piping that was used
for the columns on the NREL Research Support Facility project.
4/5/2010, 8:26 AM
Project and Study Participants

as an integral part of this study, CSU researchers conducted individual
interviews as well as a focus group session to gather input from stakeholders. The purpose was to determine the level of integration the steel
stakeholders used on the project and to allow participants to discuss any
inefficiencies and/or opportunities for improvement for the steel delivery
process based on their experiences on the NREL RSF project.
Representatives participated in both individual interviews and the
focus group on behalf of all those involved in the steel portions of the
project. They included the owner, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; the architect, RNL, Denver; the structural engineer and steel
detailer, KL&a, Loveland, Colo.; the fabricator, aISC member Paxton &
Vierling Steel Company, Carter Lake, Iowa; and the erector, aISC member LPR Construction, Loveland, Colo. Representatives of the american
Institute of Steel Construction (aISC) also took part.
This project has been named a National award Winner in aISCs 2011
IDEaS2 program. To read more about the design and construction of the
NREL Research Support Facility, turn to the IDEaS2 awards coverage on
page 32 in this issue.
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is a Robot in
your Future?
By iVan JiVkoV
As various machine control technologies begin to mature, the prospect

is great for increasing your competitive advantage with robotics.
NOvEL AND ATTRACTIvE opportunities for improving productivity and quality in the structural steel industry
have regularly come to light as the overall state of technology has advanced. Today computer modeling and machine
control have both reached levels of maturity that permit
their interface far more easily and effectively than was previously possible. This article offers a brief discussion of
how implementing state-of-the-art automation technology, including things like robotics and BIM, can effectively
utilize process simulation prior to fabrication to gain a
competitive advantage.
To support interoperability among both existing and
emerging technologies, CIS/2 was adopted about 10 years
ago as an open standard for data exchange among different software for structural steel design, analysis, detailing
and fabrication. Design data in the CIS/2 format includes
information required in each phase of data processing: project and product definition, parts features (including holes,
copes and welds), joint systems, material, location, geometry,
unit references, etc. Completeness of the information, in a
qualitative sense, was much deeper and more robust than in
the alternative DSTV format, which is commonly used as
the information link between CAD design and CNC equipment. For example, unlike DSTV, the CIS/2 file format can
be used to import assemblies complete with all features and
attributes from a manufacturing model.
Unfortunately this technology has had a very limited
adoption rate in the steel fabrication environment. One factor contributing to this has been the perception that the only
efficiencies to be gained through such a switch to an open
standard were in modeling. In its earlier days, many people
didnt see the huge potential for productivity gains through
use of robotic welding machines, which open standards
can facilitate. Even today, few fabricators comprehend that
58
adopting this technology will bring structural steel fabrication to a totally new, higher level of productivity. Fabrication time can be dramatically reduced with the use of robotic
technology but requires software capable of accomplishing
these specific tasks:
Intelligent programming interface capable of creating 3D
CAD geometry and features of individual parts and their
assemblies, which for maximum interoperability would
be based on CIS/2 or some other open standard.
On the fly automatic generation of tool paths.
Work cell simulation involving collision detection and
optimization.
Postprocessor for converting tool paths into robotic
programs, and their translation into robotic language.
With these programming capabilities, off-line simulation can be done very quickly and easily. However, it is well
known that manual operations are the most expensive that a
fabricator faces. Therefore, the gains of even the most efficient and timesaving software easily can be consumed with
just one manual operation hampering the whole process.
For example, CNC machines can produce layout marks to
facilitate manual layout, but a CNC programmer first has
to enter proper location of these layouts into the program.
Because it is extremely time-consuming, this process limits
the ability to use CNC marking systems in full measure.
On the other hand, CIS/2 and possibly other open standard exchange protocols offer solutions for overcoming this
limitation. Whether a CNC machine or a robot, if it is able
to read properly formatted and complete data, the problem
can be solved. All features, including surface positions and
weld locations and other parameters, can be expressed in a
data file. Piece marks can be easily assigned and incorporated into the file. The only step that separates this information from a programming robot is the translation. With this
done, translated data about features and sub-material layout

can be imported into robotic OLP software. There it can
be used to automatically rebuild the 3D model, followed by
automatic definition of surface intersections and tool path
generations, clash detection and further robot program generation.
As this technology becomes available, fabricators can seriously consider converting from expensive CNC machinery
to economical and efficient robots. The solution is so practical that it is often regarded as just a matter of time before
it comes to the structural steel domain. Any type of layout
and piece markingdrill, plasma oxyfuel, spray, etc.may
be used for scribing with the existing CIS/2 format, however,
no one in the industry has done this yet.
The inherent advantages of automatic versus manual
welding are hard to dispute. Automatic welding is generally
acknowledged to be from four to 10 times more efficient
with regard to weld quality, consistency, amount of scrap
generated and variable labor time. The caveat for structural steel fabrication, however, is that the product is not
repetitive. Nearly every assembly is unique, which means
that each assembly requires either manual material layout
or programmed layout generated by a software operator. In
either case a human has to spend time doing the job. Many
fabricators are trying to become more competitive using
BIM detailing software with a DSTV interface. Though
DSTV simplifies a portion of the fabricators work, DSTVbased software still cannot automate the generation marks
for welding layoutthe standard simply doesnt support
the required data.
The CIS/2 format, however, can support all the information needed for welding layout definition, and is available for automatic parsing and translation. With support
of automatic surface intersection definition and tool path
generation software, future systems can fully eliminate
manual intervention of an operator. This allows layout and
welding time to be reduced by up to a factor of 10, and that
represents only the welding process. If the layout preparation is automated as well, a fabricator could be positioned
to save additional time.
limitations inherent in DStV restrict the digital representation to the lower of these two images, whereas additional
data in the CiS/2 format enables adding pieces and welds
as shown in the upper image.
Numerous articles have discussed the ability to import

data from the detail drawings directly to the CNC machines.
In reality, when using CIS/2 or other open standards, or even
perhaps proprietary application programming interfaces
(APIs), drawings may no longer be needed. Instead, it may
be possible for design data to be translated directly from a
design model to offline programming (OLP) software, automatically programming the robot controller.
Some robotic systems are now commercially available to
cut steel, either by importing DSTV data or allowing manual programming by means of macros, but this approach
is limited to cutting. However, with an appropriate software interface, using robotics will allow structural steel
fabricators a much broader range of capabilities, including
automatic cutting, coping, layout marking and welding.
Additionally, because programming for robotic fabrication
can be so dramatically simplifiedeven automatedthe
efficient automatic fabrication of individual parts soon can
become a reality.
Ivan Jivkov founded AISC member firm

Jitech Fabrication Technologies in 2004.
The company is based in Montreal.
59
steelwise
Your connection to
ideas + answers
Expansion Joint Considerations

for Buildings
By matthew D. BraDy, P.e.
Guidelines for dealing with dimensional changes in building

structures due to changing temperatures.
ALL BUILDINgS ARE SUBJECTED to expansion and contraction due to the thermal loads from exposure to changes
in the ambient temperature, both during construction and
in operation. Local weather patterns along with the heating
and air conditioning of climate controlled spaces will dictate
the temperatures to which the structure is subjected. While
these changes in temperature often take place slowly, the
effects are the same. Warmer materials expand and colder
materials contract. Depending on the anticipated temperature variation and materials used, expansion joints should be
used in all buildings exceeding the lengths in Figure 1.
Why Expansion Joints Are Needed
The key to successful building design is recognizing that
while the individual members in a structure may only experience small changes in length, the cumulative effects of these
changes can become significant and should always be considered. This is especially important when looking at buildings with a large horizontal dimension. Expansion joints that
separate the entire structure and roofing membrane will
allow for the release of internal stresses that would otherwise build up. This will help to ensure that relatively brittle
cladding, particularly masonry, is not subjected to excessive
displacements and consequential separation or cracking,
which could allow water to penetrate into interior spaces.
Federal Construction Council Technical Report No.
65, Expansion Joints in Buildings, published by the National
Research Council (NRC) in 1974, is an excellent reference
Matthew D. Brady, P.E., is an advisor

in the AISC Steel Solutions Center.
60
on thermal expansion in buildings, determining when potential thermal movement must be addressed, and the design of
expansion joints where required. The report recommends a
maximum allowable building length without the use of an
expansion joint in terms of design temperature change and
building material. Figure 1 was developed considering beam
and column construction, hinged column bases, and heated
interiors. If actual conditions differ from those assumed conditions, a percentage factor is applied to the results obtained
in the figure following these guidelines:
1. If the building will be heated only and will have hinged
column bases, use the allowable length as specified.
2. If the building will be air-conditioned as well as heated,
increase the allowable length by 15% (provided the
environmental control system will run continuously).
3. If the building will be unheated, decrease the allowable length by 33%.
Fig. 1: maximum allowable building length without expansion joints for various design temperature changes.
Where to Locate Expansion Joints

Several locations should be considered when placing an
expansion joint. Locations where differential movement is
likely are prime locations, such as at the connection between
a building addition and the original construction, or where
different materials come together. For example, if steel decking and precast plank abut each other, this is an excellent location for placing expansion joints. Other preferred locations
are areas that feature a change or a turn in geometry, such as
in the reentrant corner of an L-, U- or T-shaped building or
at a setback or bump out in the exterior envelope.
Fig. 2: expansion joint locations based

on building configuration.
Types of Expansion Joints

The best way to account for the effects of thermal expansion and contraction is by incorporating a double line of columns into the structure where the stress release is intended,
essentially creating two separate buildings adjacent to each
other. While this is the most desirable solution, and one

of the best performing options, it is also one of the more
expensive options.
expansion
joint beam
teflon slide
bearing
pad
Direction of
movement
Seat
connection
4. If the building will have fixed column bases, decrease

the allowable length by 13%.
5. If the building will have substantially greater stiffness
against lateral displacement at one end of the plan
dimension, decrease the allowable length by 25%.
When more than one of these design considerations prevails in a building, the percentage factor to be applied should
be the algebraic sum of the adjustment factors of all applicable conditions.
Buildings with a large horizontal dimension will require
expansion joints. There are no exact requirements that state
when expansion joints should be used, but the best practices
use Figure 1 as the guide on the maximum allowable spacing
between joints. Because there is a cost associated with each
expansion joint, the general preference is to use fewer joints
with a larger spacing between joints rather than more joints
with a smaller spacing.
Expansion Joints in Buildings lays out a thorough procedure on how to determine the design temperature change.
Unless more specific site information is available, most engineers assume a range of 50 to 70 F for continuously heated
and air-conditioned buildings. Using that assumption, most
steel, rectangular, framed configuration buildings with symmetrical stiffness can tolerate 600 ft between expansion
joints. This may be reduced based on thermal exposure data
and irregular geometric configurations.
Fig. 3: typical co mponents f or a sl ip sur face j oint at a

bearing connection.
The slip surface joint at a bearing connection is the next

best alternate, and the most common way to allow the differential movement. Note that the use of shear connections with
long slotted holes is not recommended. The bolts tend to saw
into the sides of the holes, locking the joint. Also, long slots
allow only limited movement (half the slot width at best; less
if the bolt is not centered when erected) and thermal elongation and contraction usually require more movement capacity. When a bearing pad detail is used, the key to success is
the frictionless bearing surface. The knife plate connections
are typically requiring the load to be transferred through the
bolts, which are already loaded in shear, and if there is any
binding of the bolts on the platedue to spurs, dirt or inclusion of the bolt threadsa cutting action will start to develop
instead of a sliding action. Ultimately, that can lead to loss
of section and potential failure. For these reasons, the bearing style connection and the double column are the preferred
methods for stress release due to thermal loading.
Code Requirements and Commentary
Recommendations
The AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings
(ANSI/AISC 360-10) addresses the topic of expansion and
contraction in Chapter L - Design for Serviceability. Section
L7 states:
The effects of thermal expansion and contraction of a
building shall be considered. Damage to building cladding
can cause water penetration and may lead to corrosion.
ASCE 7-10 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other
Structures covers the topic of expansion and contraction in
Appendix CServiceability Considerations. Section C.4 states:
Dimensional changes in a structure and its elements
due to variations in temperature, relative humidity, or other
effects shall not impair the serviceability of the structure.
Provisions shall be made either to control crack
61
{ {
Additional Information
more information about expansion joints can be found in the
NrC document Expansion Joints in Buildings. the document
is available as a free downloadable PDF and for purchase in
paperback from the National academies Press website, www.
nap.edu, and can be searched for by title.
there is a steeltOOL available at www.steeltools.org called
thermaL, posted by alex tomanovich. this design aid helps

with calculating the maximum allowable building length between
expansion joints, the change of length due to thermal effects,
and the appropriate maximum design temperature change.
aISC Steel Design Guide No. 7, Industrial BuildingsRoofs to
Anchor Rods, includes a small segment on expansion joints.

Design Guide 7 is available as a free download for aISC members, and for a fee for non-members, at www.aisc.org/dg.
the 2005 NaSCC featured a presentation called expansion
Joints: where, when and how, by James Fisher. the full paper
is available as a free download for aISC members through the
aISC website, www.aisc.org, and can be found by searching
for expansion joints proceedings.
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widths or limit cracking by providing

relief joints.
The commentary goes on to discuss the
following, which is a summary (See the
commentaries to the AISC Specification and
ASCE 7 for further information):
There are too many variables when
looking at issues of expansion and contraction to create a simple set of rules that govern design. This is ultimately a serviceability issue that must be left to the judgment
of a qualified engineer. If the components
that are subjected to the movements of
thermal expansion are highly sensitive to
differential displacements, the tolerances
will be much lower when considering maximum elongation values. This may require
the designer to place expansion joints at a
closer spacing than would be provided for
a similar building with less stringent movement requirements. Additionally, there may
be other factors like creep, shrinkage, yielding, or swelling of members that contribute
to the displacements which are allowed for
in the design of expansion joints. The governing design condition may occur during
construction and be less severe when the
structure is enclosed and in operation.
One guideline to consider when designing for expansion is to allow the structure
to move as a whole as much as possible and
to keep the differential movement of components to a minimum. It is also important
to ensure that the design allows for sufficient load reversal to account for the effects
of contraction as well as expansion of components. There may be components of the
expansion or contraction that are the result
of permanent deformations. It is necessary
to account for this type of behavior because
it may require that the allowable slip in a
joint be greater in one direction that the
opposite direction.
In the end, the internal stresses generated by thermal loads or other sources will
find a mechanism for release. If there is not
a well thought out path or design component to control this stress release, an unintended crack will develop somewhere in the
structure. If that is the intended mechanism
for the release of internal stresses, then
designers are advised to provide a mechanism to control the widths of the cracks that
will develop. Without providing expansion
joints or controlling crack widths, the structure will likely suffer the effects of water
infiltration and the secondary effects of corrosion and other adverse conditions.
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sustainability
Let Engineers Be Engineers
By GeOFF weISeNBerGer, LeeD Ga
As the LEED system continues to evolve,

the role of the structural engineer is elevated.
FOR MANy IN ThE construction industry, the LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program
is the face of the green buildings movement, and many tend
to think of it as a static thing. But its not.
As a matter of fact, the next version of the system, LEED
2012, has already been through the first round of public comments. And its worth noting that in the current draft, structural materials have been removed from two very prominent
Materials and Resources credits.
While some engineers believe this diminishes the role of
the structural engineer in sustainable design, AISC disagrees.
In reality, this is an opportunity for the structural engineer to
have a far greater impact without worrying about the specific
details of a point-based system.
For example, the recently completed St. Vincent Mercy
Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio, is a great example of the
positive impact a structural engineer can have on a project.
By substantially reducing material quantities, the designer
not only reduced the cost of the project but also the embodied carbon. And since the design also minimized fabrication
activity, the carbon reduction was even greater (more on this
project later).
Points Taken
So what are the changes in LEED that are creating this
opportunity for engineers? There are three of them:
1. All projects must have a mandatory recycled content
of 10%.
2. Structural materials have been removed from the
Recycled Content credit.
3. They also have been removed from the Regional
Materials credit.
Recycled Content has been a slam-dunk credit for any
Geoff Weisenberger, LEED GA, is AISCs

director of industry sustainability. You can
reach him at weisenberger@aisc.org.
Learn more about steel and sustainability at
www.aisc.org/sustainability.
64
building framed in structural steel, in that all domestically

produced structural steel contains a very high percentage
of recycled content. However, removing structural materials from this credit has multiple benefits. First, the current
version of LEED 2012 includes a prerequisite mandating a
minimum recycled content of 10% for structural materials;
the current version of LEED gives a point for this. In other
words, a minimum recycled content has been elevated to a
requirement and not simply a credit to be achieved.
Second, coupling a mandatory recycled content requirement with the proposal to remove structural materials from
the Recycled Content credit will encourage the use of
recycled non-structural building materials. It ensures that
there are achievable credits for non-structural materials by
not putting them in the same category with structural materials. Putting the two in the same category has in the past
effectively removed any opportunity to encourage the use
of recycled non-structural materials, as these credits were
easily achieved by structural materials in most cases, given
their relatively high percentage of total building materials
weight and cost.
The point has been made that rewarding recycled content credits to non-structural materials might unintentionally provide incentive to use more materials instead of less.
However, because structural and non-structural materials
are treated separately, there is no incentive to use more nonstructural materials to achieve the required recycled percentages for the credit, as adding more materials to meet the
recycled content point requirements would also drive up the
total amount of non-structural materials.
As such, AISC has indicated our support of this change
to USGBC. We also suggested the possibly of increasing the
mandatory minimum to a level higher than the currently
proposed 10%.
The Regional Materials credit has always been a source
of confusion in that it is based on that portion of a material
that is both recovered and manufactured within 500 miles
of a project site. Removing structural materials from this
credit means eliminating concerns over the lack of distinction between cradle-to-grave materials and cradle-to-cradle
materials, the lack of clarity regarding the identification of
the manufacturing site and the lack of consideration of different modes of transportation and equivalent utilization of
lighter materials. This has been particularly confusing when
steel of all types was evaluated. Was the recovery site the
location of scrap generation, scrap collection, scrap processing or where the material would ultimately be recycled at
the end of life (steel is a closed-loop cradle-to-cradle mate-
rial where 98% of structural steel will

be recycled in the future)? Was the site
of final manufacture the mill producing
material (30% of the cost and 5% of the
labor) or the shop fabricating the material
(70% of the cost and 95% of the labor)?
Why wasnt credit provided if rail or water
transportation was used rather than truck
(a significant amount of steel is shipped
by rail and barge, which is four times as
energy-efficient as trucking)? And how do
you compare the transportation impacts of
a material if significantly less of the material is required compared to an alternative material? AISC is supportive of the
removal of structural materials from the
regional credit and indicated as such during the public comment period.
Removing the Engineer?
Again, there are those who feel these
changes effectively remove structural
engineers from the equation or marginalize their contributions to the sustainability of a structure. Much to the contrary,
by focusing this credit on non-structural
components of the building, the structural
engineer is encouraged to move away from
seeing sustainability as merely a material specification exercise to seeing it as a
design optimization process, regardless of
structural material used.
AISCs recent LCA study comparing
a concrete building with a steel building indicates that the environmental and
energy impacts based on a structural framing systems primary material typically fall
into a relatively narrow range, varying by
only about 10%, which is considered to be
a wash in such comparisons (see And the
Winner is in the August issue of MSC,
available online at www.modernsteel.
com/backissues). At times steel framing
systems may outperform concrete framing
systems, and at other times concrete may
outperform structural steel systems. But in
nearly every case and impact category, the
difference between the impacts of the two
materials is relatively small.
On the contrary, the savings on the St.
Vincent Mercy Medical Center were big:
a 14% reduction in cost, a 15% reduction
in material quantity and a 25% reduction
in the embodied carbon of the structural
system. While not diminishing the value
of recycled content or regional manufacturing, these savingswhich were designdriven and based on the decision to go with
integrated design process instead of a traditional design-bid-build construction meth-
odologyare far more significant than the

savings associated with the mere selection
of a framing material based on those two
parameters.
The current draft of LEED 2012
addresses this with the inclusion of an Integrated Process credit. The proposed new
credit encourages collaboration among all
of the disciplines involved in the project
and lists a material LCA as one of several
analytical options that can be performed by
the design team.
Above and Beyond
In other words, as the green buildings
movement has in some ways evolved from
LEED, LEED is maintaining its continued
importance in the movement by evolving
itself. One major, long-term complaint of
LEED is that its all about chasing points.
In the case of structural materials, the proposed version of LEED 2012 provides the
opportunity for structural engineers to
move beyond merely having the opportunity to add to the total number of credits
a project can achieve by simply choosing
materials. Rather, structural engineers will

be able to focus their skills, attention and
sustainable design decisions within a truly
sustainable, collaborative design process
and see their contribution recognized and
rewarded.
Keep in mind that the current version
of LEED (2009) is still being used, and its
possible these changes might not make it
into the final version of LEED 2012. But
they are being seriously considered, a sign
that the U.S. Green Building Council (the
creator of LEED) is clearly devoted to continually improving its system while at the
same time improving the environmental
aspects of the buildings that use it.
To see the current draft of LEED 2012 and its
schedule (the second public comment period will
take place between July 1 and August 15), go
to www.usgbc.org, click the LEED drop-down
menu, select LEED Rating Systems, and on
the resulting page click LEED Rating System
Development.
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65
quality corner
The Only Constant Is Change
By ZaNe KeNIStON
Why document and data control procedures need to be

dynamic within your organization.
ChANgE IS A CONSTANT in our lives. Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher, is commonly credited with saying,
The only constant is change, and change seems to come at
an incredible speed nowadays.
When was the last time you changed something, or anything? Was it a minute ago, or earlier today? And was it tangible, like an article of clothing, or intangible, like your goals
for the year? Some things definitely require change while
others, such as the economy, have little or no ability to be
changed by us. Yet, there are many things that we can control and change, as the need occurs. The key to controlling
this constant is to know why something needs changing,
when to make that change, and how to do it effectively.
It is this selectable, controlled change we will address
in this article. In particular, we will consider the document
and data control process within a fabricators quality management system (QMS). Because change or continual improvement is vital to a healthy QMS, AISC addresses this
within its certification requirements. For one example, see
Section 8Document and Data Control within the Certification Standard for Steel Building Structures, available as a free
download at www.aisc.org/certupdates.
This article will be limited to quality manuals, written
procedures, and forms. Although not within the scope of this
articles discussion, we will use shop and erection drawings
as an example to assist our understanding of this process.
Lets consider three factors:
Why documents and data must change?
When to initiate such changes?
How to control change to our documents?
Zane R. Keniston is the owner of Keniston

Technical Services, Belmont, N.Y. He is an
ASQ Certified Quality Auditor and an
AWS Certified Welding Inspector. He can
be reached at zrkcqa@verizon.net.
Why Change?
First, why do documents and data change? Time is probably the primary driving force. With documents, the passing
of time includes the introduction of new computer software,
improved communication and fabrication processes, new
building code and specification criteria, and a plethora of
other advances that can quickly make obsolete even the best
of our documents. Naturally then, it is necessary to update
and revise the documents that we are using to control particular processes within our QMS.
Lets use shop drawings as an example. Why is a shop
drawing revised? Typically there is a change made to some
aspect of the project. The approval process results in Revise
as Noted or Revise and Resubmit mark-ups, then field dimensions are collected and necessitate revisions to the shop
or erection drawings. Then come change orders. Shop drawing revisions for the most part are straightforward.
The reasons for maintaining good records of shop drawings and their revisions are highlighted in Chapter 8 of the
AISC/NISD Detailing for Steel Construction 2nd Edition under the subheading Maintenance of Records. On page 8-3
it states, Good records provide documentation of revisions
and other events, aid in the determination or justification of
extras and back-charges, and furnish supporting data in the
unpleasant event of litigation. Without a doubt, fabricating
off of an outdated set of shop drawings is one of lifes harder
lessons that some of us have unfortunately learned.
Now, although a written procedure or form may not appear to have the glamour and immediate impact that a revised shop drawing does, over time an out-of-date procedure
or form could prove just as costly as fabricating out-of-date
shop drawings. When a procedure or form does not provide
the direction necessary to perform the fabrication or erection according to contract or code requirements, costs will
predictably increase.
As an example, a complex protective coating inspection
form may not include sufficient supporting data to protect
the fabricator in the event there is an in-service failure of
the coating. Or, a calibration procedure may fail to address
the code-required frequency for welding machine calibration thereby resulting in disputed welding performance by a
third-party inspector. The possibilities are endless. The point
is that written procedures and forms are subject to revisions
Quality Corner is a monthly feature that covers topics ranging from how to specify a certified company to how long it takes to
become a certified company. If you are interested in browsing our electronic archive, please visit www.aisc.org/QualityCorner.
66
and those revisions can have as much, if not more, impact on the
bottom line as a set of shop or erection drawings.
When to Initiate Change
To help close the gap between recognizing that change needs
to occur and actually making the necessary changes, lets next discuss when to initiate a document revision. As an example, revisions to shop drawings are dynamic in nature. Once a revision is
made, the next step is to determine where the shop drawing is in
the fabrication process. Has it been released to the shop or field?
If so, who is responsible for retrieving the old sets and delivering
the latest revisions? And, are you positive all the old revisions are
out of the shop? All of this happens within a short period of time
because of the risk involved.
Revising a written procedure or form, however, may not appear as dynamic as revising a shop drawing. In fact, revisions to
procedures and forms are usually more lethargic in nature, perhaps because no one actually knows when and how to revise a
procedure. So, how can you simplify the revision process for a
written procedure or form? Simply using a Plan, Do, Check, Act
method can be helpful. (See Figure 1.)
Ineffective procedures and forms are similar to a shop or erection
drawing that contain useless information, so they should be reviewed
at regular intervals to determine their effectiveness. If a procedure or
form is not adding value to the QMS, then what is it doing? Make
sure that your procedures add value, rather than take it away.
Fig. 1: the Plan, Do, Check, act method
For example, a fabricator had several forms that are generated

by certain written procedures. A review of several completed forms
revealed that certain columns were consistently left blank from one
job to the next. When the user of the form was asked about these
blank areas, the answer was, We never use that. What would you
conclude? Either the data in that column were originally considered important, but are no longer necessary; or that perhaps the
user has not received sufficient training to appreciate the importance of the information and is thus failing to capture it.
how to Control Change
What control is needed for revising forms and procedures?
Unless you clearly address this question, there may exist multiple
67
usually near the title block, where the revision may be noted as letter or number,
depending on the fabricators detailing
standard. Many times that revision letter or number is placed inside a triangle
(which resembles the Greek delta, symbolizing change) next to the revised dimen-
Bluebeam Software
procedures trying to define one process,

or incongruent forms that add no value
to your QMS. Always consider two steps
when it comes to performing revision control: responsibility and revision method.
Most shop drawings contain a revision
box somewhere on the physical drawing,
68
Fig. 2: revisions on a drawing typically are identified with the revision number and clouding
around the most recent changes.
sion, piece mark, bill of material item, etc.

In some cases, the detailer will cloud the
revision on the drawing, thus clearly identifying what was revised. (See the example
in Figure 2.) The revised drawings are then
checked for accuracy by someone other
than the detailer.
An effective document and data control
procedure will attempt to achieve a similar
level of control over written procedures
and forms. The procedure will identify:
A responsible person to review the effectiveness of procedures and forms.
The individuals who will review effectiveness of suggested revisions.
The method to indicate revisions to
procedures and forms.
The individual responsible to ensure
the latest revisions are in use and effective.
Give attention to the third bullet point. A
method for revising documents should produce the same effect as the detailers method
for revising shop drawings. It should call
attention to the fact that the drawing was
revised and indicate what was revised. Most
document control procedures require that
a revision log and/or revision number or
letter be applied to the procedure or form.
This will clearly indicate that the procedure
was revised. But how can you indicate what
within that procedure was revised? A very
simple and effective method employed by
the American Welding Society notes that
changes to text from one edition to the next
are indicated by underlining. This makes
it extremely easy to quickly identify what
changed from one edition to the next. It
could be that easy with your procedures and
forms as well. Otherwise, even if a procedure is issued, users may not be inclined to
dig through the text to find what changed
and how it affects them.
The above suggestions and guidance
probably sound simple, and the truth is
they are. I have given this same advice to
multiple fabricators and erectors in our industry and have seen it work successfully
time and time again.
So, do not cringe when it comes time
to revise your quality manual, procedures,
and formsjust ask and understand the
why, the when, and the how. Take full advantage and always consider it an opportunity to improve your overall processes,
add value to your operations, reduce your
clients risks, and control change as it happens. After all, no one has proved Heraclitus wrong in 2,500 years.
Have you seen

what we do?
September 23, 2011
www.SteelDay.org
Follow us on
@SteelDay
Todays structural steel industry is a modern, efficient business that uses

some of the most advanced and efficient technologies, tools, and processes
available. Steel is the most recycled material on the planet, and in terms of
environmental friendliness there is no greener building material out there.
SteelDay is an annual event hosted by the American
Institute of Steel Construction, its members and
partners. Plan your SteelDay visits and see firsthand
why it makes sense to build with steel.
Theres always a solution in steel. Now you know where to find it.
American Institute of Steel Construction
One East Wacker Drive, Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60601
312.670.2400
www.aisc.org
new products
Each month MSCs product section features items from all areas of the steel construction
industry. In general, these products have been introduced within the past six months. If youre looking for a specific product,
visit mSCs online product directory at www.modernsteel.com/products. you can browse by product category or search on
any term to help find the products you need, fast.
Steel Beam Assembler

Zeman, an austrian-based mechanical engineering and
steel construction company that designs, fabricates and
constructs structural steel projects in various parts of the
world, is showing its Steel Beam assembler at the 2011
NaSCC: The Steel Conference in may. This fully automated
beam line uses robot technology to assemble and weld
base plates, stiffeners, angles, joints and splice plates, etc.
Robots directly controlled from the design department handle all positioning, assembly and welding, typically saving
up to 85% of the time ordinarily required for such tasks. The
company also will display its SIN beam-machine for fully
automated production of corrugated web beams, which
offers extremely economical solutions for steel supporting
frameworks with larger spans.
For more information, go to www.zebau.com or visit booth 843
at the 2011 NASCC: The Steel Conference.
Tool for Modeling Joists

Vulcraft will unveil its new tool for
detailed modeling of the firms
joist products in Tekla and SDS/2 in
Pittsburgh at the 2011 NaSCC: The
Steel Conference.
For more information, go to www.
vulcraft.com, or visit booth 1207
at the 2011 NASCC: The Steel
Conference for a demonstration.
Vests to Keep You Cool

allegro Industries offers a comprehensive line of personal cooling products to keep
you comfortable and productive while work in hot environments, including cooling
vests in eight different models. The Vortex Cooling Vest can be adjusted to provide
warm or cool air; the air Cooling Vest and Flame Retardant Vortex Cooling Vest can
be connected to any clean compressed air source and may be worn under protective clothing; the Standard Vest for Cooling Inserts are designed to be worn under
Hazmat suits or other protective clothing; the Standard Cooling Vest and Economy
Poncho Cooling Vest (shown) may be soaked in cold water to provide all-day comfort. all vests are durable, breathable, lightweight, and available in a variety of safety
colors. For ultimate protection Flame/Heat Retardant vests are available in both the
Standard Vest for Cooling Inserts version and the Standard Cooling Vest style. The
company also offers a variety of other personal safety products.
For more information, visit www.allegrosafety.com or call 800.622.3530.
all products submitted are considered for publication, and we encourage submittals related to all segments of the steel industry: engineering, detailing, fabrication, and erection. Submit product information via email to Tom Klemens (klemens@modernsteel.com). To be included in MSCs online
products directory, contact Louis Gurthet (gurthet@modernsteel.com).
70
2011
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Join more than 3,500 design and construction

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NASCC: The Steel Conference is the premier educational event

for structural engineers, fabricators, erectors, and detailers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER VISIT
www.aisc.org/nascc
COUNT ENDS
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Wonder whats happening at

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Scott Melnick, AISC vice president
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talks about the upcoming NASCC,
as well as other subjects.
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Peddinghaus ABCM-1250 3-Torch CNC Beam Burning/Coping Machine,
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Amtek BC4048 (Ocean Liberator) Oxy Fuel Beam Coper, 2005 #20557
Peddinghaus FPB 1500/3E CNC Plate Punch w/ Plasma Cutting Torch,
Maximum Plate Width 60, New 1998 #17634
Ficep 1001-D CNC Beam Drill (1) Spindle, 40 x 40 Maximum Beam,
50 Maximum Length, Fanuc CNC, Thru-Spindle Coolant, New 2003 #19265
Peddinghaus 38/18 Twin Column Band Saw, New 1990 #18286
Peddinghaus 44/19 Twin Column Band Saw, New 2000 #18287
170 Ton Peddinghaus F1170B CNC Plate Punch, New 2005, 2 Available #19658
Peddinghaus AFCPS-623L 6 x 6 x 1/2, CNC Angle Line, 1998, 2 Available #19900
Peddinghaus FDB 1500/3E CNC Plate Drill w/Oxy/Plasma Torches, 1998 #17696
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structural & misc. steel Fabrication

our organization has been recruiting for the structural and misc. steel
Fabricating industry for over 20 years. current positions include:
Project Manager
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e-mail: rstauffer@unitedemployment.com www.unitedemployment.com
advertise Your Job openings in msc!

MSC employment ads also appear online!
employment
recruiter in structural miscellaneous

steel Fabrication
ProCounsel, a member of AISC, can market your skills
and achievements (without identifying you) to any city
or state in the United States. We communicate with
over 3,000 steel fabricators nationwide. The employer
pays the employment fee and the interviewing and
relocation expenses. If youve been thinking of making
a change, now is the time to do it. Our target, for you, is
the right job, in the right location, at the right money.
Buzz Taylor
www.modernsteel.com/classifieds.php.
procounsel
contact: lou Gurthet at 231.228.2274
toll free: 866-289-7833 or 214-741-3014

Fax: 214-741-3019
mailbox@procounsel.net
(Please note that these ads no longer appear at www.aisc.org.)
or gurthet@modernsteel.com
WanteD
Looking for something from an old issue of

Modern Steel Construction?
All of the issues from MSCs first 50 years are now
available as free PDF downloads at
www.modernsteel.com/backissues.
Mid America Steel, Inc.,
located in Fargo ND, a 105 year old steel fabricator, is in the process of hiring a replacement for their retiring President/CEO.
This individual must have experience in the steel fabrication industry, preferably
in administration, sales, and production, with formal education in business or
engineering preferred. With two locations in North Dakota, we offer a generous
salary, performance based bonus and other company paid benefits.
Please send resume to: Mid America Steel Inc, Attn: John Simonson,
92 NP Avenue, Fargo, ND 58102, or email jsimo@midamsteel.com.
All inquiries will be kept confidential.
Visit steelTOOLS.org
Join the conversation at AISCs new
file-sharing, information-sharing website.
Here are just a few of the FREE resources now available:
More than 160 steelTOOLS utilities available for downloading
Discussion blogs where your can connect and share ideas with
your peers
Files posted by your peers in special interest libraries, including:
A Pocket Reference to W Shapes by Depth,
then Flange Width
Welding Capacity Calculator
Moments, Shears and Reactions for Continuous Bridges
Video: Bridge Erection at the SeaTac Airport
Got Questions? Got Answers?
Participate with us at steelTOOLS.org.
To advertise, call 231.228.2274 or e-mail gurthet@modernsteel.com.
MODELER/DETAILER
Structural Steel modeler/detailer with a minimum
of 5 years SDS II experience.
The Steel Detailers, Inc. located in Seminole, Florida
Please email resumes to info@tsd-usa.com
check out aiscs new Podcasts
PODCASTS
Brought to you by AISC Continuing Education
www.aisc.org/podcasts
structural engineers
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We are a niche recruiter that specializes in matching great structural
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73
people to know
Its All About the Process
After plunging into kayaking, Ken Stelter now is helping
show others the way to go.
KEN STELTER hAS AN AFFINITy for figuring out
Stelter applying the fiberglass to the deck of his

cedar strip kayak. To see
more photos, visit www.
modernsteel.com/photos.
74
how things work, and then improving them. A native of

northern Illinois, Stelter began his career in the 1970s as an
electronics technician with industrial control system provider Modcomp. After five years at the companys Florida
headquarters, he returned to the Midwest in field service
with clients including both National Steel and U.S. Steel. He
began taking some college classes in programming, and soon
National Steel offered him a position at its 1950s-vintage
Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind.
The plant was well into the process of upgrading to
Modcomp mini-computer-based controls, so in hiring Stelter,
they were bringing an expert in-house. They knew me and
were willing to take me on as a programmer in the process
control department, Stelter said. It was a natural fit.
Today he is a process engineer at the Midwest plant, now
owned by U.S. Steel, and much of that same control equipment is still in service. Although Stelter spends some time
on troubleshooting and repair, as much or more is spent on
continuous improvement, trying to make what we do a little
better, a little more efficient, a little easier for the operator.
Along the way, Stelter reconnected with his Midwestern
roots and established his own family. And thats when the
fun began.
On a camping trip about seven years ago my daughter
and I rented these little plastic sit-on-tops. It was just on a
lark, but I really enjoyed it. Soon he decided to try his hand
at building a kayak of his own and ordered a stitch-and-glue
kit for a 17-ft sea kayak. Building it was about a six-week
project, Stelter said. Then I just brought it to the local lake,
threw it in, and started paddling.
Next he decided to try a cedar strip kayak. The entire
boat is built up of -in. strips of western red cedar all glued
together over a form and the whole thing is covered with
fiberglass. It took about three
years, but I enjoyed the process of building it as much as
anything.
Then in 2008 Stelter
saw a flyer for an upcoming
race in Michigan City and
decided to investigate. The
guy who was organizing the
Stelter on a brief maiden voyage in his cedar strip kayak,

one day before the start of the Burnham marquette Water
Trail Expedition in June 2009.
race said he also was starting a club. I said, Count me in!

That organization, the Northwest Indiana Paddling
Association, now has more than 300 members. In addition to
paddling together, members go into creeks and clear out tree
falls, opening them up to be available for paddlers.
The group also is a founding member of the Lake
Michigan Water Trail Association, which is working to
develop safe public access around the lake to complement the
existing Lake Michigan Circle Tour for cars. Covering 1,100
miles, the water trail will link access sites around the shoreline, and create signage for well-defined, safe public access.
The project got a boost from the two-day Burnham
Marquette Water Trail Expedition in June 2009. Stelter and
other kayakers paddled along the shoreline from Chicagos
12th Street Beach to Michigan City, Ind.
We had 30 people kayaking at times, Stelter said. The
group made scheduled stops about every six miles and often
was greeted by local officials. We had press coverage from
almost every newspaper in the region, and some great things
happened. For example, some lakefront towns that previously had been off limits to paddlers have become kayakfriendly. Long Beach, near Michigan City, is now creating a
public access point geared specifically toward kayakers.
Another example is at Indiana Dunes State Park. The
park has about five miles of beautiful, sandy beaches and
dunes, Stelter said, but the area was off limits to landing boats of any kind, including kayaks and canoes. That
changed after the 2009 expedition. Today the beach has a
special landing zone for kayaks.
The first segment of the water trail, which goes from
downtown Chicago and to New Buffalo, Mich., is complete
and recognition from the National Park Services Rivers,
Trails, and Conservation Program is expected soon. A June 4
celebration is scheduled to highlight the NPS recognition.
For more information visit www.lmwt.org. To learn more
about the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association, visit
www.nwipa.org. And of course you can contact Stelter
through both websites, for which he serves as webmaster.
Intelligent
Structural Design
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Bentleys new Passport Subscriptions for structural engineers
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Contact us to learn more.
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oth #823
2011 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the B Bentley logo, MicroStation, RAM, and STAAD are either registered or unregistered trademarks
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Documentation Center, Bentley
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Architect and other team members and
their design applications such as
AutoCAD, Revit, MicroStation and more.

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MSC

2011 IDEAS Awards

here are two ways structural engineers can

greening Steel Construction

Low-impact facility sets high standard for

Is a Robot in your future?

as various machine control technologies

NEWS & EVENTS

Merit Awardgreater than $75 Million

Expansion Joint Considerations for

guidelines for dealing with dimensional

Let Engineers Be Engineers

Merit AwardLess than $15 Million

as the LEED system continues to evolve,

National AwardLess than $15 Million

The Only Constant Is Change

Why document and data control

Its All About the process

presidential Award of Excellence in Engineering

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION may 2011

Winners Choose Chicago Metal to Curve Steel

2003 IDEAS2 National Winner 300 tons of

2002 EAE Merit Award 400 tons of 16 inch pipe

2004 EAE National Winner 310 tons of beams

2007 NSBA Special Purpose Prize Bridge Award

2005 EAE Merit Award 570

2007 IDEAS2 National Winner 400 tons of

To help make your next project a winner, call us.

Chicago, IL Kansas City, MO www.cmrp.com msc@cmrp.com

1 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 700

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION may 2011

and some during formal networking events. The

EDItor & PubLIShEr

Address Changes and

Smarter models. Diverse solutions.

Weve built our business over the last 30 years by listening to

Copyright 2011 Design Data. All rights reserved.

Elliptical hollow Sections

AISC 360-05 currently does not address the design of

Are high-strength bolts, nuts and washers required to be

Ceramic weld Backing

Can I use a ceramic backing material for complete-jointpenetration groove welds?

Strength of pJp groove welds

Is it possible to use the 13th Edition AISC Steel Construction

weld Intersection fatigue Category

Use of finger Shims

Are finger shims allowed in snug-tightened and pretensioned

plugging weep hole in galvanized hSS

When exposed HSS members are galvanized, is there an AISC

Are there any industry standards or accepted industry

We have a welded plate girder that has a bottom flange with a

On page 18 of AISC Steel Design Guide No. 4, 2nd Edition,

Beam elevations are measured relative to the upper finished

Minimum Number of Bolts

We were told that a minimum of two bolts per connection

Column Base fix

We have been contacted by a local fabricator to provide a fix

Special Inspection and AISC Certification

When a steel fabricator has an AISC Certification indicating

10 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION may 2011

one East Wacker Dr., Suite 700

Which of the following topics is new in Chapter b in