American Institute of Steel Construction

We always love to see what students dream up--it reminds us that the future is in great hands! The 2024 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture/AISC Steel Design Student Competition challenged participants to design a steel innovation center for a riverfront site in St. Louis. Hundreds of students shared remarkable ideas, but this one came out on top! The first prize-winning concept, designed by Russell Tong and Porter Watson of Woodbury University, extends the city’s existing Mural Mile Wall and brings the community together through steel and street art. Get a closer look at The Exploration of Expression with our puzzle of the week at aisc.org/puzzles! Want to see the rest of the winning designs? Read a recap of this year’s Steel Design Student Competition at aisc.org/sdsc-2024.

AISC Innovation Scholar Ashley Thrall, PhD, found her way to structural engineering after reading ‘The Tower and the Bridge,’ a book that explores the art of structures. That inspired her to study with none other than the author himself, Princeton University’s late David Billington. Now a professor at the University of Notre Dame, Thrall is busy inspiring her students and the rest of the industry with her work. In fact, she was part of the team behind the press-brake-formed tub girder concept used in the 2024 Prize Bridge Award-winning State Route 32 bridge over Stony Creek near Indianapolis! Hear Thrall recount her career journey in this month’s Field Notes podcast. Listen to the full interview at aisc.org/fieldnotes, or read an excerpt at aisc.org/fieldnotes-thrall.

Now through the end of the year, your gift to the AISC Education Foundation will go twice as far! For the first time in the Institute’s history, the AISC Board of Directors has authorized a match of up to $50,000 in gifts to the Education Foundation. That means, if you donate by December 31, your gift will have double the impact. As always, gifts are 100% tax deductible, and every penny supports students, educators, and education programs. Learn more and make a donation today at aisc.org/giving.

As a fabricator and architect, Payette’s Parke MacDowell, AIA, knows how to design innovative structures AND how to put them together in the real world. This dual expertise gives him a unique perspective as one of three jurors for the 2025 Forge Prize! Find out how MacDowell embeds his fabrication background into his architectural practice--and the insights that gives him as a judge--at aisc.org/forgeprize. Emerging architects, architecture faculty, and graduate students--you have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to submit your concepts for the 2025 Forge Prize! Sponsored by AISC’s Architecture Center, the Forge Prize challenges emerging designers to dream big and envision how structural steel will help people live, play, and work in the future. Start your submission today at https://lnkd.in/gWbaR_QP.

Steel was the key to quickly, cost-effectively, and sustainably erecting a new hospital bed tower in Oklahoma. Facing a growing demand for more hospital bed space, the Saint Francis Health System worked closely with LEO A DALY and JE Dunn Construction to meet an aggressive construction schedule for the $230 million, eight-story structure in Muskogee, Okla. Once piers were set and anchor rods were ready, AISC full member Bennett Steel Inc erected the steel in just seven months! Read more about how the project team used steel to keep the work on time and on budget at aisc.org/saint-francis. Then assemble a view of the hospital tower's steel framing--more than 85% of which came from recycled materials!--at aisc.org/puzzles.

Interested in creating an organizational culture of belonging? Get actionable strategies from DEI strategist Shani Dellimore Barrax in the archived NASCC: The Steel Conference session, “Priming the Space for Talent Retention through Self-Reflection, Humility and Belonging.” Explore the role of organizational culture, change management, and engagement in talent attraction and retention--free of charge--at aisc.org/priming-the-space.

ICYMI--SpeedCore took the spotlight on America ByDesign: Architecture! Host Mike Chapman sat down with Ron Klemencic of Magnusson Klemencic Associates for a closer look at the game-changing structural system behind Rainier Square in Seattle. You can stream the whole episode now on YouTube! https://lnkd.in/gFxw_Dx6 (Oh, and PS: Later in the episode, you can learn about the literal spotlights that make century-old steel trusses a focal point of New York’s Moynihan Train Hall and learn about the art in yet another IDEAS2 Award-winning project, the Nashville International Airport!)

THURSDAY--Preview new AISC standards that simplify the design of hundreds of routine steel bridges at our 12:30 p.m. Central webinar! Presenter Francesco Russo, PE, PhD, will review the development of these standards, which cover bridges with 1, 2, 3, and 4-spans with individual spans ranging from 80 - 300 ft. He will discuss the many details provided, like bracing and splices, and walk you through how to use the standards to quickly and easily design a variety of steel bridges. Register today at https://lnkd.in/gXTsHj9W.

With his expertise in cutting-edge architecture trends, you could say Architectural Record's Matthew Marani has a finger on the pulse of innovation. Those insights will prove invaluable for him as one of three jurors for the 2025 Forge Prize! Find out more about the unique perspective Marani will use to decide the $15,000 winning Forge Prize design concept at aisc.org/marani-forgeprize. Sponsored by AISC’s Architecture Center, the Forge Prize is all about honoring groundbreaking ideas in structural steel design and elevating the visionary work of emerging architects, architecture faculty, and graduate students. Entries are due in just over a week--that’s November 22! Start yours today at aisc.org/forgeprize.

We love a happy ending! A former test bridge graduated from the lab--and now it has a permanent home in upstate New York. The University at Buffalo custom-built a 40-ft steel bridge outfitted with buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) and found that the bridge remained undamaged through testing--which included more than 100 simulated earthquakes! Rather than scrap or store the bridge after testing ended, the university donated it to the town of Kent, which needed a replacement crossing after storms in 2023 washed out two culvert pipes, the sixth such occurrence in 40 years. Read more about the structure, newly coined the Veteran’s Park Memorial Bridge, at aisc.org/kent-bridge. Assemble this resilient crossing for yourself with our puzzle of the week at aisc.org/puzzles!