Steel: The Latest Architecture and News

The use of steel in architecture is considered as one of the most innovative construction developments in history, allowing architects to create structures in scales they never thought they could. Fast-forward a few centuries, and steel remains as one of the most crucial materials in architecture. But there is a lot more to the material than just tensile strength and durability, some architects were well-aware of steel's potential and transformed it into lighting fixtures, facades, decorative elements, and finishes.

Here are 15 projects where architects looked beyond steel as structural support and explored its diverse possibilities in architecture.

+ 16

+ 71

• Architects

  Estúdio Cláudio Resmini

• Location

  Brasilia, Brazil

• Category

  Houses

• Architects in Charge

  Cláudio Resmini, Bruno Amaral

• Area

  1200.0 m2

• Project Year

  2018

• Photographs

  Evelyn Muller

+ 27

• Architects

  GPA&A

• Location

  Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil

• Category

  Institutional buildings

• Architects in Charge

  Gustavo Penna, Ricardo Gomes Lopes, Norberto Bambozzi, Laura Penna, Priscila Dias de Araújo, Letícia de Paula Carneiro, Vivian Hunnicutt, Alyne Ferreira, Natália Ponciano, Catarina Hermanny

• Landscape

  Junia Lobo Paisagismo

• Constructors

  ENGECITY; EPO Engenharia

• Area

  6855.0 m2

• Project Year

  2010

• Photographs

  Jomar Bragança

+ 22

• Architects

  DT Estudio

• Location

  Moema, Brazil

• Category

  Interior Design

• Authors

  Luis Felipe Bernardini, Marcelo Nunes, Thais Aquino

• Team

  Luis Felipe Bernardini, Marcelo Nunes, Thais Aquino, Pedro Junqueira, Maki Hirai, Henrique Lima

• Area

  380.0 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Fran Parente

+ 41

• Architects

  NV Arquitetura

• Location

  Brazil

• Category

  Houses

• Lead Architects

  Nivia Vittore, Emilia Bagesteiro Riegel

• Project Team

  NV Arquitetura

• Area

  6243.07 ft2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  Lio Simas, Rpdois Imagens

+ 25

• Architects

  Felipe Hess Arquitetos

• Location

  São Paulo, Brazil

• Category

  Houses

• Lead Architect

  Felipe Hess, Federico Concilio, Patricia Sturm

• Area

  780.0 m2

• Project Year

  2018

• Photographs

  Fran Parente

+ 60

• Architects

  F:Poles Arquitetura

• Location

  Brazil

• Category

  Houses

• Lead Architect

  Fernando Poles

• Design Team

  Tiago Martins, Fábio Monteiro, Lauren Muraro Tebet, Eriélisi Ramos, Camila Brandão

• Area

  1090.0 m2

• Project Year

  2015

• Photographs

  Rui Antunes, Fabiana Santa

3D printing itself is no longer a new technology, but that hasn’t stopped researchers and innovators around the world from coming up with new applications and opportunities. Some experiments with new materials have been driven by sustainability concerns and others are simply the result of imagination and creativity. Others have chosen to invest their time utilizing more traditional materials in new ways. Materials, however, are just the beginning. Researchers have developed new processes that allow the creation of objects that were previously impossible to print and, on a larger scale, new building typologies are being tested - including a Mars habitat!

This article was originally published by Metropolis Magazine as "The Skyscraper's Innovative Structure is Changing the Game for Earthquake Design".

The most remarkable thing about 181 Fremont—San Francisco’s third-tallest tower, designed by Heller Manus Architects—is not the penthouse’s asking price ($42 million). Rather, it’s an innovative yet unglamorous structural detail: a viscous damper system that far exceeds California Code earthquake-performance objectives for buildings of 181 Fremont’s class, allowing immediate reoccupation after a seismic event.

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has released images of the MPavilion 2018, designed by Barcelona-based architect Carme Pinós of Estudio Carme Pinós, and situated in Melbourne, Australia. The fifth MPavilion in an ongoing series, the Estudio Carme Pinós design seeks to invite interaction at an intersection between people, design, nature, and the city.

The first Spanish architect to design an MPavilion, Carme Pinós follows on from past MPavilion designers such as OMA in 2017, Studio Mumbai in 2016, and AL_A in 2015.

+ 5

3 World Trade Center, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, has opened for business in Lower Manhattan, New York City. At 1079 feet tall, and 80 floors, the scheme is the fifth-highest in New York, and the penultimate tower to be opened on the World Trade Center site. Construction of the tower saw over 4,000 union workers apply millions of hours.

The scheme forms part of a larger development of the World Trade Center site, including SOM’s One World Trade Center, BIG’s 2 World Trade Center, and a Transportation Hub by Santiago Calatrava.

+ 13

UNStudio, in collaboration with Buro Happold Engineering, has won an international competition for the design of a new bridge spanning the River Danube in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Their scheme will serve as a blueprint for the "Galvani Bridge" connecting South Buda and Csepel, balancing graceful aesthetics with strong performance.

The competition for the bridge was conceived with the goal of decreasing the 600,000-strong daily traffic load on existing bridges across the Danube by 40,000. As well as easing traffic congestion, the bridge is intended to embody a liveable, loveable, healthy image of 21st-century Budapest.

+ 10

New images have been released of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ 3 World Trade Center in Manhattan, in advance of its June 2018 opening. The 1,080-foot-high (330-meter-high) building will be the fifth-tallest in New York City, and will feature the tallest private outdoor terrace in Lower Manhattan.

The scheme forms part of a larger development of the World Trade Center site, including SOM’s One World Trade Center, BIG’s 2 World Trade Center, and a Transportation Hub by Santiago Calatrava.

+ 11

Late last year, we reported on the progress of world’s first 3D printed steel bridge designed by Netherlands-based MX3D. With the design now finalized, the start-up company has announced that the span of the bridge is now complete.

The final round of structural tests is expected to take place this summer, just three years after the project was first announced. After the structural integrity has been tested, the final design will be modified and the completion of the bridge will follow only a few months after. MX3D hopes to showcase the potential of their multi-axis 3D printer during the Dutch Design Week, and the first of its kind bridge is planned to be installed into its final location in a canal in Amsterdam sometime next year.

+ 8

ODA New York has released images of its proposed “Dragon Gate” pavilion for New York’s Chinatown, seeking to act as a symbolic gateway to the famous Manhattan neighborhood. Using modern materials and forms to invoke symbols of traditional Chinese culture, the scheme seeks to capture Chinatown’s remarkable duality: a community of tradition resistant to change, yet one regarded as a uniquely contemporary phenomenon showcasing New York’s inclusive diversity.

Situated on a triangular traffic island at the intersection of Canal, Baxter, and Walker Streets, ODA’s scheme seeks to activate a currently-underused pedestrian space. The Dragon Gate consists of a triangular form adhering to a three-dimensional, gridded structure formed from interwoven, tubular, bronze steel inspired by bamboo scaffolding. As the structure densifies, selected pieces will be painted red to create the illusion of a dragon in mid-flight.

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+ 50

• Architects

  Technical University of Berlin / CODE Chair Construction + Design - Ralf Pasel

• Location

  Av. Santa Cruz, Quillacollo, Bolivia

• Category

  Schools

• Architects in Charge

  Ralf Pasel, Andreas Skambas, Lorena Valdivia, Anna Wortmann

• Design Team

  Arch. Students of Tech. University of Berlin; Jasmin Auda, Sabrina Baschinski, Johannes Belz, Larsen Berg, Svenja Binz, Magdalena Böttcher, Antonia Breckwoldt, Ammon Budde, Vera Burkhardt, Almar de Ruiter, Anja Dotter, Oskar Ellwanger, Simon Finzel, Ellinor Förster, Carolin Friedrich, Paulina Hagen, Olga Herrenbrück, Lisa van Heyden, Anne Hommerich, Tom Jones, Detlev Kerkow, Felizitas Konrad, Bastian Landgraf, Jonathan Lewkowicz, Juri Lux, Annalena Morra, Canan Öztekin, Eyal Michael Perez, Tessa Poth, Charlotte Reh, Benjamin C. Schaad, Hong Mai Tran, Paul Walter, Karol Wojtas, Xiao Xiao.

• Area

  235.0 m2

• Project Year

  2017

• Photographs

  CODE + Johannes Belz