Seattle’s new Central Library, still under construction at 1000 Fourth Ave., has been recognized for its innovative use of steel by the British Columbia Region of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). This is the first award the dramatic steel and glass structure has received.
The 362,987-square-foot building, designed by The Office for Metropolitan Architecture of the Netherlands and Seattle-based LMN Architects, is expected to open in spring 2004.
The new building uses 4,644 tons of steel. If you compared the weight of the Statue of Liberty to the weight of the steel in the library, there would be enough steel to make 20 statues.
The CISC gave the library project its Krentz Award, which “honors outstanding engineering and architectural achievements exemplified through functional and expressive use of steel as the primary structural element,” according to Peter Timler, the group’s western regional executive director.
Timler said the library project showed real ingenuity and was an outstanding example of innovation.
CISC recognized the library because of the way the steel supports the building. Conventional steel columns carry the weight of the building. But the innovative design feature lies with the rest of the steel: It supports lateral loads such as wind and earthquake movement and also carries the weight of the exterior “skin” of the building, known as the curtain wall.
Structural engineers were Arup and Magnusson Klemencic Associates. Steel fabricator was Canron West. Steel erector was The Erection Co. Inc. Hoffman Construction Co. is the general contractor/construction manager.
CISC is a national industry organization that represents the structural steel, open web steel joist and steel platework fabricating industries. The group awards annual Steel Design Awards of Excellence; this is the first year the regional award has gone to a project outside of British Columbia. Representatives from three architectural firms and two engineering firms judged the submission. Alexandra Harris, the Library’s capital program director, accepted the award at a ceremony Nov. 20 in Vancouver, B.C. The award is a miniature steel representation of the library structure.
Voters approved the new Central Library in 1998 as part of the $196.4 million “Libraries for All” bond measure. The bond money, which can be used only for construction of libraries, is funding a new central library and new and improved branches. The budget for the library is $165.5 million, which includes $10 million for the Temporary Central Library.
For more information about “Libraries for All,” visit the Library's Web site at www.spl.org.
(For more information, call Caroline Young Ullmann, communications assistant, 206-615-1627.)
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Content modified: 5 December 2003
12/30/2005
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