The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) promotes the use of steel in construction. Their motto is “There’s always a solution in steel.” It is in the public’s interest to identify those projects where steel provides the optimal solution to the question of what material to use. AISC helps provide better, safer and more economical buildings, bridges and other structures framed in structural steel. And, as the architect Jeanne Gang has written, “There is no relevant building whose material choice is immaterial.”
Who then should ensure that the virtues of steel in construction are promoted to the owners of buildings, and to the architects and engineers who design these structures? Well, first and foremost would be AISC whose wide-ranging publications like Modern Steel Construction and Engineering Journal reach tens of thousands of individuals involved in construction.
AISC’s activities include specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, and market development.
AISC also mobilizes their collective audience to bring the message of steel construction to the general public through such nation-wide events as Steel Day. Among others, numerous steel fabricators open the doors of their shops to visitors to learn about steel construction.
A sub-group of AISC is comprised of those companies who specialize in curving steel, Bender/Rollers. These specialty subcontractors contribute to the general promotion of steel by helping architects and engineers transform their round designs to real curved structural steel members. Curved steel often is the driving element of award-winning designs by leading architects like Frank Gehry, Cesar Pelli, Rem Koolhaas, Peter Eisenman, and Renzo Piano. Bender/Rollers can reach out to architects and engineers by offering lunch ‘n’ learn seminars on their capabilities to roll steel thereby contributing to the general promotion of steel in construction.
