Material Exchange

Symposium on the future of steel in building constructions

No single material represents Modernism and modern construction as clearly as steel. A material of superlatives with other-worldly strength, able to accomplish what other materials could not, steel is to twentieth century architecture and engineering what
the invention of concrete was to the Ancient Roman times. It allowed us to span distances with far smaller dimensions, with far more precision and intricacy, than was possible with the available material systems at the time. Unlike wood, masonry, and concrete which mainly worked in compression and thus through mass, steel seemed to be able to do a lot with very little. Steel’s durability, ductility, and workability into many forms, from cables and rebars to profiles and sheets, allowed it to be integrated into all stages of construction, often as a means to enhance the performance of other materials. Wherever we look, we see steel in action, from nuts and bolts to formworks and joints. At the same time, its standardized formats predispose it for modular construction
that can be easily disassembled and re-harvested.

However, like many other materials we use, steel has a troublesome ecological footprint. The production technologies are still very energy intensive and the extraction of iron ore as well as other elements used to make the compounds have significant impacts on our environment. Yet its effectiveness and its ability to transform the prop- erties of other material systems—including bio-based ones—makes it difficult to replace. Today, while a lot of research is focused on bio-based materials like timber, less is being done to understand where we can improve with materials such as steel. At
the same time, the potentials are great. In the need to build with resource-consciousness, steel once again becomes instrumental. With steel, a little goes a long way. In the call for reuse and for disassembly, with a renewed focus on joints and modularity, and hybrid construction, steel becomes indispensable. This implied economy of means needs
to be examined from multiple perspectives and across disciplines for a deeper and more holistic understanding of its challenges and opportunities.

Underlying all of these topics, we are interested in the language of steel that is distinct from other materials, a language that gives all steel construction, especially exposed steel systems or joints, a recognizable expression. These constructive aesthetics are not only technical questions but ultimately design questions that affect architectural and engineering disciplines as we move towards more sustainable practices.