Steel Expedites Training Center Construction
The steel-framed Building B of the U.S. Dept. of State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center received the 2023 ENR MidAtlantic Best Projects Award of Merit in the Government/Public Buildings category.
Situated on the 71-acre National Foreign Affairs Training Center campus in Arlington, Virginia, the 220,000 square foot building provides diplomatic training and learning opportunities. It includes offices, classrooms and a large multipurpose room.
The 220,000 square foot steel-framed Building B of the U.S. Dept. of State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center received the 2023 ENR MidAtlantic Best Projects Award of Merit in the Government/Public Buildings category. Photo Credit Foreign Service Institute
The $103 million project was completed on budget and includes various sustainable features, including a green roof, energy-efficient HVAC system and locally sourced and recycled cold-formed steel (CFS) framing.
CFS was used for the facade, penthouses, roof knee walls and elevator frames. The contractor employed an unconventional technique by sequencing steel erection area by area, rather than the traditional story-by-story method, which expedited the schedule.
Steel Framing Streamlines Vanderbilt University Project
The Broadview, located in midtown Nashville, is the first purpose-built community designed specifically for Vanderbilt University’s graduate and professional students. The 338,000 square-foot steel-framed structure houses 616 students across a range of unit types, including studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units.
J.E. Dunn Construction, the project’s general contractor, streamlined operations by through prefabrication. The combination of a post-tensioned concrete single story and a prefabricated cold-formed steel (CFS) structure enabled the project to meet its tight schedule, ensuring student occupancy by the summer of 2023.
Valerio Dewalt Train, the project’s architect, notes that compared to post-tensioned concrete framing, prefabricated modular CFS framing offers a more cost-effective and accelerated construction option. Additionally, CFS provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Similar to a previous project, Valerio Dewalt Train chose brick as the finishing material due to the prefabricated steel frame’s proven ability to handle the weight of heavy masonry.
Steel Framing Featured in ‘Zero Energy Ready Home’
Pinkard Construction Company was selected to construct the Chrysalis Affordable Housing project in Denver, Colorado. The $20 million steel-framed building will feature seven stories and 70 units of studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units. The superstructure will consist of cold-formed steel (CFS) framing with metal decks and concrete infill.
Once complete, the steel-framed $20 million Chrysalis Affordable Housing project will feature seven stories and 70 units of studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units. Photo Credit Radix Design
The Chrysalis project will be a highly congested infill with close proximity to several hospitals and other healthcare facilities. This zero-lot-line project will require numerous rights-of-way shutdowns, accommodating a variety of ambulance routes and other restrictive site constraints.
The project is being designed as a U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home, representing a new level of performance with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health and durability are met. Construction is expected to take 13 months, with groundbreaking scheduled for November 2024.
Additional Resources
- Update #1: A Steel-Framed Fire Station, Sustainable Steel Homes and a $320M Steel Factory
- Prefabricated Steel Framing Helps U.K. Developer Slash Build-Time by 40%
- Steel-Framed Facade Adds ‘Magical Element’ to Multifamily Project
- Steel Framed Home Built in 3 Days Serves as Prototype for Humanitarian Relief in Armenia