Excel Engineering Wins 2025 CFSEI Award for 10-Story CFS Project in Washington, D.C.

Excel Engineering, Inc., earned the 2025 CFSEI Design Excellence award for the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing at the Banner Lane Apartments in Washington, D.C. Originally named Sursum Corda after the Washington, D.C., neighborhood where it resides, Banner Lane comprises two residential towers. It has a total of 561 units, including 118 the developer designated as affordable housing.

As part of the 2025 CFSEI Awards, Excel Engineering won the Design Excellence — Second Place honor, Residential/Hospitality category, as presented by the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI). Joseph Uchno of SK&A Structural Engineers, submitted the entry to the competition. John Parish of Excel Engineering accepted the award.

Featured image: Cold-formed steel framing rises at the Banner Lane Apartments in Washington, D.C. All photos courtesy of SK&A Structural Engineers except where noted. Project profile courtesy of CFSEI.

Cold-formed steel (CFS) walls on an upper floor take shape on the Banner Lane site.

Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) Framing at Banner Lane

The project covers 726,900 square feet. The structure rests on a shared ground-level podium and two levels of below-grade parking. A thick concrete transfer slab in the podium supports the two towers above. The southwest tower rises nine stories. The southeast rises 10, both built with CFS stud-bearing walls.

The floor system between bearing walls uses a 3″ composite metal deck topped with 2-1/2″ of lightweight concrete. CFS flat strap braces on select metal stud walls resist lateral loads. Brick clads most of the façade, accented with punched windows and metal panels. The design includes a swimming pool, one acre of outdoor public space, fitness areas, yoga and cycling rooms and a greenhouse with a gardening station. Because of the project’s scale, the team engaged two CFS suppliers — one for each tower.

A corridor framed entirely in cold-formed steel (CFS) stretches into the distance, with strap bracing visible along the walls to resist lateral loads.

Both residential towers near completion as cold-formed steel (CFS) framing gives way to the brick façade and window systems of the Banner Lane Apartments.

10 Levels on CFS Studs

A development of this size — with 10 levels resting on CFS metal studs — pushes the material’s practical limits. SK&A collaborated with the project architect, general contractor and CFS suppliers to locate and size the bearing walls so the building performs as intended and meets the project’s construction economy goals. The design uses box studs made of two 600 S 350-97 studs spaced 24″ on center for the heaviest load-bearing walls.

The District of Columbia’s building height restrictions demand tight control of floor-to-floor dimensions and structural depth. CFS studs support a thin floor system without steel beams, enabling 9′-0″ ceilings in the residential units. Designers located the CFS stud-bearing walls within each unit and at demising walls to limit floor spans and, in turn, reduce floor depth.

CFS stud walls and flat strap bracing accelerated the construction pace. The design team built shear wall end members with boxed CFS studs and transitioned some lower-level posts to tube steel. Thru-floor hold-down rods provided continuity between floors. The engineers applied a 4″ x 54 mil flat strap to both sides of the shear wall for maximum bracing.

An aerial view captures the Banner Lane site as crews erect the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing that will support more than 560 residential units.

An architect’s rendering envisions Banner Lane’s finished form — two cold-formed steel (CFS) framed towers offering 561 units and public green space. Photo courtesy of WDG Architecture

Structural steel posts — coordinated to align with the bearing walls below — were used above the roof to support the penthouse.

Innovative Detailing Elevates CFS Design

The team framed the elevator shafts and stair tower walls with CFS studs. This enabled the CFS suppliers to provide all vertical elements above the podium. Engineers added special detailing at stair and elevator perimeters to maintain the required two-hour fire rating. SK&A designed a concrete “ring beam” that traces the shaft perimeters and matches the 5 1/2″ floor system depth.

The southeast tower’s penthouse amenity space required an open plan without bearing walls. To accommodate this design, the engineers used structural steel posts above the roof to support the penthouse beams. To avoid extending these posts down to the podium, the team aligned post locations with bearing walls below. Designers placed stud packs within the bearing walls to carry the penthouse posts and reduce the need for more structural steel.

The Banner Lane Apartments highlight how Excel Engineering pushes the boundaries of cold-formed steel framing. By integrating innovative detailing with disciplined coordination, the team delivered efficient, high-performing residential towers. And those towers meet D.C.’s tight height and design constraints. Their award-winning work underscores CFS’s capacity to achieve both architectural ambition and structural economy in large-scale multifamily construction.

Read the complete story for Excel Engineering’s 2025 CFSEI Design Excellence award here.

Learn more about cold-formed steel framing in multifamily projects.

Cold-formed steel (CFS) framing ascends against the Washington, D.C., skyline — evidence of the material’s strength and efficiency in mid-rise design.

Excel Engineering’s award-winning design at Banner Lane showcases how cold-formed steel (CFS) framing delivers both structural efficiency and architectural ambition within Washington, D.C.’s demanding height and design limits.

Additional Resources

• eBook: Specifying Cold-Formed Steel Framing: A Guide for Architects and Engineers
• 2023 SFIA Awards: 7 Key Learnings about Using Cold-Formed Steel (CFS)
• SFIA Reveals 7 Winners of the 2023 Industry Project Awards in Online Ceremony