Photo courtesy of CEMCO
Los Angeles is one of the world’s most famous cities. It is the home of the rich and famous, Hollywood, over 100 museums and several major sports teams. Los Angeles is also home to several significant cold-formed steel (CFS) framing projects — landmark structures fitting for a city known for its architectural wonders and sustainable construction practices.
Super Bowl LVI’s SoFi Stadium Features Metal Framing
The host of Super Bowl LVI, SoFi Stadium, located in Inglewood, Calif., is an entertainment hub like no other. Certified as the most expensive sports stadium ever built at $5.5 billion, SoFi has earned several accolades including Outstanding Architectural Engineering Project from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
SoFi Stadium was completed in 2020. It’s the world’s first indoor/outdoor stadium and features more than 5,000 tons of cold-formed steel (CFS) framing products and accessories, provided by SFIA member manufacturer, CEMCO.
“Installed by some of the industry’s best framing contractors, CEMCO is proud to contribute to such an incredible Los Angeles landmark,” says the CEMCO website, cemcosteel.com.
- Project: SoFi Stadium
- Architect: HKS Architects, Inc.
- Engineer: Walter P Moore
- General Contractor: Turner/AECOM
- Framing Subcontractor: Raymond and Nevell/ Standard
- Distributor: Westside BM
- Steel Weight: 5,000 tons
Sustainability a Core Feature of Financing Plan for L.A. Mixed-Use Project
A new movement is taking place in how building owners and investors view sustainability. When Lendlease opens a $600 million residential and office complex in Los Angeles, likely in 2025, the site will boast the usual features of sustainable development — solar panels, a pedestrian plaza, a nearby light-rail stop and an all-electric residential tower.
The real estate and construction giant has been issued a sustainable communities environmental assessment by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning for its 461,000-square-foot project at 3401 South La Cienega Blvd., according to Urbanize L.A.
Lendlease plans to build 260 residential units, 227,000 square feet of offices and 2,869 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants (photo rendering).
“But those features are considered commonplace these days,” says The New York Times. “What makes this development more striking is how sustainability isn’t simply an amenity or signifier of corporate responsibility, but a core feature of its financing plan.”
“We were doing sustainable development before there was investor pressure, but now there is investor pressure,” says Sara Neff, head of sustainability for the Americas region at Lendlease.
Lendlease plans to build 260 residential units, 227,000 square feet of offices and 2,869 square feet of ground-floor shops and restaurants on the property.
Why Steel Framing?
Cold-formed steel (CFS), or metal stud framing, is made from structural quality sheet steel formed into C-sections and other shapes by roll forming steel through a series of dies. CFS, a preferred framing material, is:
- Versatile and can be cut to exact lengths
- Dimensionally stable and won’t expand or contract with changes in moisture content
- Lightweight compared to wood and concrete
- Durable and won’t warp, split, crack or spall when exposed to the elements
- Sustainable and 100 percent recyclable
- Highest in strength-to-weight ratio of all structural framing materials, according to the Steel Framing Industry Association
- Non-combustible, a safeguard against fire accidents
Walt Disney Concert Hall Supported by “Armatures of CFS”
Steel has long been a go-to material for architectural framework, according to Architectural Digest. When recognized for its innate beauty and structural integrity, the results can be awe-inspiring.
Frank Gehry and other revered architects, including Zaha Hadid and Moshe Safdie, have challenged the idea of using steel merely to construct a building’s skeleton. Instead, they’ve used steel to create surprisingly fluid structures that allow the material to take center stage.
Many of the curvilinear finishes inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles are shaped and supported by armatures cold-formed steel (CFS) framing.
The Construction Specifier says Frank Gerhy’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles is “a poster child for complex architectural surfaces.”
Many of the curvilinear finishes inside the building are shaped and supported by armatures of CFS members.
The project’s contractor hired a subject matter expert (SME) to engineer framing solutions and create Building Information Modeling (BIM) files to drive CNC fabrication. Modeling helped the various construction trades to communicate over dimensions, stay within the tolerances set for the primary structure and detect clashes with other building elements.
CFS lends itself well to component assembly, making designing and engineering CFS systems compatible with BIM.
Architects and engineers often select cold formed steel (CFS) framing for its ease of installation, durability, design flexibility and cost-effectiveness. CFS studs, joists and track are produced to precise tolerances at any length.
Additional Resources
- The NFL’s New West Coast Headquarters Features 97 Miles of Metal Studs
- eBook: How Cold-Formed Steel Framing Solves Design Challenges for Architects
- Steel Framing Provides Benefits to Investors Seeking Greener Buildings