Steel in the News

The Construction Specifications Institute has joined the ConsensusDOCS Coalition, whose mission is the creation of air and balanced construction contracts. CSI joins 27 other leading construction industry associations in supporting the coalition.

A national organization of more than 13,000 volunteers, CSI includes specifiers, architects, engineers, contractors, facility managers, product representatives, manufacturers, owners and others who are experts in the building industry.

ConsensusDOCS offers a catalog of more than 90 contract documents covering all methods of project delivery. For more information, visit www.consensusdocs.org.

William A. Milek, 92, died September 3, 2010. A resident of Glen Ellyn, Ill., Milek joined AISC in 1955 as a district engineer based in his home town of Omaha, Neb. From 1961–1967 he was a research engineer at AISC headquarters, then in New York City. Upon the retirement of T.R. Higgins in 1968, Milek became AISC’s director of engineering and research and later the vice president of engineering. He retired from that position shortly after AISC moved to Chicago in 1983. In 2000, Milek was presented with the AISC Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his many contributions to the institute and the structural steel industry.

Milek is survived by his children John, Tom, Anne and James; two brothers, Robert and David; two grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Visitation is Wednesday afternoon, September 8, at the Blake Lamb Funeral Home in Lisle, Ill., where the funeral will be held on Thursday morning. For more information, click here.

Seattle architect Prentis Hale says he “chose space over expensive things” when he designed a steel-framed home for his family. He also made sure it was environmentally and financially sound, by building on a relatively inexpensive but steeply sloping wooded lot.

Read about the project in a recent Seattle Times article and see pictures by clicking here.

To see more of Hale’s work, visit www.shedbuilt.com.

The new Beekman Tower rises 850 ft., adding a bit of skyline steel to Lower Manhattan.

The stainless steel facade of Frank Gehry’s latest conversation starter is nearing completion, with construction management firm Kreisler Borg Florman estimating an early September end date. Gehry’s envelope-pushing use of stainless steel is well documented, from the muscular whimsy of the Hotel Marques de Riscal to the gargantuan folds of the Bilbao Guggenheim.

In interviews, Gehry has said that the Beekman’s creased facade helps to “humanize the building,” bringing a vibrant, almost organic, quality to the 76-story residential skyscraper.

For background information on the Beekman Tower from the New York Times website, click here.

Meet the MSC contributing web editors

This weekend is the 53rd Mackinac Bridge walk. There is no registration fee to participate, just arrive early for the 7 a.m. start time on Monday, September 6. The walk starts in the Upper Peninsula city of St. Ignace and ends at the south end of the bridge in Mackinaw City. For more information on the bridge walk click here.  

And after finishing the walk, visit the Ironworkers Walk of Fame in Mackinaw City.

Richard Phillips, president of San Angelo, Texas-based Hirschfeld Industries, has joined the American Institute of Steel Construction board of directors. Confirmed during the AISC’s recent quarterly meeting in Chicago, Phillips will serve a three-year term on the board of directors, assisting with the organization’s planning and leadership in the steel construction industry.

Phillips initially joined Hirschfeld in 2004 as chief financial officer and was named president in 2008. As such he is responsible for the management of all operating divisions for the company, which is one of the largest fabricators of steel bridges, structural, industrial and nuclear projects in North America. Phillips also serves as CEO of Martifer-Hirschfeld Energy Systems, a partnership with Oliveira de Frades, Portugal-based Martifer Group to manufacture state-of-the-art wind tower systems, where he manages North American operations and supervising wind tower design, production and shipping.

More information is available on the AISC website, www.aisc.org.

The AISC Fall Seminar Series is coming to a town near you! With more than 20 cities and four different topics there is something for everyone. Earn CEUs/PDHs and receive an early registration discount. Be sure to register by Labor Day (September 6) to take advantage of the $50 discount.

To see a map of the different seminar locations click here.

To learn more about the fall seminar series visit www.aisc.org/seminars

To register now and receive a $50 discount click here.

AceCad Software offers a free webinar on using its freeware viewer, StruWalker, for BIM interoperability. Learn how to:

• Import CIS/2 models from multiple platforms

• Provide complete access to drawings, CNC and model visualization

• Use built-in video editing tools

• Use BIM to advantage in scheduling

The one-hour webinar begins at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, September 9, 2010. To register, click here.

To read AceCad Software’s announcement concerning its new BIM webinar series, click here.

The 2010 Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges (AISC 303-10) is now available. The PDF version can downloaded for free at www.aisc.org/freepubs.

The COSP, which is updated every five years, provides all involved in the design, purchase, fabrication and erection of structural steel with a current and useful framework for a common understanding of acceptable standards when contracting for structural steel.

Some of the most significant changes in this edition of the Code have to do with options for delegating connection design. Click here to read more on the AISC website about what’s new in the 2010 COSP.

The Isaac Middle School Bridge in Phoenix provides an artistic and safe crossing for hundreds of students on a daily basis. Photo by Craig Smith.

This bridge inspired by Native American culture was made to look like macaws in flight. Jacobs Engineering Group along with Stinger Welding created this pedestrian bridge by completely assembling the structure then lifting it into place.

For more on this project and other Steel Bridge News, view the September issue of MSC available next Wednesday, September 1, at www.modernsteel.com.