Magnificent Metal Monday – The Importance of Rainscreens

Image credit: RAiNA

The rainscreen is the first line of defense against the effects of moisture on the wall detail. According to the Rainscreen Association in North American (RAiNA), “A rainscreen is defined as an assembly applied to an exterior wall which consists of, at minimum, an outer layer, an inner layer, and a cavity between them sufficient for the passive removal of liquid water and water vapor.” Given their importance and their relationship with cladding, fire safety, codes, energy efficiency, and more, METALCON has partnered with RAiNA to not only feature an exclusive installer training workshop at METALCON 2023 but also have its co-founder, Steve Gaynor, present the next METALCON Live! on June 7.

ONLY at METALCON 2023 will you have access to RAiNA’s Rainscreen Assemblies Installer Training featuring a comprehensive all-day session comprised of both a knowledge component and a hands-on component. And on June 7, join Steve during METALCON Live! for “NFPA 285 & Other Fire Considerations,” when he shares information about the exterior wall assembly fire performance code.

METALCON Live! TODAY at 1:00 pm EST – Important Air Leakage Testing Information and a Net Zero Passive House

REGISTER TODAY — EARN 1 AIA LU

In a few hours, join METALCON and the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) as they discuss the importance of air barriers on a building, now being recognized as more than simply saving energy. Industry expert, Adam Ugliuzza, ABAA Director of Sustainable Building Partners and Region Manager for Intertek Building Science Group in York, PA, will review why an air tight building is a key to moisture management in the building envelope, proper operation of mechanical equipment, reduction in dust, odors such as second hand cigarette smoke and cooking smells. He will also cover how it plays an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving the industry to a Net Zero Passive House building.

The question is — How do I know my building is airtight? The answer is — Whole building airtightness testing. Register NOW to learn about this testing.

What’s NEW for METALCON 2023?

Make your plans today to attend the ONLY global event dedicated exclusively to the application of metal in design and construction! Registration is open for METALCON 2023, scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 18 – Friday, Oct. 20, with pre-show workshops beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Check out what’s NEW for 2023, what’s returning, and pricing information (special note: the sooner you register, the more you save).

NEW FOR 2023

METALCON Training Zone – Sponsored by Sherwin-Williams

Led by John Sheridan of Sheridan Metal Resources and his team of experts, the training zone will provide hands-on training featuring demonstrations and education (in both

METALCON Live! THIS Wednesday, 5/17 – Important Air Leakage Testing Information and a Net Zero Passive House

REGISTER TODAY — EARN 1 AIA LU

Join METALCON and the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) as they discuss the importance of air barriers on a building, now being recognized as more than simply saving energy. Industry expert, Adam Ugliuzza, ABAA Director of Sustainable Building Partners and Region Manager for Intertek Building Science Group in York, PA, will review why an air tight building is a key to moisture management in the building envelope, proper operation of mechanical equipment, reduction in dust, odors such as second hand cigarette smoke and cooking smells. He will also cover how it plays an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving the industry to a Net Zero Passive House building.

The question is — How do I know my building is airtight? The answer is — Whole building airtightness testing. Register NOW to learn about this testing.

Magnificent Metal Monday – Repurposed Steel Frame Used for Award Winning Office Project

Photo: Patrick Tang, Take Flyt Imaging, Building Design + Construction

Located in the redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood in Culver City, California, this three-floor office building offers about 25,000 sf of office and amenity spaces, as well as a variety of sustainable and energy-efficient components. Situated in a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub, Del Amo Construction has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St and has been given the top Gold award in the commercial office category by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Magnificent Metal Monday – MRA’s Best Residential Metal Roofing Contest Q1 Winner

As announced by DesignandBuildwithMetal, the Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA) has named a beautiful copper metal re-roofing project, installed by Istueta Roofing and manufactured by Metal Master Shop, as the winner of its Best Metal Roofing Project competition for the first quarter of 2023.

Take the Mid-Year Survey by Shield Wall Media

Shield Wall Media is conducting their mid-year survey and every voice counts. The survey will take you about 5 minutes and will contribute greatly to their “Mid-Year State-of-the-Industry” article, which aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the construction industry.

TAKE THE SURVEY

TAKE THE SURVEY BY MONDAY, MAY 1, AND GET 50% OFF YOUR 2023 METALCON REGISTRATION!

Celebrating MCA’s 40 Years – “Life with MCA Over the Years” by Six Industry Veterans

The Metal Construction Association (MCA) kicked off their 40th anniversary at its Winter Meeting held in January in Clearwater, Florida, and will continue to celebrate throughout the year. MCA’s 40th Anniversary is covered in depth in this month’s issue of Metal Construction News including a look back at the association’s history, a look forward at their newest program “Future Leaders,” a list of service award winners, current MCA Members, and featured here, interviews with six industry veterans to see how “Life with MCA Over the Years” has been.

Magnificent Metal Monday – Aluminum “Main Act” in “Amorphous” Design of New Theatre in China

Credit: Dezeen | Open Architecture

Dezeen reports, “Chinese studio Open Architecture has revealed the visuals for the new Yichang Grand Theatre in China, which will have an amorphous form intended to evoke flowing water.”

The 70,000 square-meter theatre will be located at the Pinghu Peninsula in Hubei Province, at a site where the Yangtze River meets the Huangbai River tributary.

To achieve these design goals, curved, matte anodized aluminum tubes will be used on the building’s outer surface.

Metal Architecture Design Awards – Deadline to Submit is TODAY!

“Show off your “Metal!” Over the years, the MA Design Awards have become the defining award program for the metal construction industry, with some of the most exciting projects seen in the architecture landscape. Don’t miss the opportunity to have your project featured in the 2023 Metal Architecture Design Awards. The deadline to submit is today, April 14.

MBMA Announces 2022 Student Design Competition Award Winners

Winning Design by Bobby Buttrick, Graduate Student at Univ. of Mass; Photo Credit: MBMA

The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) has announced the winners of its second annual Student Design Competition, granting $28,500 in awards to six winners and to their faculty sponsors in an online ceremony. Two of the top winners hail from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst! The competition took place during the 2022 fall semester, with entries due January 6, 2023. This year’s contest for undergraduate and graduate architecture students challenged each participant to create an innovative metal building design for a fire station and department headquarters. 

Congratulations to Bobby Buttrick, who was awarded the top prize of $5,000 and to Pranav Amin for earning first place and $4,000 in the “Graduate Division.” Both are graduate students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and advised by Professor Stephen Schreiber, Chair of the Department of Architecture in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts. 

Magnificent Metal Monday – Metal Featured in AIA 2023 Housing Award Winner

Here And Now
Canyon Drive in Los Angeles, designed by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

Among the winners of this year’s AIA 2023 Housing Awards is Canyon Drive by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects [LOHA]. Congratulations to METALCON exhibitor, ATAS International, for their metal work on this project. As seen in Architect Magazine, “The American Institute of Architects has revealed the winners of its 2023 Housing Awards, honoring 10 projects emblematic of ‘the best in housing design for new construction, renovations and restorations,‘ according to an AIA press release.

WIC Week – Women Making Strides in Construction

Guiomar Obregón, co-founder and chief executive of the Georgia construction firm Precision 2000 (P2K). (Precision 2000) from Washington Post.

Good news for women in construction! While the percentage is still a significantly low number, women in construction made a significant gain last year, now representing a little more than 14% of the construction workforce (Source: Construction Dive). The Washington Post reported in a November 2022 article, “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the share of women in construction has hit a record high. Women surged into the industry starting around 2016, even as the number of men in construction lagged.” Recognizing women in the field is one way to recruit and retain more women into positions in the construction industry. Here’s a rundown of the different ways women are being recognized across the industry.

Magnificent Metal Monday – Women for Women

Women’s Opportunity Center, Rwanda. photography by © Elizabeth Felicella

In celebration of this week’s International Women’s Day and Women in Construction Week, Magnificent Metal Monday travels to Kayonza, Rwanda, to highlight an architectural project designed by acclaimed female-owned Sharon Davis Design and constructed to help empower women. Now reaching a decade, the Sharon Davis Design firm collaborated with the humanitarian organization Women for Women International in 2013 to create the Women’s Opportunity Center (WOC) in order to energize the small community’s subsistence-agriculture economy through female empowerment.

Magnificent Metal Monday – Victorian Home Roof Restoration

In last week’s METALCONLive!, industry expert Todd Miller with Isaiah Industries detailed the importance of project management for metal roof restoration jobs. In today’s Magnificent Metal Monday, let’s take a look at one of the projects completed by a division of Isaiah Industries, Kassel & Irons along with Swita Metal Roofing. After being selected for the job for their reasonable estimate, efficient installation, and careful treatment of the roof and grounds, they beautifully replaced the old wood shake roof with a stylish, durable metal roof on a 19th-century Victorian home in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.

Magnificent Metal Monday — And the Awards Go To…

According to DesignandBuildwithMetal, the Metal Construction Association (MCA) presented its annual Patrick R. Bush Service Award to LeeAnn Slattery and its Larry A. Swaney Award to Scott Kriner in appreciation for their service to the association and the metal construction industry. The winners were announced January 24 during MCA’s 40^th anniversary dinner and celebration, part of MCA’s winter meeting in Clearwater, Florida.

Magnificent Metal Monday – IDEAS² Award Winners

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) has announced its annual Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (IDEAS²) Award winners for 2023. These awards are the industry’s most prestigious design honor, recognizing projects that illustrate the exciting possibilities of building with structural steel and highlighting the many ways steel can help express architectural intent while harnessing its unique advantages for both simple and complex structural systems. This year’s winners are a mix of adaptive reuse and brand-new structures.

AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD., says, “I love how this year’s winners not only use steel to create modern masterpieces but also take full advantage of steel’s unique ability to give a second life to structures that would otherwise be demolished.” Winners are listed below, separated into the categories of “Less than $15 million,” “$15 – $75 million,” “$75 to $200 million,” and “Greater than $200 million.”

METALCON 2023 Call for Presentations – Deadline is Approaching

METALCON 2023 returns to Las Vegas this year and we want YOU to take “center stage” in our nation’s “City of Lights.” We are seeking individuals who want to educate, engage, inspire and present material in ways that will enhance the attendees’ experience. The deadline is approaching to submit your topic in our call for presentations. Topics that address real-world, metal-related opportunities and challenges toward a variety of disciplines of the metal construction community with a special interest in technical aspects, building codes, case studies, and sustainability will be considered.

NEW FOR 2023: All topics submitted will be considered for BOTH in-person education at METALCON 2023 AND for our year-round METALCONLive! programming.

SUBMIT YOUR PRESENTATION BY FEBRUARY 14.

Final Days for Annual Architect and Contractor Surveys – Your Voice Matters

For 37 years and 42 years respectively, Metal Architecture magazine and Metal Construction News have been publishing annual surveys of the industry, looking at the results of prior years and speculating about the upcoming year. The last few years have been unparalleled in terms of the challenges the industry has faced and they want to know if the industry has settled back on its original path or will it continue to face challenges. Please take a few minutes to submit your surveys.

Magnificent Metal Monday – 2023 Forge Prize Finalists

The American Institute of Steel Construction’s (AISC) annual Forge Prize competition celebrates emerging architects who create visionary designs that embrace steel as the primary structural component while exploring ways to increase project speed. AISC recently announced the three finalists, who will each take home $5,000 from the first round, will now have the opportunity to work with a steel fabricator before presenting their final concepts to the judges during a live YouTube event in late March. The winner will take home a $10,000 grand prize and be invited to present before an audience of the industry’s best minds at NASCC: The Steel Conference in April.

CONTECH Update for 2023

Taking a look at what’s new in the world of CONTECH for this year, ConstructionDive reports new releases including new products and updates from eTakeoff, eMod, Topcon, RedTeam and AirBolt, all aimed to help contractors keep construction projects running on time and on budget. In their 2023 outlook, Associate Editor, Matthew Thibault says, “Technology will be a key driver of progress and efficiency in 2023, and experts believe that the benefits are too useful to ignore in such tumultuous times.”

Call for Entries: Construction’s Top Women Leaders 2023

Construction Dive is seeking nominations through February 10 to highlight the industry’s leading women in all sectors. Each year, Construction Dive spotlights dozens of the industry’s top women leaders in their Construction Champions program. With this year’s Women in Construction Week coming up March 5 to 11, they are looking for a new set of pros to highlight. By recognizing those who are paving the way, it is an important step in the ongoing efforts to open doors for women in the construction industry.

Magnificent Metal Monday – Steel Fabrication Pushed to New Heights with Canadian Museum Renovation Project

Photo credit: Elliott Lewis Photography

Designed by Studio Libeskind, the extension to the Royal Ontario Museum, located in downtown Toronto, truly represents the versatility of how the use of metal can bring art and design to life. Now almost five years now since the extension opened, the ROM is considered the largest Museum in Canada and attracts more than a million visitors a year. It’s new name “Michael Lee-Chin Crystal,” is derived from the building’s five intersecting metal-clad volumes, reminiscent of crystals were inspired by the crystalline forms in the Museum’s mineralogy galleries.

METALCONLive! Offers Predictions for 2023 and Beyond

Industry Experts Agree Metal is Well Positioned for 2023 and Beyond

In the first METALCONLive! of the new year, Paul Deffenbaugh, editorial director of Modern Trade Communications, led a discussion with leading industry experts about the state of the metal construction industry and what we can expect this year. According to Jeff Henry, MBA, CAE, executive director of the Metal Construction Association, “The industry is strong, but we still face challenges in 2023.” From an architects standpoint, Brent Schipper, AIA, LEED AP, founding principal of ASK Studio, is not feeling quite as optimistic as they are starting to see their backlogs starting to drop, but feels “the pace of construction in 2023 will become the most critical priority.” Renee Ramsey, director of the Metal Roofing Alliance, shared data from their 2021 study saying, “We saw a 17% market share in the residential reroof market, which is a primary audience for metal roofing. While not a huge increase, we are happy to see it continue to move in an upward pace.”

Brent Schipper, AIA, LEED AP, founding principal, ASK Studio\

Jeff Henry, MBA, CAE, Executive Director, Metal Construction Association

Renee Ramey, Executive Director, Metal Roofing Alliance

2023 State of the Metal Construction Industry LIVE Tomorrow at 1:00 PM – RESERVE YOUR SEAT

In less than 24 hours, join us for the first METALCONLive! of the year!

Get answers to these burning questions about the year ahead —

• Will the packed production schedules continue?
• Are supply chain challenges finally fading?
• What design trends will your clients be demanding and which ones are destined to be yesterday’s news?

Reserve your “seat” now for tomorrow’s METALCONLive! at 1pm EST. Our panel of experts representing every corner of the metal construction industry will share their observations, thoughts, and opinions on where we are now and where we’ll be this time next year.

Industry Experts Will Peer into the 2023 Crystal Ball

In just one week, join us for the first METALCONLive! of the year, next Wednesday, 1/18, LIVE at 1pm EST for “The 2023 State of the Metal Construction Industry” presented by METALCONLive! and Metal Construction News. REGISTER NOW!

Do you want answers to these burning questions about the year ahead?

• Will the packed production schedules continue?
• Are supply chain challenges finally fading?
• What design trends will your clients be demanding and which ones are destined to be yesterday’s news?

If you answered yes to any of them, then reserve your “seat” today for next week’s METALCONLive! on January 18 at 1pm EST. Our panel of experts representing every corner of the metal construction industry will share their observations, thoughts, and opinions on where we are now and where we’ll be this time next year.

Magnificent Metal Monday – A Round Up of the Most Anticipated Projects of 2023 by ArchDaily

As the new year begins, we travel around the world to look at some exciting projects planned to open this year as compiled by ArchDaily, ranging in scale and program, from international airports to sculptural arts galleries or museum expansions. With a mix of cultural and commercial programs, the designs are located across five continents, with many under construction for multiple years. While all of the projects listed are incredible on so many levels, we’ve highlighted few stand-outs as to their use of metal to accomplish the unique design goals of the project.

METALCON 2023 Call for Presentations is OPEN

As METALCON 2023 returns to Las Vegas this year, we invite you to take “center stage” in our nation’s “City of Lights.” METALCON’s Call for Presentations is now open and we are seeking individuals who want to educate, engage, inspire and present material in ways that will enhance the attendees’ experience. We are looking for topics that address real-world, metal-related opportunities and challenges toward a variety of disciplines of the metal construction community with a special interest in technical aspects, building codes, case studies, and sustainability.

NEW FOR 2023: All topics submitted will be considered for BOTH in-person education at METALCON 2023 AND for our year-round METALCON Live! programming.

Outlook for Construction in 2023

According to Construction Dive, “The industry will continue to face labor shortages, high materials costs and other headwinds, but infrastructure will be a bright spot.” Top construction economists say much like in 2022, signals are mixed. In a recent article, they took a look at five key indicators and what they suggest for contractors in the year ahead.

Magnificent Metal Monday – AIA’s Highest Honor Awarded

Photo: John Boehm | Architect Magazine

Congratulations to Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, for being awarded the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, AIA’s highest honor. Barney is the founder of her eponymous Chicago firm and is only the second woman to individually receive the award. The award honors an individual or pair whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.