Call for Entries Now Open for 2013 AISC IDEAS2 Awards

(Chicago, IL) – Architectural and engineering firms, general contractors, fabricators and owners are encouraged to enter steel-framed building projects for the 2013 Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (IDEAS2) Awards, sponsored annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction. In existence for more than 70 years, the awards recognize outstanding achievements in engineering and architecture on steel-framed building projects around the country. The award is the highest honor bestowed on building projects by the structural steel industry in the U.S.

Roger E. Ferch, P.E., president of AISC, commented, “Each year, the IDEAS2 Awards recognize and award all members of the project’s team involved with the structural framing system and demonstrate that innovation and creativity can be found on building projects of every size and description. Steel continues to provide excellent solutions for the entire design and construction team, from architects, engineers and developers to fabricators, erectors, and general contractors.”

Each year, the IDEAS2 awards honor National and Merit award winners in three categories, based on constructed value: projects less than $15 million; projects $15 million to $75 million; and projects greater than $75 million. In addition, a Presidential Award of Excellence for structural engineering and architectural expression may be bestowed at the judges’ discretion. Each project is judged by a panel of design and construction industry professionals on its use of structural steel from both an architectural and structural engineering perspective, with an emphasis on: creative solutions to project requirements; design innovation; aesthetic and visual impact of the project; innovative use of architecturally exposed structural steel; technical or architectural advances in the use of the steel; the use of innovative design and construction methods; and sustainable design and construction.

Projects selected for recognition will be announced at the 2013 NASCC: The Steel Conference in St. Louis, which will be held April 17-19. Awards are presented by AISC to the submitting firms and their fellow project team members at the individual project sites during the summer, and all winning projects will be featured in Modern Steel Construction magazine.

To be eligible, projects entered in the competition must have been completed between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012, and a significant portion of the framing system of the project must be wide-flange or hollow structural steel sections. Pedestrian bridges entered in the competition must be an intrinsic part of a building; not stand-alone structures. Any member of the project team may submit a project for consideration, and joint submittals from project teams are encouraged.

For more information about the competition and to submit a project entry, go to www.aisc.org/ideas2.

The American Institute of Steel Construction, headquartered in Chicago, is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry. AISC’s mission is to make structural steel the material of choice by being the leader in structural steel-related technical and market-building activities, including: specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, and market development. AISC has a long tradition of service to the steel construction industry of providing timely and reliable information.