Tag Archives: curved steel roof structures

“The Seattle Spheres” win Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication

The May 2019 Edition of Modern Steel Magazine features an article on the Seattle Spheres as they won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication! 


Albina Co., Inc. was the steel bender/roller for the Curved Steel Bio-Sphere buildings in Seattle, WA. Albina bent 750,000# and 1,050 pieces rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis. Almost 8 miles of welding work and grinding was avoided because of Albina’s ability to bend a portion of the project. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to the fixtures within 1/32nd of an inch!

Curved Steel Spheres
Curved Steel Spheres Seattle, WA.
Curved Steel Spheres Seattle, WA.

Curved Steel Roof Structure at Rainbow Recreational Center in Oakland, CA.

Albina recently bent 96,000# of steel consisting of 75 pieces of  TS10″ X 6″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B and TS 10″ X 6″ X.625″ WALL A500 GR B bent the hard way for the curved Steel roof structure at the Rainbow Recreation Center in Oakland, CA. The renovation and expansion of the Rainbow Rec Center is a 13.7 million dollar project expected to be completed by Spring 2019.

curved steel roof structure rainbow recreational center-1
curved steel roof structure rainbow recreational center-2
curved steel roof structure rainbow recreational center-3

“The Spheres” Given AISC’s 2019 IDEAS2 Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication!

Another Awarding Winning Project in the books for Albina Co., Inc. “The Spheres” have received the AISC 2019 IDEAS2 Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication! Albina bent 750,000# and 1,050 pieces rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis for this project. Almost 8 miles of welding work and grinding was avoided because of Albina’s ability to bend a portion of the project. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to the fixtures within 1/32nd of an inch! Numerous Pacific Northwest businesses collaborated to make The Spheres possible. Way to Go Team & Congratulations!

Amazon Curved Steel Spheres
Curved Steel Spheres

Another IDEAS2 Awarding Winning Project in the Books (Literally)!

Sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction, the Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (IDEAS2) recognizes projects where structural steel has been utilized in an innovative manner. We have been an integral part of many award winning projects, but this year, our curved steel was featured on the award-winning project of the UC Davis Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art.

In honor of this years award winners, the AISC produced a high quality coffee table flip Book of the winners. The UC Davis Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art is featured on pages 39 and 40 Feel free to check out the whole book to see the entire list of winners.

Curved Steel Roof UC Davis

Curved Steel Entry

Curved Steel Roof UC Davis

50,000 Square Foot Permeable Roof

Curved Steel Roof UC Davis

Overview of Curved Roof Structure

Murray Park Amphitheater Rennovations Include Curved Steel Roof Structure

Albina bent 55,000# of wide flange W24 X 76# A992, W30 X 108# A992, W36 X 135# A992, W36 X 170# A992 for the Murray Park Amphitheater in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over a planning period that lasted several years, the city received input from patrons and citizens that focused on the needs and wants for improvements to the amphitheater. The largest improvement to the amphitheater was a curved steel roof over the stage and orchestra pit. “In the summer, we have microburst storms that roll in at around three or four in the afternoon and rain out events,” Sorenson said. “The stage can also get very hot, which limits what you can do in the afternoon. If we had a roof, we wouldn’t have to cancel. It would allow us to keep events running.” One of Albina Co., Inc.’s slogans over the years is “We’ve Got You Covered” and in this instance, we truly did! The wide flange was all bent the hardway to a radii range of approx. 90 ft – 100 ft. and it was all bending to AESS (Architecturally Exposed Structural Steel Standards).

Murray Park Amphitheater Curved Steel Roof Structure

Murray Park Amphitheater Curved Steel Roof

Curved Steel Everywhere you Look in Seattle!

We spent this last weekend in Seattle as we took our son and some friends up to a Mariners game. We had Saturday morning to spend in the city, and everywhere we looked, we stumbled upon projects containing curved steel that we have been a part of! The Jimmy Hendrix Museum, The Spheres and Spiral Staircase at The Spheres, the New Spiral Staircase in the Space Needle, the Canopy at the Seattle Great Wheel, the Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, the pedestrian bridge at the Museum of Flight, and art projects outside of corporate offices. The list goes on! What a true experience to see Brian showing the kids all of the curved steel projects Albina has done over the years! It was a great teaching moment to explain how the entire process works from the beginning of a project to the end and how all the different players work together to accomplish one final product. We were extremely proud to be the steel bender of choice for these amazing projects in the Pacific Northwest. And stay tuned, there are great things happening in the PNW and many more high profile projects coming up!

"The Spheres" at Amazon Curved Steel

"The Spheres" at Amazon Curved Steel

The Seattle Great Wheel Canopy Curved Steel

Curved Steel Art Work

Curved Steel Canopy at “The Village at Medford Center” in Medford, Oregon

We recently completed a project consisting of 82,000# of bent steel for “The Village Medford Center” in Medford, Oregon. The Village is the center of a major environmental and architectural transformation at Medford Center, which is the premier entertainment-oriented shopping and dining experience in Medford, Oregon. Part of the architectural upgrades included a new dynamic sign program featuring an arched entryway with an illuminated pendant pine cone sculpture and a new 80-foot tall architectural tower, that will be visible from the I-5 freeway.

We rolled 24 lengths of Tube Steel 16″ X 8″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B the Hardway to a 42 foot inside radius. All material was bent to AESS standards (without heat)!

We also rolled 16 lengths of Tube Steel 6″ X 6″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B down to as tight as a 27 foot radius.

Curved Tube Steel Canopy at The Village at Medford Center

Curved Tube Steel Canopy at The Village at Medford Center

Curved Tube Steel Canopy at The Village at Medford Center

Curved Steel Roof Structure Creates Key Architectural Feature of “Serenity” Carmel, CA. Home

$11 million Carmel, California ‘Serenity’ house for sale! Back in 2012, Albina bent wide flange W12 x 30#, W12 x 26# and W12 x 50# to help create the amazing exterior of this home. We bent 42 pieces the hardway to various radii as tight as 116 feet. The 2667 square foot home sits atop a cliff in Carmel, in central California. The exterior takes inspiration for its curves from the butterfly. The curved steel of the exterior has a unique effect on the interior spaces, making for interesting corridors and seating areas. I have several images of the project in process below, and I am working on securing the listing images and will post them as soon as I can. Until then, click on the following link to enjoy looking at the stunning images of a Butterfly-Inspired House on the California Coast!

Curved Steel "Serenity" Home in Carmel, California

Curved Steel "Serenity" Home in Carmel, California

Curved Steel "Serenity" Home in Carmel, California

Curved Tube Steel for BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Berkeley

The downtown BART Berkeley (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station is conveniently located close to the University of California campus and to many shops, restaurants, theaters and other attractions, and has valet bike parking. Albina has been involved in several BART projects over the years and this is just the most recent one. We rolled various sizes of tube steel and angle including:

Tube Steel 6″ X 6″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B- all bent to a 32 ft radius.
Tube Steel 6″ X 5″ X .250″ WALL A500 GR B- all bent the hard way to a 22 ft radius. All parts provided by Albina rolled, trimmed to length and notched for fabrication.
Tube Steel 12″ X 8″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B. Bent by Albina the hard way to a 41 ft radius.
Tube Steel 12″ X 6″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B. Bent by Albina the easy way to a 109 ft radius.
Tube Steel 10″ X 6″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B. Bent by Albina the easy way to a 110 ft radius.
2½” X 2½” X ¼” ANGLE T316 S/S. Bent by Albina with the leg out to a 21 ft radius.

Albina produces architecturally designed pedestrian bridges and walk-ways as well as motor vehicle and mass transportation bridges and support systems erected at transportation stations, universities, museums, large businesses, state park, etc.Here are some pictures. Check back for more pictures!

Curved Tube Steel for BART Berkeley Station

Curved Tube Steel for BART Berkeley Station

Curved Tube Steel for BART Berkeley Station

Curved Steel for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Skylights Project

We currently have a job in progress that involves bending tube steel and doing some very complex end coping on the material for some custom skylights at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The coped ends are VERY complex. Every machine shop we contacted to cope these ends and slot these ends all declined. With all of our technical expertise, we figured out how to do the ends in-house. It is the most complex end details we have ever worked with. Albina is bending, trimming, slotting and miter cutting 150 pieces of TS 5″ X 3″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B and TS 4″ X 3″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B per drawings down to a 4’8″ radius. Our customer will do the remainder of the fabrication. Stay tuned for more pictures as we near completion of the job!

Curved Steel for Skylights at Philadelphia Museum of Art-2

Curved Steel for Skylights at Philadelphia Museum of Art-3

Curved Steel for Skylights at Philadelphia Museum of Art-1

Curved Steel for Skylights at Philadelphia Museum of Art-4