Boy how the tide has turned! No longer do I hear, “I don’t want to go to school today!” Instead I hear, “I can’t wait until we get to go back to school!” Kids across the country are gaining a new appreciation for how important it is to physically be able to enter their school buildings to learn. We have been very fortunate to be involved in a number of projects at schools across the nation including custom spiral and circular staircases, curved steel signs, curved steel artwork, curved steel canopies, and more!
Todays Highlight: Curved Steel at our Nation’s Schools & Universities
“We have to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles and work. Or waffles, friends, work. But work has to come third.” Leslie Knope Parks & Recreation Quote Ha!
Todays Highlights: Curved Steel in our Parks & Recreational Facilities
Oh, The Places You’ll Go- “Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!” -Dr. Suess. I know we are all anxiously awaiting the day that we can back out on the roads, in the skies, on the rails, or whatever your preferred form of travel may be. Keep the faith and check out a few of the transportation projects we have been a part of over the years.
“In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams.” -Nigerian Proverb We are choosing build bridges, figuratively and literally. Today’s Infrastructure Highlight: Curved Steel for Bridges
The use of cold formed steel as a construction material dates back into the 1800’s and has been the primary building block for America’s infrastructure. The one word I think of when I hear the word “steel” is “strong” and when we are building with steel, we are building a “Strong America.” This week, I will be highlighting a few of the projects we have been a part of over the years that shows how strong we were, how strong we are, and how strong we will continue to be. Today’s Highlight: Hospitals & Medical Facilities (Special shout out to those on the front lines. We thank you for all of your efforts!)
Albina bent 40,000# of steel for the Freyer-Newman Center, home to Denvers’ Botanical Gardens. Albina bent 60 pieces of W8 X 31# A992 the hard way to a full scale layout. We also bent Tube Steel 8" X 6" X .500" WALL A500 GR B the hard way and MC8 X 20# A36 the hard way. The Freyer - Newman Center is a LEED GOLD building, designed by Denver’s Davis Partnership Architects. The Center will house six classrooms; four galleries; new herbaria for vascular plants, mushrooms and slime molds; laboratories; a new library and a coffee shop, and is slated for completion this spring. Final install pictures coming soon!
Albina provided 109,000# of bent steel for the Eli Lilly San Diego Biotech Center in La Jolla, CA. Eli Lilly doubled the size of its research facility to 300,000 square feet during this project. Materials included: 8″ X 8″ X 5/8″ ANGLE A36- half of the parts rolled leg in and half of the parts rolled leg out. Tube Steel 8″ X 8″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B 8 5/8″ OD X .625″ WALL A500B Wide Flange W16 X 57# A992- Split into WT8 and rolled some parts stem in and rolled some parts stem out. Wide Flange W24 X 103# A992- DOUBLE split to a finished height of 8¼” tall. Albina then rolled some parts stem in and other stem out.
“It is so fun to drop in!” Sherwood Skate Park just opened and it is awesome! Filled with kids every day! Albina was thrilled to be a part of the project bending 4 lengths x 20 ft. Tube Steel 2" X 2" X .188" WALL A500 GR B to a 42 ft radius and a 46 ft radius, as well as 3 lengths x 21 ft.: 2" SCH40 A53B ERW bent to a 12 ft radius and a 5 ft radius, for the lip/rail that runs the perimeter of the park as well as for the benches kids sit and skate on.
“The Spheres”, the recipient of the AISC 2019 IDEAS2 Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication grace the cover of the August Issue of Structure Magazine! The article focuses on the inspiration, the vision and the design of "The Spheres." 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.