PREFACE

The purpose of this Guide is to provide architects with the tools needed to feel
more comfortable and confident
working with structural steel in building projects. With a greater understanding
of the characteristics and inherent
benefits of structural steel, architects will be prepared to better utilize stee
l as a framing material. Some of
the strengths structural steel offers in building design is high resiliency and
performance under harsh and difficult
conditions, i.e., earthquakes and hurricanes. Steel offers the ability to span g
reat distances with slenderness and
grace. Steel can be shaped to achieve curved forms and goes up quickly to meet t
ough construction schedules
in almost any weather condition. Steel can be easily modified in the future to s
atisfy changing requirements. And
with virtually all structural steel produced in the United States today made fro
m recycled cars and other steel products,
steel offers environmental sustainability for the future.
This Guide was created in response to research gathered by the American Institut
e of Steel Construction's (AISC)
regional engineering staff through focus group meetings with owners, engineers,
architects, construction managers
and contractors throughout the United States. The purpose of this research was t
o determine how steelframed
building projects could be completed more economically and in less time, while s
till maintaining high levels
of quality. To find the regional engineer in your area, visit the AISC website a
t www.aisc.org.
One of the findings of these focus groups was that architects were eager for mor
e knowledge of how to incorporate
structural steel into building design. In response to this need, AISC set out to
create a guidebook for architects
that would provide an understanding of the structural systems, material properti
es and design details for
structural steel. To that end industry experts from all fields architects, enginee
rs, fabricators and coating specialists
were assembled to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information on design
ing in structural
steel.
Designing with Structural Steel: A Guide for Architects, is presented in five se
ctions. The Ideas Section contains
the booklet, Structural Steel Today, showcasing buildings that incorporate struc
tural steel's unique features to create
truly inspiring architectural designs. Also included in this section is a series
of project profiles.
The Systems Section explains basic concepts in structural steel design. It is in
tended to help the architect communicate
more easily with the structural engineer. This section also presents an in-depth
discussion of the types
of coating systems available for structural steel for instances where coating pr
otection is needed. The section
also provides information of welding and sizing of beams and columns for purpose
s of architectural detailing.
The Details Section provides plan details and commentary on the use of structura
l steel in combination with other
building materials like precast concrete panels, masonry, thin stone veneer pane
ls and limestone. The Materials
Section contains dimensional properties (in both English and metric units), of w
ide-flange shapes, hollow structural
sections and other sections. The Materials Section also provides architects with

additional information needed

for architectural detailing.
The Appendix is divided into three parts. The AISC Code of Standard Practice cov
ers standard communications
through plans, specifications, shop drawings and erection drawings; material, fa
brication, and erection tolerances
and quality requirements; contracts; and requirements for architecturally expose
d steel. Also provided are
answers to common questions about codes, specifications and other standards appl
icable to structural steel. The
final part of this section is an information-source-list of names, addresses, ph
one numbers and website addresses
for industry organizations that can be of service to the building team.
This Guide is meant to be a teaching tool as well as a desk reference on structu
ral steel. It is meant to be a "living
document." To this end it has been published in a three-ring binder to accommoda
te additions and updated
information to be published in the future.
The editors would like to thank all of those who contributed their time, effort
and knowledge in producing a publication
that can be used on a daily basis. We welcome your comments and suggestions for
future additions to
the guidebook.
INTRODUCTION
The Ideas Section is a collection of publications that colorfully illustrate the
many possibilities with structural steel.
The first document, Structural Steel Today, presents a series of projects that t
ake advantage of the inherent benefits
of structural steel as a framing material. Color photos and illustrated details
convey steel's ability to be
shaped into a desired form, cover long spans, allow for modification of an exist
ing structure, erect a structure
under tight time constraints and be recycled.
Following Structural Steel Today are a series of brochures and project profiles
showing structural steel used in
hotels, condominiums, apartments, school dormitories, senior housing and parking
garages. There will be additional
idea-provoking literature in the future that should find a place in this Ideas S
ection.
INTRODUCTION
The Systems Section offers a primer on structural engineering and steel systems
design written especially for the
architect. The purpose of this section is to help architects better understand a
nd communicate with professionals
who are experts in engineering and fabricating structural steel. There are many
intricate systems acting independently
and contingent upon one another in a building. Architects are faced with the uni
que predicament of
designing an entire structure filled with systems, often without having in-depth
knowledge of any one system. They
must rely on the technical competence of engineering specialists to design and p
erfect individual systems, and
then combine them to work in harmony throughout the entire structure.
This section is presented in four parts. Part I covers basic structural engineer
ing concepts such as load flow, thermal
movement, lateral load resisting systems, and accommodation of HVAC systems. It
concludes with an explanation
of design considerations for floor vibration. Part II discusses painting, coatin

g and fire protection technologies.

Part III presents the information needed by architects to determine girder and b
eam sizes for floors and
roofs for detailing purposes. Lastly, Part IV provides an explanation of the pro
cess of bending and shaping structural
members to create aesthetic and elegant curved lines within a building without a
dding weight. The section
concludes with provisions needed for working with steel that is exposed to view,
commonly referred to as architecturally
exposed structural steel or AESS.
PART I
BASIC STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
UNDERSTANDING LOAD FLOW
All structures are subjected to forces that are imposed by gravity, wind and sei
smic events (see Figure 1). The
combination and anticipated severity of these forces will determine the maximum
design force the member can
sustain. The structural engineer will then select a member that meets all of the
strength as well as serviceability
issues such as deflection and/or vibration criteria for any specific project. Th
e following is a brief discussion on
each of the types of loads and how these loads are transferred to the other stru
ctural components.
Gravity Loads
Gravity loads include all forces that are acting in the vertical
plane (see Figure 2). These types of forces are commonly
broken down into dead loads and live loads in a
uniform pounds per square foot loading nomenclature.
Dead loads account for the anticipated weight of objects
that are expected to remain in place permanently. Dead
loads include roofing materials, mechanical equipment,
ceilings, floor finishes, metal decking, floor slabs, structural
materials, cladding, facades and parapets. Live
loads are those loads that are anticipated to be mobile or
transient in nature. Live loads include occupancy loading,
office equipment and furnishings.
The support of gravity loads starts with beams and purlins.
Purlins generally refer to the roof while beams generally
refer to floor members. Beams and purlins support no
other structural members directly. That is to say, these elements
carry vertical loads that are uniform over an area
and transfer the uniform loads into end reactions carried
by girders.
Girders generally support other members, typically beams
and/or purlins, and span column to column or are supported
by other primary structural members. Girders may
support a series of beams or purlins or they may support
other girders. Forces imposed on girders from beams,
purlins, or other girders are most often transferred to the
structural columns. The structural column carries the vertical
loads from all floors and roof areas above to the
foundation elements.