7 Reasons to Choose Steel for Municipal Buildings

In the early stages of designing new community centers, fire stations and administration buildings, city planners and architects are forced to make a crucial decision: What building material is best suited for providing the most value, safety and longevity to the public? Increasingly, the answer is steel. Once confined primarily to industrial warehouses and skyscrapers, steel has emerged as a major player in municipal construction. It’s no coincidence its popularity is rising. Steel adds a mix of economic, environmental and structural benefits that other materials like wood or concrete just can’t match.

And this change is representative of the larger movement to develop intelligent, durable, and sustainable public infrastructure. As cities turn to a well-tested source of materials, and plan for the future with an eye toward efficiency in preparation for whatever comes next steel becomes known as a material one can count on. In this post, we discuss the seven primary reasons why steel is so popular in municipal buildings nationwide.

1- Long-Term Cost-Effectiveness

Although the price of materials is a big concern for any building project, the actual cost of a structure is determined over its entire lifecycle. Here's where steel really shows its stuff. Municipal buildings are investments which last decades, steel helps to make the most of that investment by saving thousands over the long term.

Steel buildings are almost maintenance free. Steel doesn’t rot, attract pests such as termites or warp like wood versus costly repairs and maintenance. And with its natural strength and longevity, fewer replacements and structural interventions will be needed over the decades. Leave the surface of modern steel alone and typically its comes coated with layers that prohibit rust and decay allowing it last longer, better still, keep maintenance costs to a minimum.

Energy efficiency is yet another advantage steel brings to the table. Steel buildings can also be designed with high insulation values, ensuring minimal air leakage through the building envelope. This in turn, reduces a public facility's costs for heating and cooling which is usually a substantial operational expense. The lifetime energy savings of these can provide a significant return on investment for that municipal building.

2- Unmatched Durability and Longevity

Our municipal buildings are to be constructed for the ages. They become important nodes for the neighborhood, and may contain vital services that need to be up and running. Steel is an ideal material for racks because of its unsurpassed strength.

Steel is among the highest bearing capacity construction material thanks to its strength-to-weight ratio, offering excellent endurance properties even in the most challenging of conditions. It is email responsive under heavy snow loads (2.5 kN/m²), wind and earthquakes. This resilience is needed in emergency services buildings, such as fire stations and police precincts that need to function during and immediately following natural disasters.

Unlike wood, steel is not organic; it does not rot or splinter, and won’t get nibbled by pests. It also does not absorb moisture, so there is no problem with mold and mildew that can weaken a building and harm its inhabitants. This corrosion resistant quality of steel eliminates the need for replacement or frequent repainting, a problem common with other construction materials.

3- Greater Design Flexibility

The Best City Hall 2020: Modern city halls are more than government offices—they're architectural expressions of a county’s identity and aspirations. Unquestionably, steel affords architects an unprecedented degree of freedom.

Its strength means that steel can cover long distances without the need for interior support columns. You can achieve large, open plan interiors that are perfect for community halls, recreational centres and libraries. Such flexibility enables to conceive versatile, multi-functional spaces that may serve different public requirements.

Steel also offers great potential in application appearance. It is malleable, it can be shaped and used together with other materials such as glass, brick or wood in interesting ways to show the pattern of stunning exterior walls. From wood-clad urban cabins to modern steel-framed office buildings, steel construction is the solid foundation of our built environment and foundational public architecture.

4- A Commitment to Sustainability

With heightened environmental consciousness, sustainable construction is no longer an option for public initiatives. Steel, being highly sustainable for it can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality or durability, is a wise option for eco-responsible communities.

The most recycled material in the world is steel. Upwards of 90% of structural steel in North America is now composed of recycled material, and building end-of-life recycling rates are consistently above 50%, with no degradation caused by recycling. This circular cycle also significantly slashes the need for new raw resources and has a dramatically lower impact on landfill waste.

Opting for steel meanwhile, is more environmentally friendly. Steel production is now much more efficient and steel structures are lighter, requiring less energy to be shipped. Moreover, the energy performance of steel buildings contribute to a decrease in green house gas emissions over the buildings' life. These green credentials can help city projects earn certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

5- Accelerated Speed of Construction

Public projects can be heavy on timelines and budgets. Delays can translate to delayed services and added expense to the taxpayer. Steel construction goes a long way in ensuring that projects do not fall behind schedule as it can reduce the building time by a considerable amount.

A lot of steel elements are made in off-site factory conditions. That is, the foundation is being laid at the very moment that the building itself's frame is being built to stay on it. Once delivered to a site, these parts can be constructed easily and rapidly, even in weather that would grind traditional building to a halt.

The reason for this fast pace is to benefit from the savings potential in reduced labor on site, reduce community impact, and open the new facility as soon as possible. Time is an essential factor in projects with short-band deadlines, like a new school or replacement fire station, the speed of steel construction will be critical.

6- Enhanced Safety and Security

Building occupant safety is the paramount concern for any public building. Steel’s natural characteristics make it one of the safest building materials in use today.

Steel material does not burn and has a high melting point which means it is particularly resilient against fire. Steel buildings that are well designed and protected with fire-resistant materials can last longer during a fire, giving people more time to get out safely and firefighters more time to enter the building.

The reliable performance and uniform strength of steel is also a specific safeguard. Steel is manufactured to very exacting specifications and it gives consistent, reliable performance. This sound structure allows us to take pride in the condition of our public building, knowing that it is capable of holding strong during both daily operation and extreme circumstances so that it may serve those who enter its doors.

7- Adaptability for Future Expansion

The needs of any community are always in flux. If there is a municipal building built today, then it may be changed or enhanced in future. Steel buildings are on a league of their own.

Steel buildings are also readily expandable due to their modular design. New sections or wings are often easier and less disruptive to add than with collections made of concrete or stone. Ponterio also explains that interior spaces are able to be revamped with modest effort, commenting that "even non-load-bearing walls can be repositioned to open up new rooms". This flexibility guarantees a valuable and usable community resource – long responsive to the fluctuations of public need.

The Future is Forged in Steel

There are a number of very good reasons for that, from price and sustainability to security and flexibility in terms of design. Amid ongoing efforts by local officials to find the most long-lasting, cost-effective and sustainable products for their infrastructure project needs, steel is among todays top choices.

When they invest in steel construction, communities are building more than just physical structures—they are investing in durable infrastructure that will deliver value to the public for generations to come. The increasing desire for steel to be used in community projects is evidence of its part in establishing the strong, sustainable communities of tomorrow.