Resistance to corrosion, durability, and strength. These are the primary characteristics of stainless steel. They make it a favoured material in the construction industry. Stainless steel is available everywhere in the world. It’s vital in modern society. Stainless steel provides strong foundations and frameworks for bridges, roads, rails, and buildings. It’s the armour of automobiles, delivers water and food, and generates and transports energy.
Steel is mostly used in the building and infrastructure industry, for which custom stainless steel by Montanstahl delivers exclusively top-quality structural sections. A popular subsector in the building and construction sector is architecture and architecturally exposed steel (AESS), where Montanstahl’s profiles are used to create steel windows with a thermal barrier and glass facades.
Available on the modern market in the form of bars, tubes, coils, and sheets, stainless steel has produced numerous conspicuous architectural projects, including:
Stainless Steel Beams for Solar Panels in Atacama Desert
In the huge, sun-drenched deserts of Chile, there is an ambitious solar energy project. Its main objective is to capitalise on the plentiful sunlight, converting it into a sustainable power source. For this purpose, a huge field of solar panels was constructed, necessitating a strong and reliable framework to provide support to the sophisticated solar energy technology.
The project includes high-end structural components that withstand the tough desert conditions while offering the necessary durability and stability. To ensure top-quality support for the desert solar project in Chile, various requirements were fulfilled by Montanstahl, including
- 67 tons of IPE profiles with laser welding technology according to the ASTM A1069
- Certain surface finishes, grit blasting and pickling to a 3≈5µ roughness, boosting corrosion resistance
- Stainless steel grade based on the ASTM-A240 standards
- Precision in sharp-edged profile manufacturing and laser weld penetration
Hayward Library’s Sharp Corner Profiles for Steel-Glass Facades
These days, in the aesthetic facades world, true architectural miracles can be easily realised. This is primarily due to structural profiles that over time, have become increasingly special and customised according to the design of the architect.
One of these projects in which Montanstahl has been involved in is the Hayward Library. This project perfectly represents Montanstahl’s ability to adapt to the unique requirements of every customer. The material grade used for this project was stainless steel while execution was laser welded. Other similar projects are:
- EHL Campus Atrium
- University of Greenwich
- EPLF Rolex Learning Centre
Special Stainless Steel Beams for Story Bridge in Brisbane
The Story Bridge in Brisbane had the ill-fated reputation of being the most common place in Australia for suicides. Authorities decided to invest 8.40m AUD in the construction of a stainless steel mesh guard along both pedestrian bridges. Montanstahl supplied the stainless steel mesh guard. The completion of this project was announced in 2013 but was postponed for various cultural heritage and aesthetics, as it’s the largest and longest bridge in Australia.
The final stage of the Story Bridge suicide prevention barriers, the three-metre-high stainless steel walls on both walkways, was completed successfully in 2015. During the construction, various factors were considered, including wind load and weight tolerances, vibration and noise potential, and properly considering the heritage-listed bridge’s visual amenities.
These remarkable architectural stainless steel projects underscore stainless steel’s longevity, strength, and aesthetic flexibility as a material in the building and construction industry. Understanding stainless steel’s potential stretches beyond simply knowing its properties. Stainless steel can be a perfect material for everyday projects, be it a new construction, an office refurbishment, or a home renovation.
