In The News

2022 DESIGN AWARDS WINNER – ECOSTEEL (1 of 2 Projects Awarded to EcoSteel).

A metal building system provides security and dignity for an at-risk population

By Paul Deffenbaugh, Editorial Director, Metal Architecture

In October 2018, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a plan to build 1,000 shelter beds by 2020 to help combat the city’s endemic homelessness. A survey conducted by the city in 2019 estimated that there were more than 8,000 individuals experiencing homelessness and approximately 5,180 living unsheltered on any given night. Sheltering that at-risk population was an important, if not dire, initiative.

Problem/Solution

As one of its solutions to the long-term, ongoing homeless issue, the city developed Navigation Centers with the first one opening in March 2015 and the model has evolved to what are now called SAFE Navigation Centers, which provide far more resources than just a shelter, including unique services needed to help them exit homelessness including health care, benefits counseling, mental health care, substance use treatment, employment services and housing assistance.

In January 2021, the Bayview SAFE Navigation Center opened in the shadow of Interstate 280 amidst an industrial district on the bay side with warehouses, concrete yards and lumber yards. For this building, the designers in the city of San Francisco Bureau of Architecture specified a metal building system, which was provided by Ecosteel, Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Joss Hudson, president of Ecosteel suggests that metal buildings are ideal solutions for housing the homeless because you don’t need to finish the interior with drywall, so the backing of insulated metal panels provide the interior wall finish. They can be erected incredibly fast and very inexpensively. In fact, the Bayview center was erected within a month, according to Michael Bullman, AIA, LEED AP, an associate architect in the Office of Charles F. Bloszies, FAIA, San Francisco, which served as the architect of record. “A metal building provides big open spaces, says Bullman. “It’s kind of a big tent that can be subdivided into big dormitory spaces and other spaces pretty easily.”

Scale and Dignity

The 23,000-square-foot shelter provides approximately 200 beds as well as community spaces for residents to gather. “It’s important for there to be a central gathering space,” says Bullman. “Living on the street can be pretty dangerous and residents have a tendency to hide in their rooms. But it’s important to get people reengaged in the community so they needed a space for that.”

Among many details, it is that space that caught the judges’ eyes. “It surprised me,” says judge Rand Elliott, FAIA, president of Rand Elliott Architects, Oklahoma City. “Using metal building parts like they should be used. Taking the parts, rearranging them, using them for what they do best, which is simple volume, structural integrity and that sort of thing and making a space that is friendly. That’s human. This could be a brewery someplace. This could be a great restaurant someplace or any number of things, using a standard kit of parts and raising it to a whole other level. Even the paint color is soothing. It looks like a place you’d hang out with your friends.”

“I’ve never seen anything done like this with a courtyard,” says judge Mark Roddy, FAIA, principal of Mark Roddy Architects, Sacramento, Calif. “It’s a nice use of materials, durable. This building is unapologetic. It’s not pretending that it’s not a metal building.”

Judge Lee Calisti, AIA, principal, Lee CALISTI architecture+design, Greensburg, Pa., expands on that idea. “They didn’t modify it a lot. They didn’t run from what it is and how it normally manifests itself. They just arranged it in a way that the building itself almost becomes recessive to the spaces it creates. It’s a reflection of the users. It says, “We’re real people struggling with real issues and so is the building.’”

Human Scale

The courtyard caught much of the judges’ attention and the way the rooflines folded in to create a more human scale space was especially noteworthy. High walls with shed roofs would have felt restrictive, but the outdoor space, with its string of lights and small walk area for dogs, provides an environment that is respectful and invigorating, yet still secure. “This particular design was very perceptive,” says Bullman. “The enclosed space is protective. Calling it a brewpub space is a good way to think about it.”

The metal building design was not only perceptive but practical. “These centers get their fair share of abuse,” says Bullman, “and the metal panels can hold up to it.”

His firm picked up the design after schematics were completed by the city. It had worked on a couple of previous navigation centers so it was familiar with the city’s needs. “Programmatically, we tweaked the city’s design,” says Bullman. “We adjusted it based on furniture, etc., as well as did all the detailing such as coordinating the MEP work. We did things like adjust the window location to work with the furniture.”

Ecosteel provided the entire building including the insulated metal panels, manufactured by All Weather Insulated Panels Inc., Vacaville, Calif. Quality Erectors & Construction Inc., Benicia, Calif., erected it.

2022 DESIGN AWARDS WINNER – ECOSTEEL (2 of 2 Projects Awarded to EcoSteel).

In its third iteration, a small manufacturing building lets the light in

By Paul Deffenbaugh, Editorial Director, Metal Architecture

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, a light suburban industrial area near Chicago’s O’Hare airport was developed and was dominated by masonry buildings. They tended to have low ceiling heights and had become old and obsolete. When the ceiling failed in one of those buildings, the previous owner constructed a metal building system over it like a tent, leaving the lower walls in place. By 2019, though, that renovated building had fallen into disrepair.

Enter EJ Basler Co., a manufacturer of precision machined parts for the medical, automotive, plumbing, defense and other industries, which owned the facility next door. Instead of tearing down the old building, it called on Amstadter Architects. “The steel building had rigid bends with bar joists and splayed beams to create the trusses, covered with light-gauge metal siding,” says Marc Amstadter, principal at the Chicago-based firm. “The old roof had been torn off and you looked up through the old building into this building. If you can imagine someone plopping a steel building on top of and enveloping an old masonry building, that’s what it was.”

A Renovated Renovation

Since the steel structure was in good shape, Amstadter’s solution was to redo the metal building system, adding new cladding with insulated metal panels (IMPs). Both the metal building system and the IMPs were supplied by Ecosteel, Laguna Niguel, Calif., but the IMPs were manufactured by All Weather Insulated Panels, Vacaville, Calif.

That renovation caught the eyes of the Metal Architecture Design Award judges, and they honored the project with the award in the Renovation and Retrofit category. Throughout the review, whenever a metal building system was discussed, the judges expressed the most enthusiasm for those projects that showed the metal building system as its own style, rather than a disguise of that style. The renovation of the EJ Basler facility definitely leaned into the idea of a metal building system. Award judge Mark Roddy, FAIA, principal of Mark Roddy Architects, Sacramento, Calif., says, “Looking at it from a systems perspective, the metal building system remained. It has new roofing, new skin. But the integrity of that system maintains.”

“Very frequently this is a project that architects have to deal with,” says Lee Calisti, AIA, principal, Lee CALISTI architecture+design, Greensburg, Pa. “This is going to show up on my desk more than others might, and this project gives hope to the other ones out there that get skipped over or ignored. They took what was there and transformed the material.”

More than a Reskin

The project did more than just reinforce and reskin an existing metal building. While the frame was in good condition, workers needed to replace girts and purlins. “All the cold-formed stuff needed replacing,” says Amstadter. “And it had to be reinforced against the wind. We couldn’t get enough diaphragm action out of the sandwich panels, so we had to add to the structure.”

The team poured a new slab over the existing slab of the 32,000-square-foot building and built an addition to the back to connect the building to EJ Basler’s existing production facility next door. It is also a metal building but on a different height, so the addition needed to be ramped to make the connection.

A Vibrant, Efficient Interior

The large clear spans (120 feet across) allowed for considerable flexibility in designing the shop floor and presented a freer movement of materials. Clerestory windows on the east and west walls finished by a local commercial plasterer provide plenty of natural light and the entire interior is painted white, giving it a fresh, clean, vibrant look. Amstadter points out that the lighting is set to 80% down.

The large curtainwall lets in the north-facing light, but EJ Basler also wanted it for marketing purposes. The company wanted its modern equipment to be visible from the street, showcasing its capabilities.

EJ Basler is part of the re-shoring of American manufacturing and has seen considerable growth over the last few years. Currently, it runs two to three shifts in its new, modern production facility and ships precision parts all over the world. It is such a hectic period that a major consideration for the renovation was making sure there was enough parking for employees.

Over the years, renovations account for about 30% of the construction market, but recently, the American Institute of Architects’ Architectural Billing Index had renovation activity at more than half of the market. As renovations become more constant, this type of project will become a regular occurrence.

“You get more bang for your buck,” says Calisti. “It’s less to work with and there’s quite a dramatic change.”

In renovation projects, the drama of the transformation is often exciting, and this transformation from a one-story masonry building to a dilapidated metal building system to a modern product facility has drama to spare.

Perhaps the highest praise though comes from Amstadter. “It’s a good, clean, honest building,” he says.

Craig Conway isn’t yet quite sure how he and his wife Alena will utilize the Auxiliary Dwelling Unit (ADU) they’re about to build on their property in Vista, Calif. They may use it as a guest house for relatives when they come to visit. They might rent the microhome to a tenant. Another possibility could find them living in the home themselves.

But while they’re not positive about the eventual use of the ADU, they are certain about the material they will use to build the structure. The ADU will be constructed of steel from EcoSteel, a decision both Conway and the contractor he selected heartily endorse.

“I’ve always been interested in steel construction myself,” Conway says. “My last home, in Washington [State], had all-metal siding and a metal roof. It was a great way to go. Steel is a very clean way to build. You don’t have to paint it as often. The maintenance needed is much less, especially on the roof. It just made more sense to me.”

As designed, the home Conway will have built early in 2022 will measure about 800 square feet in size. Upon entering the home, visitors will step into an entrance hallway, and from there into a kind of miniature “great room” featuring the living room, kitchen and kitchen preparation island, Conway says. Two bedrooms will be placed on either side of the kitchen area, with the master bedroom to the left and guest bedroom to the right. The home will feature two bathrooms, including one for the master bedroom.

As might be expected of a home in sunny Southern California, the design will offer huge windows expressly intended to flood the interior of the residence with abundant natural light. The living room will benefit from sweeps of sunshine beaming in through sliding glass doors that divide the interior from the inviting concrete front deck outside.

Because the ADU will be constructed on a slope, Conway and his builder faced some engineering challenges in designing the home. A concrete base with a seven- to eight- foot-tall retaining wall is part of the home support. The final touch is a garage with a workshop. Detached from the ADU, the garage will be constructed of concrete.

After thoroughgoing consideration, the colors of the residence have been chosen. The home’s exterior will be of a light gray, with a darker gray accent on the framing of the house. The interiors will be what Conway calls ”basic sheetrock white.” A light-colored roof will reflect the intense Southern California sunlight to help keep the home cool.

The size of the ADU was chosen with particular attention to California building codes. “It’s very tough building in California right now, due to the pandemic,” Conway explains. “Any home you build has to go through permitting and all the administrative process of getting the building approved. But it can be easier with ADUs. There are ADUs at certain square footage levels that are almost pre-permitted or can be permitted very quickly. They have to be less than 1,200 square feet. That is the current law.”

Aesthetically pleasing

Much like other builders and end users who choose steel buildings from EcoSteel,
Conway identified one advantage after another provided by the company’s steel. The beautiful aesthetics available today in steel structures represent the first such benefit. “Everybody here does the adobe look,” Conway says, referring to the San Diego area, of which Vista is a part. “And I can’t stand the adobe look. EcoSteel has done a great job with the side paneling and their roofing, to give it a nice, modern, home-like look.”

While EcoSteel is chosen to construct a great many industrial buildings, when it comes to residences, the company is able to deliver homes with a look anything but industrial in appearance, Conway adds. “They have three different levels of texture, and I want a little bit of texture to hide any scratches,” he remarks. “This just fits the bill.”

Superior value

Value proved another factor Conway took into consideration when deciding on a steel building. “Unfortunately, materials right now are a big issue” in building, he says. “When you build a house of wood, you have all sorts of scrap during the building process. But when you build a steel house, everything is built to measure in advance. You don’t have wasted materials. We don’t anticipate waste on our EcoSteel home.”

Also worth considering is the cost of wood, which is anything but low at current prices. “Wood is not cheap, and steel is not cheap,” Conway says philosophically. “But if you weigh the choice at current prices, steel is closer to wood than ever.”

Built-in durability

Yet another consideration in Conway’s choice of EcoSteel was resistance to natural
disasters, of which California has had more than its share in recent years. In Vista,
situated about 45 miles north of San Diego, homes and buildings are vulnerable to
winds from the east that can swiftly carry wildfires, Conway says. “I’ve heard from
neighbors that about 6 or 8 years ago, there was a fire in the valley next to us,” he adds.

“Besides fire, there are earthquakes down here. With steel you’re ahead of the game in maintaining your structure when an earthquake strikes. Wood breaks. Steel does not. If steel breaks, we’re all in trouble.” EcoSteel’s well-known resistance to the rot, mold, warping and splitting that plagues many wood structures was another consideration. “In terms of maintenance, we come out ahead,” Conway says.

Asked when he believed his new EcoSteel Auxiliary Dwelling Unit will be completed, Conway answers with a laugh, “I’d like to be in the home tomorrow.” More realistically he is optimistic about obtaining building permits by the first week of 2022. He doesn’t believe construction of the microhome will take any longer than four to six months. That means the residence should be ready for occupancy by early summer.

“At age 70, this is the last home I intend to build, especially in the ADU style,” Conway says. “There are lots of ADU makers. But steel like this in an ADU is really new. I think it will really catch on well, and I think EcoSteel is on the right path.”