IDEAS² Awards Open for Entries

Chicago – The American Institute of Steel Construction is looking for the next generation of American landmarks constructed with structural steel.

AISC’s Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (IDEAS²) Award program is now open for entries! These awards recognize outstanding projects that illustrate the exciting possibilities of structural steel.

The IDEAS² Awards showcase the innovative use of structural steel in:

• the accomplishment of the structure’s program
• the expression of architectural intent
• the application of innovative design approaches to the structural system
• leveraging productivity-enhancing construction methods

AISC will announce the winners in early 2020. The projects selected for recognition will also appear in a showcase at the 2020 NASCC: The Steel Conference in Atlanta, April 22-24, and be featured in the May 2020 issue of Modern Steel Construction magazine. AISC will present physical awards to the project’s design and construction team at the project site.

Visit aisc.org/ideas2 for more information and to enter.

Eligibility requirements

• New buildings, expansions, and renovation projects (major retrofits and rehabilitations) are eligible. There is also a category for sculptures, art installations, and non-building structures.
• Building projects in the 2020 competition must be located in the U.S. and must be completed between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2019.
• A significant portion of the framing system of a building must be wide-flange or hollow structural steel sections (HSS).
• The majority of the steel used in the project must be domestically produced.
• The project must have been fabricated by a company eligible for AISC full membership. Projects with a unique or distinctive feature fabricated by a company eligible for AISC full membership will also be considered.

Pedestrian bridges entered in the competition must be an intrinsic part of a building and not stand-alone structures. We encourage members of project teams for standalone bridges to enter the National Steel Bridge Alliance’s Prize Bridge Awards.

History of the program

AISC’s award programs have celebrated landmark structures built with structural steel since 1960. These architectural icons span generations and stand the test of time. AISC recognizes and promotes these projects in recognition of their impact in terms of structural innovation, advances in safety, benefit to the local community, and environmental consciousness.

The prestigious list of winners includes such enduring landmarks as:

• One World Trade Center in New York
• The Gateway Arch in St. Louis
• Chicago’s Sears (now Willis) Tower
• The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
• The PanAm Passenger Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York