Hard as Steel: Structural Design for a Modern City

Looking at an average Chinese urban center, you will see dozens, perhaps 100s, of cranes setting up skyscrapers. The primary element in the construction of such buildings is steel. Steel constructions are the backbone of every city.

Before the cranes can get into action, the building has to be designed. And this is where steel structure detailing has its introduction. Structural detailing design is essential to the safety of everybody involved - those labouring on the construction site, and those eventually living in the building. A great amount of preparation is necessary in order to fulfill safety regulations while fulfilling all the stipulations the client and architect have set.

A steel detail designer is required to know all about force and pressure - allowing the building to yield to outer pressures, and when to resist such pressures, to maximize the unity of the construction. A structure must also resist great weights, and so this must also be taken into account. From snow weight to the speed of wind, a steel structure detailer has to think about all kinds of external pressures.

In these modern times, there are more and more demands for creative design, which means the detailer can frequently be forced to accept difficult designs and seek to render them into a safe working space for thousands of people.

Yet, it’s not all bad for the detailer - software packages like AutoCad, Asteel and Tekla Steel have helped speed up the procedure of drafting and detailing steel structures.