Project teams across the country continue to push the boundaries with structural steel--and it can be hard to keep up. We’ve made it easy: focus on these five.
They’re this year’s winners of the structural steel industry’s highest design honor: the Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steel (or IDEAS²) Awards, presented by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
“Innovative breakthroughs happen at intersections--be they meetings of minds, changes in a structure’s needs, or a challenge to build something that will make people stop and take notice,” said AISC Senior Vice President Scott Melnick. “Each of these projects found themselves at the right intersection with the right team at the right time.”
Here are those five must-know structures, in alphabetical order. More information about all of the 2025 winners is available at aisc.org/ideas2. High-res photos are available here.
IDEAS² Award for Excellence in Constructability
200 Park, San Jose, Calif.
The team behind a 1-million-sq.-ft commercial building chose the composite SpeedCore system for cost-effectiveness, speed, and the ability to reduce wall thicknesses by up to 18 inches (around 30%, on average)--benefits that were compounded by new research that allowed them to omit most spray-on fireproofing. Close collaboration paid off at the jobsite, where not a single penetration required modification.
Owner: Jay Paul Company, San Francisco
General contractor: Level 10, Sunnyvale, Calif.
Architect: Gensler, San Francisco
Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), Seattle
Fabricator/erector: Schuff Steel Company, Phoenix *AISC full member; AISC-certified fabricator and erector*
Detailer: DBM Vircon, Tempe, Ariz. *AISC associate member*
Erection and construction engineers: Hassett Engineering, Castro Valley, Calif.; Simpson Gumpertz and Heger (SGH), San Francisco
Connections consultant: Steel Structures Technology Center, Inc., Howell, Mich.
IDEAS² Award for Excellence in Engineering
PENN 2 Redevelopment, New York
The PENN 2 office building needed more inviting public spaces, improved office facilities, modern amenities, and updated aesthetics. The solution: A 75-ft by 450-ft addition to the fourth through 10th floors that hovers above the sidewalk on dramatically sloped columns configured around an existing trainshed. Particularly elegant connections ensure that neither the existing structure nor the addition transfer significant lateral load to the other.
Owner: Vornado Realty Trust, New York
General contractor: Turner Construction Company, New York
Architect: MdeAS Architects, New York
Structural engineer: Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, PC, New York
Fabricator/detailer: Crystal Steel Fabricators, Delmar, Del. *AISC full member, AISC-certified fabricator*
Erector: Skanska USA Civil Northeast, Inc., East Elmhurst, N.Y.
Casting supplier: CAST CONNEX, Toronto *AISC associate member*
IDEAS² Award for Excellence in Architecture
Pima Community College – Advanced Manufacturing Center, Tucson, Ariz.
This three-story facility is a working model of how industry works, complete with a functioning 10-ton underslung crane that doubles as a major design feature. It’s an excellent example of how seamlessly building design, building purpose, and structural elements can combine to create an elevated experience for the students while providing a prime example of attention to detail.
Owner: Pima Community College, Tucson, Ariz.
General contractor: Chasse Building Team, Tucson, Ariz.
Architect/structural engineer: DLR Group, Phoenix
IDEAS² Award for Excellence in Adaptive Reuse
Top of the Rock Redevelopment, New York
The idea of installing attractions at the top of a 90-year-old urban icon is enough to make anyone’s stomach drop, but the team behind New York City’s Top of the Rock Redevelopment pulled it off (at a hugely complex and challenging jobsite, no less). Some 40,000 tons of steel reinforcement give tourists a new way to connect with the modern skyline as well as the city’s past as they recreate an iconic photograph that continues to define early 20th-century high-rise construction.
Owner: Tishman Speyer, New York
General contractor: Gilbane Building Company, New York
Architect: Montroy DeMarco Architecture LLP, New York
Structural engineer: Gilsanz Murray Steficek, New York
Attraction consultant: THG Creative, Pasadena, Calif.
Fabricator/detailer: North American Manufacturing Corp., Maspeth, N.Y. *AISC full member, AISC-certified fabricator*
Erector: Maspeth Welding, Inc., Maspeth, N.Y.
This year’s judges also elected to present a special honor: a Presidential Award for Engineering Design and Construction.
Sphere, Las Vegas
Groundbreaking steel innovations, an instantly iconic exosphere, and a finely tuned interior come together in a structure that redefines both the present and future of immersive entertainment--and it’s also the largest spherical structure in the world.
Owner: Sphere Entertainment Co., New York
General contractor: MSG LV Construction, LLC, Las Vegas
Architect: Populous, New York
Structural engineer: Severud Associates Consulting Engineers, PC, New York
Fabricator/erector: W&W | AFCO Steel, Oklahoma City *AISC full member; AISC-certified fabricator and erector*
Detailer: Pro Draft, Inc., Surrey, B.C. *AISC associate member*
Bender/rollers: Chicago Metal Rolled Products, Chicago *AISC associate member*; Max Weiss Company, Milwaukee *AISC associate member*
Casting supplier: CAST CONNEX, Toronto *AISC associate member*
AISC would like to thank this year’s jury for their dedication and time:
- Jill Lavine, AIA, LEED AP, Founding Principal, FIFTEEN Architecture + Design
- Jeremy Loebs, Business Development Executive, Schuff Steel
- Rob Martinelli, Senior Vice President, Operations, Pepper Construction
- Fraser Reid, PE, CEng, MICE, Associate Principal, Buro Happold
- Nima Balasubramanian, AIA, NOMA, Director of Architecture, AISC
AISC will begin accepting entries for its 2026 design awards in April. Stay tuned!