American Institute of Steel Construction

On Wednesday, we gathered the teams behind the 2026 IDEAS Award-winning projects for an evening of celebration in San Diego!

The AISC Architecture Center kicked off by celebrating the innovation, creativity, and connection behind the remarkable projects that won our flagship design and engineering awards this year.

Have you worked on a project that deserves recognition next year? You have until August 31 to submit it for the 2027 IDEAS Awards! Get started today (and check out the 2026 winners!) at aisc.org/ideas.

All photos by Lauren Ogden Photography.

With its striking steel visuals, Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal is a highlight of the airport’s recent revamp. But the accompanying access road--a two-level, 1,300-ft-long terminal front bridge--brings the whole project together!

Built to accommodate a three-level stacked roadway, the new bridge was designed to fit the terminal building's overall aesthetic rather than resemble a typical bridge. The design team opted for steel trapezoidal box (tub) longitudinal girders to achieve this vision.

See the steel that supports the access bridge when you put together our puzzle of the week, aisc.org/puzzles! Then read more about the project at go.aisc.org/pit-bridge.

The search for the next generation of steel innovation is on: The 2027 IDEAS Awards are open!

These awards represent the pinnacle of design achievement in the structural steel industry, celebrating excellence in adaptive reuse, architecture, constructability, engineering, and sustainable design and construction. Winning teams earn a full year of prestige, with their projects featured in national publications, across digital platforms, and at NASCC: The Steel Conference.

Visit aisc.org/ideas to start your entry and see past winners! Submission is free, and anyone on a project team may enter.

To commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, Union Pacific’s Big Boy 4014 recently embarked on a historic cross-country tour. The massive locomotive has been delighting crowds on the "Eastern Leg" of its route, spanning over 50 stops across the East Coast and Midwest, featuring stops in Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, before making an appearance in Philadelphia on July 4th.

During the trek, Big Boy 4014 has traveled over numerous historic and remarkable steel bridges. In fact, it’s scheduled to journey over the Portageville Bridge (also known as the Genesee Arch Bridge) in New York, one of our 2020 Prize Bridge Award winners in the Major Span Category, this Thursday at 12:20 p.m. Eastern!

To learn more about Big Boy 4014’s journey and to track its whereabouts, visit www.up.com/about-us/history/steam/schedule

Earthquake engineering appealed to Andrew Sen because of his interest in helping with natural disaster recovery. Six years into his academic career, he has won multiple awards for his seismic design research!

Sen, an assistant professor at Marquette University, most recently received the 2026 AISC Milek Fellowship for his project, “Balancing Safety and Efficiency in Moderate-Ductility Braced Frames,” which aims to develop intermediate ductility steel building systems to better serve regions beyond those with high seismic activity.

Hear more about Sen, his career, and his research in our latest Modern Steel Construction Field Notes podcast at aisc.org/fieldnotes. Short on time? Read an excerpt of our full interview with Sen at go.aisc.org/fieldnotes-sen.

Successful data center construction hinges on two major factors: speed to market and adaptability for future expansion. Steel framing easily provides both!

This month’s issue of Modern Steel Construction explores two new data center facilities in the Atlanta area that showcase how structural steel framing benefits modern data center construction.

Explore these projects and their structural innovations at go.aisc.org/atl-datacenters.

Can you spot the sustainability story hidden in this week’s puzzle photo?

Look closely and you’ll spot exposed reclaimed steel beams that once served a very different purpose—they were previously part of a hospital building in Boulder, Colo. The project team reused the salvaged steel in the station’s hybrid steel-and-timber structure, helping reduce embodied carbon and proving that material reuse can be both practical and cost-effective.

Spend some time inside the IDEAS Award-winning City of Boulder Fire Rescue, Station #3 with our puzzle of the week at aisc.org/puzzles! Then get the full scoop on this pioneering steel reuse project at go.aisc.org/boulder-ideas.

THURSDAY: Explore practical applications of the Steel Construction Manual that can benefit your next project—and earn 1.5 PDHs!

On June 11, join us live as we dive into the full range of tips and tables available in the Manual. Whether you’re an engineer, fabricator, or erector, presenter Conner Maines, SE, PE of Krieger, Maines, and Vicars Consulting Engineers will show how to apply these resources efficiently in your day-to-day work.

Register today at go.aisc.org/manualwebinar26.

Heading to San Diego for ? The AISC Architecture Center has a lineup of events and sessions you won’t want to miss!

Stop by booth 4023 to get a closer look at architecturally exposed structural steel—and learn how to confidently specify AESS categories in your next project.

Plus, carve out time for tips you can use right away in your practice. Join AISC at sessions CE102 and NN314!

We’re also bringing designers inside Snapdragon Stadium and giving them a chance to try their hand at welding at an Iron Worker Training Center.

Whether you’re joining us for a session, a tour, or a quick chat about AESS, we can’t wait to connect with you. See you in San Diego!

Level up your façade attachments game--fast--with this handy new resource!

From aluminum curtain walls to precast concrete panels, our new smart reference, Façade Attachments to Steel-Framed Buildings, navigates the intersection of architectural and structural design. Explore water barriers and attachment solutions in one concise guide.

Grab the PDF for free at aisc.org/SRFacade.