Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 1: Architect’s Guide 1 - 11 The building can also be made adaptable for future changes in use. Column- free floor space facilitates future changes in internal layout, which is likely to happen several times in the life of a structure. The building structure can be modified, strengthened and extended. The facility to extend the structure at some future stage can be incorporated into the original design and construction details. The external envelope maybe renewed, upgraded or modified. Future owners/users with different requirements can readily adapt a steel building to their requirements. 2.5 A sustainable solution Steel can be recycled any number of times without loss of quality or strength. Significant quantities of recycled steel are used in the manufacture of new steel products and there is a commercial value in scrap steel for this reason. Figure 2.5 shows scrap material being recycled to make new steel. Steel building components are fabricated under controlled conditions with minimal waste (off-cuts are recycled as scrap). As the site activity is mainly assembly, there is rarely any waste on site. Steel structures can often be dissembled, as they are primarily bolted skeletal structures. The steel members may reused in other structures – portal frames and similar structures are frequently dismantled and used at other locations. Figure 2.5 Modern steel making technology has the ability to recycle scrap