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There’s no getting away from the fact that steel is an incredibly versatile material that’s been used in everything from tin cans to industrial equipment. However arguably the most impressive demonstration of its use is seen in some of the world’s most iconic buildings. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
When the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 it was the longest single-span, steel-arched bridge in the world. It took eight years to complete and over 58,000 metric tons of steel trusses are used to support the 503 metres of span. Even today, some 82 years later it still remains a fantastic piece of engineering.
China World Trade Centre, Beijing
The China World Trade Centre has over 80 floors and was completed in 2010. Built right in the heart of Beijing’s business and shopping district it is 333 metres tall. It houses office and retail space, a 5 star hotel and a 1,600 seat grand ballroom. At 81 floors tall it has surprisingly little steel for it’s size, with 123,750 metric tons for 4.8million square feet of space.
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is the oldest construction on our list and was completed in 1883 taking 14 years to build. It connects Manhattan Island to Brooklyn and was the first ever bridge to use steel cabling for overhead wire support. When you consider when it was built the results are quite frankly amazing. The bridge spans some 486 metres and when constructed, was by far the longest single span bridge in the world. It houses 5296 galvanised steel wires and if they were connected together end to end, they’d stretch from Sydney to London and roughly halfway back again; a distance of some 14,357 miles.
Bhurj Khalifa
Completed in 2009 the Bhurj Khalifa situated in Dubai is currently the world’s tallest building and stands at 829.8 metres. I say currently because this record is set to be broken when the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is completed in 2019. This is set to stand a staggering 1 km tall. Surprisingly, such is the ingenious construction of the Bhurj Khalifa that it contains only half the amount of steel used to build the Empire State Building, but at 500 plus metres taller it really is an impressive sight.
The Cheesegrater
Certainly not the tallest, but the Cheesegrater (as it’s affectionately known) is definitely the newest and possibly one of the most striking steel constructed building on our list. At 225 metres tall it’s the second tallest building in the UK after the Shard. The triangular shaped building is a masterpiece of design by British Architect Graham Stirk and is set to house some 6,000 city workers. The Steel frame of the building houses around 15,000 tons of the material which is encased with 70,000 square metres of glass.
So there you have it, some of the most incredible steel constructions on the planet. If you have a steel project no matter how big or small, then you’ll probably need a good steel fabricator. Look no further than Metro Steel. We specialise in quality fast turn-around steel products, so contact us today on 07 3204 1000 to see just how we can help.
