The United States Senate passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The bill includes funding for new climate reliance initiatives, and buildings will be an essential element of those initiatives.
In order to develop stronger buildings, resilient materials such as cold-formed steel (CFS) framing will play a key role in the rebuilding process. CFS framing is among the most resilient and sustainable building materials in the world.
Every piece of cold-formed steel (CFS) contains recycled steel and is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its long service life.
Buildings are infrastructure, too
According to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the infrastructure bill takes a noteworthy first step in recognizing buildings as infrastructure.
“To meet the challenges of the 21st century, our nation’s infrastructure funding needs to move beyond roads and bridges to include schools, hospitals and other building projects, especially as buildings contribute nearly 40 percent of worldwide carbon emissions,” said AIA 2021 President Peter Exley.
“This bipartisan legislation represents an important step toward improving our nation’s buildings. However, we urge lawmakers to ensure greater funding for building improvements is included in the Budget Reconciliation package,” said Exley.
The Senate is expected to advance a second infrastructure bill through the Budget Reconciliation process this fall.
5 Reasons CFS Contributes to Resiliency
1. It’s highly ductile. CFS can easily bend or stretch without breaking when force is applied. This gives it a higher degree of resistance to lateral loads, uplift and gravity loading, such as those imposed on a structure by seismic or high wind events.
2. CFS is non-combustible. According to the Steel Framing Industry Association, both load-bearing and non-load-bearing CFS-framed assemblies are fireproof up to four hours when subjected to tests conforming to ASTM E119.
3. CFS is durable. CFS is corrosion resistant. It does not retain moisture and will not harbor mold growth. CFS uses zinc or similar coatings to boost durability and will last hundreds of years before its corrosion resistance deteriorates.
4. CFS is impervious to pests. CFS is one of the few building materials completely impervious to termites and other pests in any climate or building type.
5. CFS is a highly sustainable material. Steel framing contains on average a minimum of 25% recycled content and is 100% recyclable at the end of its life.
Build back better
As the bill passes from the Senate to the House of Representatives, many are urging Congress to incorporate meaningful climate criteria into the infrastructure package.
“If we’re really going to spend hundreds of billions of dollars building new infrastructure … we can’t settle for anything less than building smart, sustainable communities with green and resilient schools, hospitals, affordable housing and other public facilities,” says Ben Evans, federal legislative director at the U.S. Green Building Council.
“We have to make sure that we actually build them back better,” says Evans.
One example is our nation’s schools. A study from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 54% of U.S. districts need to update or replace multiple building systems in at least half of their schools. This presents a tremendous opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut costs by building back better.
Meadow View Elementary in Sun Prairie, Wis., designed by raSmith, features CFS-framed curtain walls and lots of window openings.
CFS framing provides a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective way to meet the complex challenges of student building environments. Unlike other construction materials, CFS is 100 percent non-combustible. It can be an integral part of the overall defense against fire damage to a structure, whether occupied or under construction. In addition, every piece contains recycled steel and is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its long service life.
CFS can also help schools move toward “greener” construction, as it meets the highest sustainability requirements set in all major green building standards and rating programs, including National Green Building Standard (ICC-700) for residential buildings, ASHRAE Standard 189.1 for commercial construction, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® program.
CFS Ready to Meet Infrastructure Needs
“The infrastructure bill we passed will deliver the most robust injection of funds into America’s infrastructure in decades,” says Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
With the inclusion of climate criteria in the infrastructure package, building smart and sustainable communities with resilient structures will be key to the success of the bill. Resilient, sustainable, non-combustible CFS framing is ready to play a role to meet these needs.
Article cited by BuildSteel.org