In conjunction with the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) 10th annual Green Building conference in New Orleans May 11-13, the Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) capitalized on several opportunities to reach key target audiences in promoting cold-formed steel as a sustainable building material for rebuilding the Gulf Coast region. Thanks to the generous support of the American Zinc Association (AZA), the SFA kicked off its efforts on May 9th with a “Jazzing up the Green” VIP party at the Arabella, the first condominium units to be featured as one of the stops on NAHB’s annual Tour of Green Homes. Joined by Green Coast Enterprises, Inc., a New Orleans real estate development company, the SFA hosted more than 100 guests, including local government officials, the Department of Energy, New Orleans Home Builders Association, AFL-CIO Gulf Coast Revitalization Program, NAHB, numerous representatives from the construction industry, and members of the media.

Activities continued on the evening of the 10th when the SFA joined in as one of the sponsors of another well-attended green-themed party given by the New Orleans HBA. And as the sponsor of this year’s prestigious Tour of Green Homes on the 11th, SFA staff was also on hand to discuss steel’s environmental attributes with the several bus-loads of participants who stopped by the Arabella.

In addition to exhibiting at the conference, the SFA delivered an educational session which also marked the first time the SFA provided guidance at this conference on how to successfully incorporate green building requirements into construction projects using cold-formed steel. In an effort to help builders and designers get the maximum advantage from steel framing and the new proposed National Green Building Standard™, “Going Green With Steel Framing” helped attendees walk away with solid information about what makes steel framing a sustainable building material as well as how steel can successfully meet the many environmental challenges unique to the Gulf Coast. The session was presented by the SFA’s Maribeth Rizzuto (Director of Training and Education) and Don Allen (Director of Engineering), both LEED accredited professionals. Danny Feazell, president and CEO of Premium Steel Building Systems in Roanoke, Va., also covered the critical role a builder plays in achieving sustainability for any construction project.

The SFA wasn’t the only organization promoting the green value of building with steel. Reuben Teague and Will Bradshaw, principals of Green Coast Enterprises, Inc., also presented a few education sessions, including “Building Green in Hot, Humid Climates.” As they addressed the elevated indoor humidity and building moisture problems common to the Gulf Coast, as well as the major threat they represent to a property’s durability and an occupant’s health, Teague and Bradshaw pointed out how steel framing provides a sound, alternative building approach to effectively deal with these issues.

The SFA completed its latest round of activities in the Gulf Coast on the 15th with a five-hour training session on cold-formed steel at the Building Officials Association of Louisiana’s (BOAL) quarterly training meeting. Rizzuto and Allen were both on hand to deliver “Design and Inspection of Cold-Formed Steel Structures” to several dozen building code officials. After the SFA presented an overview on steel framing earlier this year, BOAL requested this expanded version since they are seeing more structures in the area being built with cold-formed steel.

For more information about the SFA’s sustainable construction initiatives, contact Maribeth Rizzuto at (412) 521-5210 or mrizzuto@steelframing.org. To learn more about the SFA’s activities in the Gulf Coast, contact Ernie Casados at (985) 882-2439 or ecasados@steelframing.org.

Source: Steel Framing Alliance, May, 2008