Save Money by Building with Steel over Concrete.

The New Charles Library at Temple University in Philadelphia is nearing completion, now thanks to steel. Redesigning the 225,000 square foot structure to use steel instead of concrete helped the project stay on-schedule, and most importantly, on-budget.

The multi-story building was originally being built with concrete because the designer wanted the library to look “clean and simple.” He further prioritized the building’s aesthetic by opting for exposed concrete columns and concrete slabs for the floor. However, the project bids came back well over the estimates, in part because of the high cost of concrete in the city.

To keep the project progressing, Temple University switched to less-expensive steel and the structural engineering redesigned the library in under four months. Helping create the designer’s open and simple design, a structural system of three steel “spanning walls” with steel girders and diagonal steel columns were erected.

At Texas Iron & Metal, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Steel is an effective material to work with. Regardless of your project, steel is strong, durable and comes in a variety of products in an array of sizes, thicknesses and weights.

Just like the New Charles Library project made the move to use steel over concrete, your projects can benefit from steel—and even Less-Than-Prime® (LTP®) or surplus steel for added cost savings! Contact our team to see what we have available. You want it, we’ve got it. Now that’s supply on demand!