Fabricators of stainless steel can expect future high demand for their products in architectural applications, according to a recent report by Paul Snelgrove written for the British Stainless Stainless Steel Association, âStainless Steel: a Glowing Future in Constructionâ?. Developments across Europe confirm a growing interest in stainless steel as an element in buildings. A recent example is the worldâs first all-stainless bridge, linking the University of Deustro and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which uses a high-strength duplex, EN10088 1.4362, supplied by AvestaPolarit. Others include the Lloyds Building in London, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg , the Puerta de Europa twin in Madrid and the Eurostar Terminal in London. Duplex grades combining strength and ductility have been used in the roofs of the Lowry Building, Salford, UK, and the Docklands Boating Centre in London, while standard austenitic grades (316 and occasionally 317) adorn the outside of such buildings as La Défense in Paris and the new Charles de Gaulle airport. Future applications are likely to include street lighting columns, wall cladding and tunnel linings. Another important growth area is reinforcement bars for concrete structures. In the USA, stainless is invariably specified for bridges and tunnels. As carbon-steel structures are seen to corrode under the impact of water, de-icing salt and exhaust fumes, so the advantages of stainless steel, both aesthetic and related to life-cycle costs, are becoming more obvious. The growth in the metalâs use is forecast to take two forms: first, stainless steel will substitute for other materials when structures have to be refurbished. Secondly, there will be increased demand for finished products that use stainless steel. Of the two categories, Euro-Inox predicts that promoting âsubstitutionâ? applications provides the most opportunity for the future.
