“In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams.” -Nigerian Proverb
We are choosing build bridges, figuratively and literally.
Today’s Infrastructure Highlight: Curved Steel for Bridges








“In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams.” -Nigerian Proverb
We are choosing build bridges, figuratively and literally.
Today’s Infrastructure Highlight: Curved Steel for Bridges
Thanks to Viva Railings LLC (Photo credit & Glass/Railing Fabricator) we have received some final installation pictures of the circular staircase at the "Trinity Complex", home to American Airlines Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. We spiral bent Tube Steel 16″ X 16″ X .625″ WALL A500 GR B bent down to a an 18 foot radius, using our induction heating process to create the spiral stringers for the staircase. In addition to the 16″ square, we produced another set of spiral stringers consisting of Tube Steel 14″ x 6″ x .625″ wall REALLY tight, exposed and bent to a 5′-6″ radius on a 45° pitch. These are the type of bends that ONLY Albina can do! The 1.7 million-square-foot complex, dubbed the “Trinity complex,” consists of four seven-story buildings. It cost nearly $300 million to build and houses over 6,500 employees. There were 10 tower cranes on the project and more than 1,000 construction workers on-site during the peak of the project.
Albina bent 40,000# of steel for the Freyer-Newman Center, home to Denvers’ Botanical Gardens. Albina bent 60 pieces of W8 X 31# A992 the hard way to a full scale layout. We also bent Tube Steel 8" X 6" X .500" WALL A500 GR B the hard way and MC8 X 20# A36 the hard way. The Freyer - Newman Center is a LEED GOLD building, designed by Denver’s Davis Partnership Architects. The Center will house six classrooms; four galleries; new herbaria for vascular plants, mushrooms and slime molds; laboratories; a new library and a coffee shop, and is slated for completion this spring. Final install pictures coming soon!
Albina provided 109,000# of bent steel for the Eli Lilly San Diego Biotech Center in La Jolla, CA. Eli Lilly doubled the size of its research facility to 300,000 square feet during this project. Materials included: 8″ X 8″ X 5/8″ ANGLE A36- half of the parts rolled leg in and half of the parts rolled leg out. Tube Steel 8″ X 8″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B 8 5/8″ OD X .625″ WALL A500B Wide Flange W16 X 57# A992- Split into WT8 and rolled some parts stem in and rolled some parts stem out. Wide Flange W24 X 103# A992- DOUBLE split to a finished height of 8¼” tall. Albina then rolled some parts stem in and other stem out.
Albina bent 45,000 lbs. of steel for the Chase Center- Home of the Golden State Warriors. Materials bent included Tube Steel 2" X 2" X .250" WALL A500 GR B, Tube Steel 14" X 14" X .500" WALL A500 GR B, Tube Steel 3" X 3" X .375" WALL A500 GR B, and Tube Steel 12" X 12" X .500" WALL A500 GR all bent to a 270 ft radius. The stadium is located in the Mission Bay area of San Francisco.
The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) recently announced the 2019 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards in the December issue of Structure Magazine. The Rufus 2.0 Spheres in Seattle, WA. Was awarded the “Outstanding Project” for New Buildings $20 Million to $100 Million. We worked with some of our amazing partners in the PNW on this project! Albina's portion included bending 750,000# and 1,050 pieces of rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis for this project. Almost 8 miles of welding work and grinding was avoided because of Albina's ability to bend a portion of the project. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to the fixtures within 1/32nd of an inch!
The college tours continue and a few weekends ago, we had the pleasure of visiting Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon and seeing the curved steel canopy at the Student Experience Center.
The project was bent out of TS 20" X 12" X .500" WALL. Bent the hard-way to the tightest radius of 101'-8" inside. Always fun to see our handy work in person!
“It is so fun to drop in!” Sherwood Skate Park just opened and it is awesome! Filled with kids every day! Albina was thrilled to be a part of the project bending 4 lengths x 20 ft. Tube Steel 2" X 2" X .188" WALL A500 GR B to a 42 ft radius and a 46 ft radius, as well as 3 lengths x 21 ft.: 2" SCH40 A53B ERW bent to a 12 ft radius and a 5 ft radius, for the lip/rail that runs the perimeter of the park as well as for the benches kids sit and skate on.
Albina recently completed a great project for a curved steel roof at the M-Car Wash in Davie, Florida
Materials bent for this project included Tube Steel 10" X 4" X .250" WALL A500 GR B yielding 3 pieces. Albina cut the material to length, prepped and primered each piece. Tube Steel 10" X 4" X .375" WALL A500 GR B- yielding 12 pieces bent the hard way. Albina's scope of work was to bend, trim, holes, weld caps and grind per drawings. NOMMA #1 finish welds. Prep and prime paint after fabrication. Exposed. We also bent 3" SCH40 A500 GR B to yield 15 assemblies. Albina Cut, Fit, weld and grind per drawings. NOMMA #1 finish. Prep and Prime after fabrication.
One of Southern California's iconic, flagship waterfront restaurant sites - 1360 North Harbor Drive along the North Embarcadero, is getting a facelift! The Port of San Diego and The Brigantine, Inc. began construction in July 2018 to redevelop Portside Pier including introducing four new dining concepts and enhancing the panoramic views of San Diego Bay for daily visitors. Albina Co., Inc. provided 60,000 pounds of various bent materials for the unique curved roof structure as well as for two signature spiral staircases that leads from the dock to the second floor public walkway and viewing deck.
Materials bent by Albina Co., Inc. included:
TS 14" X 6" X .500" WALL A500 GR B (6 pieces spiral bent the easy way as tight as a 17 ft plan view radius, 4 pieces bent the easy way as tight as a 17 ft inside radius).
TS 12" X 6" X .500" WALL A500 GR B (8 pieces bent the easy way as tight as a 2’ 7” outside radius, 8 pieces spiral bent the easy way as tight as a 2’ 7” plan view radius).
TS 8" X 8" X .500" WALL A500 GR B (84 pieces bent to various radii and configurations).
TS 18" X 6" X .375" WALL A500 GR B (4 pieces bent the hard way).
W10 X 12# A992 (9 pieces bent the hard way).
W18 X 35# A992 (15 pieces bent the hard way).
W16 X 26# A992 (2 pieces bent the hard way).
W14 X 22# A992 (13 pieces bent the hard way).