Structural steel is an excellent option for spanning large spaces with a lot of design flexibility, both in terms of shape and sizes. It is also lightweight and reduces building loads says, Ar. Asit B Gupta, Principal Architect, Studio Clay
What are the major advantages of using steel vis-à-vis conventional Materials?
Major advantage of choosing steel over conventional materials is the flexibility in design, spanning large spaces with minimum steel usage, also, it can be lightweight and therefore reduces building loads.
How structural steel can be innovatively used in construction to provide design aesthetics and at the same time offer economical Solution?
Structural steel is an excellent option for spanning large spaces with a lot of design flexibility, faster construction and reduction in load on building and make it a very economical option.
What is your take on the variety of sections/grades provided by our steel producers for various demands of creativity?
Considering the competitive design market and the need for innovative solutions, the new age products like high strength steel and large dye castings have enabled designers to think bizarre things and then actually turn them to reality.
What trend are we going to witness in next 5-7 years, as far as designing structures with steel is concerned?
We think that steel structures are going to be upcoming for the next few years given the way it is flexible to use in different scenarios of a design with the easier availability of high performance and high strength steel and interaction of architects with these European counterparts, steel structures will gain a lot of popularity in a very short span of time.
What should be the strategy of industry in promoting structural steel construction in India?
Newer and upcoming practices should be encouraged and supported for using structural steel as their material. Even at student level these practices should be nourished as the younger generations pave the way forward.
Which are the iconic steel-specific projects executed by you?
Grand 5 is a project executed by Studio clay; we have made use of tensile steel structure to create large column free spaces for this Bistro. Also, for our project Arihant Publications, we have used tensile structure to cover a courtyard of 60 x 60 ft, and the large parking lots of the same project.
