Accolades

CAST CONNEX^® is among the talented project team members bestowed the esteemed National Steel Bridge Alliance: Prize Bridge Award (National Distinction) for the Frances Appleton Pedestrian Bridge restoration project located in Boston, Massachusetts. 

The structure, which won in the Special Purpose category of the competition, is a part of the master plan to restore the iconic Longfellow Bridge that spans the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge.  

Cast Connex supplied the custom cast steel wye nodes engineered to improve the fatigue performance of the pier connections and provide the approach spans with a unique aesthetic.

“These projects are tributes to the creativity of the designers and the skills of the constructors who collaborated to make them reality,” said AISC President Charles J. Carter, SE, PE, PhD. “Steel shines and soars on their talents and we celebrate the accomplishments these projects represent.”

To learn more about the Frances Appleton Pedestrian Bridge and winning project team, click here. 
For more about the NSBA Prize Bridge Awards, click here.

The Belmont Gateway Canopy project (Chicago) was awarded the Merit Award: Sculptures/Art Installations/Non-Building Structures, which is a component of the esteemed AISC 2020 IDEAS² Award of excellence program.

CAST CONNEX^® engineered and supplied three, four-ton custom cast steel nodes to the project which was inspired by the Olson Waterfall. 

The IDEAS² Awards are the highest honor the U.S. structural steel industry bestows upon buildings and other structures around the country.

Judges weighed each project's use of structural steel from both an architectural and structural engineering perspective, with an emphasis on creative solutions to the project's program requirements; applications of innovative design approaches in areas such as connections, gravity systems, lateral load resisting systems, fire and/or blast protection; aesthetic and visual impact of the project; innovative use of architecturally exposed structural steel (AESS); technical or architectural advances in the use of the steel; and/or the use of innovative design and construction methods.

The IDEAS² Award program also recognizes the importance of teamwork, coordination, and collaboration in fostering successful construction projects. Awards for each winning project will be presented to the project team members involved in the design and construction of the structural framing system at ceremonies held at each of the winning projects during the year.

For more about this project, click here. 

CAST CONNEX^® High Integrity Blocks^® were selected as a finalist for the 2018 Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Innovation Award.

“The Finalists for the 2018 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference truly represent the pinnacle of excellence in the field of tall buildings,” said Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director at Fender Katsalidis Architects. “Being recognized by the world’s premier authority on tall buildings is a great honor, and the opportunity to showcase these quality projects to a global audience helps drive innovation across all disciplines in our industry.”

The Main Jury is responsible for selecting the Best Tall Building Regional Finalists and Winners, as well as the overall worldwide Winner. The jury was comprised of Awards Jury Chair Karl Fender, Director, Fender Katsalidis; H.E. Mohamed Ali Allabar, Chairman, Emaar Properties; Kamil Merican, Chief Executive Officer, GDP Architects; CTBUH Chairman Steve Watts, Partner, alinea consulting; and CTBUH Executive Director Antony Wood.

“Part of our mission at CTBUH is to investigate and highlight the cutting-edge in sustainable urbanism in order to promote a better urban future, and this year’s finalists exemplify the world’s foremost examples in this regard,” Wood said.

Project collaborators Sweeny &Co Architects, Stephenson Engineering, Walters Group, and CAST CONNEX received an Engineering Award of Excellence at the 2016 CISC Annual Conference & Design Awards for their work on Allied Properties REIT’s Queen Richmond Centre West in Toronto, Ontario.

The Queen Richmond Centre West is a brilliant example of adaptive re-use in its incorporation of two existing heritage buildings into the construction of a new 11-storey office building. The new office tower springs from a tabletop that spans above both buildings 70-feet above street level and is perched atop three architecturally exposed structural steel Mega Delta-Frames. The innovative Mega Delta-Frames create a soaring atrium that sets this development apart from any other.

Each of the Mega Delta-Frames supports over 90,000 kN (20,000 kips) in gravity loading and is a major component of the building’s lateral force resisting system. The frames are comprised of concrete filled 1-metre diameter, 50 mm thick steel pipes and 17-ton cast steel nodes.

CAST CONNEX Universal Pin Connectors were selected as the winner of the 2016 Architizer A+Award for the Building Products: Roof & Structural Systems category by a jury of more than 300 luminaries and thought leaders from fields as diverse as fashion, publishing, product design, real estate development, and tech. The winners were announced at a gala on May 12, 2016 at Highline Stages in New York City.

Held annually for 47 years, the Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards are the highest mark of recognition for completed projects by Canadian consulting engineers. These prestigious awards are presented in a variety of categories, ranging from buildings and transportation to the environment and wastewater treatment. The program is a joint initiative of Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine with the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Canada (ACEC/AFIC).

For their work on the Queen Richmond Centre West project in Toronto, CAST CONNEX and Stephenson Engineering were the joint winners an Award of Excellence as well as the highly coveted Schreyer Award, which is given to the most technically innovative project from the field of entrants.

The Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards jury said of their work, “We were totally amazed by this project. The engineers were able to put an 11-storey tower on a “tabletop” above two heritage buildings and develop special frame systems to take the loads. The huge joints a metre thick are unique and very difficult to cast — completely innovative.”

The Queen Richmond Centre West offers a brilliant example of adaptive re-use through its integration of two existing heritage buildings into the construction of a new 11-story office building. The new office tower springs from a tabletop that spans above both buildings – 70-feet above street level – and is perched atop three architecturally exposed structural steel delta frames comprised of 40-inch diameter concrete-filled steel pipes and 35,000-pound cast steel nodes. The innovative delta frames create a soaring open air atrium that sets this development apart from any other, with the cast steel nodes causing each of the delta frame’s legs to appear to effortlessly curve while subtly merging with its neighbouring legs at a point 35-feet in the air.

The latest technologies in BIM, 3-dimensional solid modelling, numerical stress analysis, computational fluid dynamics, and casting solidification modelling, in addition to state-of-the-art rapid prototyping, CNC-tooling production, 5-axis machining, and laser scanning technologies were used in the industrial design, engineering, and production of the complex cast nodes.

The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction recognized steel industry donors involved in the reconstruction of École Lakay – a Port-au-Prince, Haiti-based trade school destroyed by the January 2010 magnitude 7.0 earthquake – with Humanitarian Awards at the 2015 CISC Annual General Meeting held in San Francisco. This represented a first for the CISC, which had never before bestowed awards recognizing significant humanitarian efforts.

CAST CONNEX is proud to have donated 170 of our High Strength Connectors to Builders without Borders for use in the construction of the school, which will train young Haitians in masonry, welding, carpentry, plumbing, electrical and refrigeration so that they will be able to construct safe buildings for years to come. The school will also have the capacity to serve as a safe zone - providing food, shelter and medical attention - in the event of another natural disaster.

High Strength Connectors were critical to the design and construction of the school. Use of the connectors provided the requisite seismic protection and also eliminated the need to perform field welding, which simplified construction and enabled local labor forces to carry out the erection of the structural steel frame under the guidance of Canadian engineers.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recognized Sweeny &Co Architects and CAST CONNEX with a 2015 R+D Award Citation for their collaborative industrial design of the 17.5-ton cast steel nodes which support Allied Properties REIT's new 11 story Queen Richmond Centre West above two century-old heritage buildings in Toronto, Canada.

The prestigious R+D Awards celebrate the most innovative building research, materials, and technologies. Entries in the annual competition are judged on their potential or documented innovation in fabrication, assembly, installation, and performance as well as their potential to advance the aesthetic, environmental, social, and technological value of architecture.

The Queen Richmond Centre West offers a brilliant example of adaptive re-use through its integration of two existing heritage buildings into the construction of a new 11-story office building. The new office tower springs from a tabletop that spans above both buildings – 70-feet above street level – and is perched atop three architecturally exposed structural steel delta frames comprised of 40-inch diameter concrete-filled steel pipes and 35,000-pound cast steel nodes. The innovative delta frames create a soaring open air atrium that sets this development apart from any other, with the cast steel nodes causing each of the delta frame’s legs to appear to effortlessly curve while subtly merging with its neighbouring legs at a point 35-feet in the air.

The latest technologies in BIM, 3-dimensional solid modelling, numerical stress analysis, computational fluid dynamics, and casting solidification modelling, in addition to state-of-the-art rapid prototyping, CNC-tooling production, 5-axis machining, and laser scanning technologies were used in the industrial design, engineering, and production of the complex cast nodes.

The R+D Awards jury was made up of architects Marc Fornes of Theverymany, Joyce Hwang, AIA of Ants of the Prairie, and Steven Rainville, AIA of Olson Kundig Architects.

Project collaborators Sweeny &Co Architects, Stephenson Engineering, Walters Group, and CAST CONNEX received an Engineering Award of Excellence at the 2015 Ontario Regional Steel Design Awards for their work on Allied Properties REIT’s Queen Richmond Centre West in Toronto, Ontario.

The Queen Richmond Centre West is a brilliant example of adaptive re-use in its incorporation of two existing heritage buildings into the construction of a new 11-storey office building. The new office tower springs from a tabletop that spans above both buildings 70-feet above street level and is perched atop three architecturally exposed structural steel Mega Delta-Frames. The innovative Mega Delta-Frames create a soaring atrium that sets this development apart from any other.

Each of the Mega Delta-Frames supports over 90,000 kN (20,000 kips) in gravity loading and is a major component of the building’s lateral force resisting system. The frames are comprised of concrete filled 1-metre diameter, 50 mm thick steel pipes and 17-ton cast steel nodes.

Since 1947, the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards (OPEA) have recognized professional engineers in Ontario who have made outstanding contributions to their profession and their community. Professional Engineers Ontario and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers are proud to honour the very best of the profession with these awards.

The Engineering Medal recognizes professional engineers who have improved our quality of life through the ingenious application of their engineering skills. Recipients' achievements are significantly above the normally high standards of the profession.

The prestigious Award, bestowed upon CAST CONNEX and the inventors of the Company's High-Strength Connectors™, Dr. Jeffrey Packer, Dr. Constantin Christopoulos, Carlos de Oliveira, and Dr. Michael Gray, recognizes "outstanding innovation in Civil Engineering that has had a significant and far-ranging beneficial impact on the prosperity and well-being of society".

CAST CONNEX co-founder Carlos de Oliveira was awarded the CIDECT President's Award for his work in developing standardized cast steel connectors that simplify the design and fabrication of seismic-resistant braced frame buildings. CIDECT is an international association of leading manufacturers of hollow sections and pipes whose objective is to expand knowledge, by means of research and studies, of steel hollow sections and their application in steel construction and engineering.