IBM Building
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United Steelworkers Building
1961–1963, Curtis and Davis. 60 Blvd. of the Allies
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United Steelworkers Building (IBM Building) (Richard Guy Wilson) -
United Steelworkers Building (IBM Building) (Richard W. Longstreth) -
United Steelworkers Building (IBM Building) (Richard Guy Wilson)
This was one of the more closely watched construction projects of the 1960s, as it was a landmark in the return of the bearing wall that had done only intermittent structural service since the early steel-skeleton Chicago skyscrapers of the 1880s. The welded stainless steel web of these thirteen-story truss walls is constructed of three different strengths of steel, which progressively lighten as the building rises and the load lessens. This web is dual purpose, being both the structure and a sunscreen for the interior. With its floor, wall, and elevator loads all carried on a central core, the open interior, with spans up to fifty-four feet, enjoys the highest possible internal flexibility. Though the fussiness of the honeycomb exterior marks it as a postwar period piece, the structural innovation articulated here has become a standard alternative to the nonbearing curtain wall.
Writing Credits
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Data
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Location: Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaRegional Overviews:Architect:Types:Styles:Materials:
Timeline
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1961
Built
What's Nearby
Citation
Lu Donnelly et al., "United Steelworkers Building", [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-01-AL5.
Print Source
Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Lu Donnelly, H. David Brumble IV, and Franklin Toker. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, 46-47.
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