The EUROPEAN STEEL DESIGN AWARDS are given by ECCS every two years to encourage the creative and outstanding use of steel in architecture and construction. Outstanding design in steel construction emphasizes the many advantages of steel in construction, production, economy, environment and architecture.
This year, from the 18 projects submitted in total by the ECCS member associations for ESDA 2023, the international expert jury selected 11 nominees, one per country. The overall winner ESDA 2023 Laureate and two ESDA 2023 Special Awards were then chosen out of those nominees and announced during a reception on 12 September 2023 in Amsterdam, in the frame of the EUROSTEEL conference.
European Steel Design Award 2023 Laureate:
BioPartner5 - NETHERLANDS
Project owner
BioPartner Center Leiden
Engineer
IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs
Architect
Popma ter Steege Architecten
General Contractor
De Vries en Verburg, Stolwijk
Steelwork Contractor
Vic Obdam Staalbouw
Much of the emphasis was on the main structure, because it accounts for 38% of the total shadow costs. This makes the main structure the largest emission source of all building components. BioPartner 5 is an assembly of materials with the lowest possible carbon footprint. It is the first large-scale application of the Donor Skeleton principle: used building materials have been reused on a large scale. The building is constructed from as much as 165,000 kilograms of reused structural steel that for 50 years formed the basis of a nearby Leiden University laboratory building. Together with the entire project team, a doubly sustainable building was realised. Besides reusing existing steel members, the new structure was designed to be easily deconstructed again the end of its service life. Together with all the energy consumption measures, this has resulted in the first 'Paris-proof' building completed in the Netherlands.
ESDA 2023 Special Award - Manufacturing:
Luma Tower - FRANCE
Project owner
Luma Fundation
Engineer
Tess, Eiffage Metal
Architect
Gehry Partners
General Contractor
joint venture Eiffage Metal/ Vinci Construction France
Steelwork Contractor
Eiffage Metal (Smulders / Iemants)
The contract for the Luma Tower was signed in 2014 and the project was completed in June 2021: 10 000 m², mixed of opacity reflecting the light and transparency. The 4500 m² opaque walls are made up of 300 stiffened 3D shells in 3mm stainless steel + stiffener 8 mm, total 380 t. On external side, the 11 000 SS bricks build-up of 1mm thick plate weighing 90 t are used as cladding and signature of the building. on the inside the shell system support the sprayed insulation (250 mm thickness). At ground level, the rotunda 3500 m², 56 m diameter and 16 m high is made of 400 t reconstituted rectangular section S355 Carbon Steel hot deep Galvanized supporting insulated glazing.
ESDA 2023 Special Award - Integrated design:
Varvsbron, Helsingborg (SWEDEN):
Project owner
Helsingborgs Stad (The City of Helsingborg)
Engineer
- Ramboll Sweden AB
- Centerlöf&Holmberg, Malmö
- Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner, Stuttgart
- Luxera AB, Malmö (Lighting design)
Architect
Ramboll Sweden AB/Ramboll UK
General Contractor
PEAB
Steelwork Contractor
Stål-och Rörmontage, Sölvesborg, Sweden
‘Varvsbron’ is a highly inventive pedestrian and cycle bridge; and a key part of The City of Helsingborg’s plans to develop vibrant new neighbourhoods and revitalise its urban harbour. In 2014 the international competition was won with an innovative design which shares characteristics with both suspension and cable-stayed structures. The bridge’s two pylons lean dramatically away from each other, with primary support cables swooping between to ‘cradle’ the deck from below rather than simply connect to the deck edge, as is typical for traditional cable-stayed structures. The gently inclined sinuous form of the bridge successfully resolved complex site requirements and created a dynamic centrepiece for the city’s new ‘urban archipelago’, Oceanhamnen. The team's up to date use of parametric modelling merged design and analysis processes and created a seamless transition between traditionally distinct stages of design, fabrication, and installation, which ultimately made this distinctive bridge more sustainable, structurally efficient, and cost-effective.