United Steelworkers Building
The building in 2019
Former namesIBM Building
Alternative namesI.W. Abel Building, Five Gateway Center
General information
TypeOffice
Location60 Boulevard of the Allies
Town or cityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States of America
Coordinates40°26′22″N 80°00′20″W / 40.4394°N 80.0055°W / 40.4394; -80.0055
GroundbreakingDecember 5, 1961[1]
Topped-outNovember 8, 1962[2]
OpeningMarch 19, 1964[3]
Cost$5 million[4]
OwnerUnited Steelworkers
Height172 feet (52 m) (estimated)[5]
Technical details
Floor count13
Design and construction
Architect(s)Curtis and Davis
DeveloperEquitable Life Assurance Society
Structural engineerWorthington, Skilling, Helle & Jackson
Main contractorGeorge A. Fuller Co.
IBM Building
Part ofPittsburgh Renaissance Historic District[6] (ID13000252)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 2, 2013
Designated PHLF2014[7]

The United Steelworkers Building, originally named the IBM Building and also known as the I.W. Abel Building or Five Gateway Center,[8] is a highrise office building in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1961–64 as part of the Gateway Center project which redeveloped a large portion of the area known as the Point. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property in the Pittsburgh Renaissance Historic District[6] and has been designated as a Pittsburgh landmark by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.[7]

The building was designed by Curtis and Davis, a New Orleans-based architecture firm, with structural engineers Worthington, Skilling, Helle & Jackson. The design of the building, featuring a load-bearing steel diagrid exoskeleton, was highly unusual at the time and helped pioneer the use of diagrids and framed tube construction.

History

The building was developed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society as part of the Gateway Center project, which transformed an area consisting primarily of old warehouses into a modernist office park. The IBM Building was built on the site of the former Wabash Terminal train shed, which had been demolished in 1953. Workers had to remove 104 large concrete piers from the former station during construction.[9] Ground was broken on December 5, 1961[1] and the completed building was dedicated on March 19, 1964.[3]

The building's original tenants were IBM, occupying floors 1–4, and U.S. Steel on floors 5–13.[4] The building was purchased in 1973 by the United Steelworkers labor union,[10] which has continued to own and occupy it since. In 1989 it was officially renamed for former USW president I.W. Abel.[11]

Architecture

The design of the IBM Building was highly unusual at the time of construction in that the exterior of the building is load-bearing, unlike conventional high-rise architecture which used post-and-beam type steel or concrete framing with exterior curtain walls. The IBM building is supported by a steel exoskeleton resting on eight piers, two on each side of the building, along with a central core containing elevators and other utilities.[12] The remainder of the interior is free from structural supports, allowing a completely open floorplan.[13] This was one of the earliest examples of "framed tube" construction,[14] which was later used extensively to build supertall structures like the John Hancock Center and World Trade Center. In fact, the structural engineers for the IBM Building, John Skilling and Leslie E. Robertson, were also responsible for the World Trade Center. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the IBM Building "one of the first real changes from conventional design in half a century of multi-story building."[15]

Detail of the building exterior

The building was also one of the first to utilize a diagrid (diagonal grid) structure, which requires less steel than a conventional frame.[16] The building frame does not contain any vertical members except for the six columns that support the utility core.[17] This type of structure was difficult to build at the time, though construction advances have since made it possible to build much larger diagrid buildings like 30 St Mary Axe.[16] The IBM Building diagrid structure is constructed from 252 prefabricated sections which were hoisted into place and welded together.[2] The exterior of the building is covered with a skin of stainless steel and glass panels in alternating rows.[12]

Another unusual feature of the building is that the frame is constructed from different grades of steel depending on the strength requirements of each structural member. This was a departure from conventional structural engineering, where the material would typically be chosen at the outset. Instead, the engineers devised the frame geometry first and then calculated the required yield strength for each member, refining the design iteratively. The steel used in the building was supplied by U.S. Steel and varied from plain carbon steel with a yield strength of 36 ksi (250 MPa) to high-strength alloy with a yield strength of 100 ksi (690 MPa).[18] The steel beams were color-coded during construction to ensure the frame was assembled correctly.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 "IBM Breaks Ground For Gateway Office". Pittsburgh Press. December 5, 1961. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Thomas, George (November 9, 1962). "Ceremony 'Tops' IBM Building". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "IBM Building Dedication Set". Pittsburgh Press. March 17, 1964. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "New IBM Building Unusual Inside, Too". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 11, 1964. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "United Steelworkers Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Pittsburgh Renaissance Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. May 2, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Historic Landmark Plaques 1968–2014 (PDF). Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2014. p. 19. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  8. ↑ Jensen, Edward (February 19, 1964). "U.S. Steel Balks Over Name". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Yates, Edward D. (January 4, 1962). "Ghost of Wabash Empire Still Haunts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "IBM Building, Manor Oak Sales Recorded Here". Pittsburgh Press. April 15, 1973. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "USW Honors I.W. Abel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 16, 1989. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 "IBM's Building to Be Unique". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 28, 1962. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Donnelly, Lu (17 July 2018). "United Steelworkers Building (IBM Building)". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ Salmon, Charles G.; White, Richard, eds. (1987). Building Structural Design Handbook. New York: Wiley. p. 299. ISBN 9780471081500.
  15. ↑ "Ballet on Steel Draws Audience Below". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 15, 1962. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 Milana, Giulia; Gkoumas, Konstantinos; Bontempi, Franco (2014). "Sustainability Concepts in the Design of High-Rise Buildings: The Case of Diagrid Systems". Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Design in Civil and Environmental Engineering: 170–179. ISBN 9780989465830. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  17. ↑ "IBM Building 'Due' Next April". Pittsburgh Press. April 28, 1962. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Robertson, Leslie E. (2008). "A Life in Structural Engineering". In Nordenson, Guy (ed.). Seven Structural Engineers: The Felix Candela Lectures. New York: Museum of Modern Art. pp. 67–68. ISBN 9780870707032. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Paint Tells Kinds of Steel Used". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 8, 1962. Retrieved April 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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