It was only a few years before the first issue of Walls and Ceilings hit the streets that cold-formed steel was finding its first practical applications. Since that time, CFS has been through peaks and valleys but these experiences have laid the foundation for a bright future.
While there are a few vague claims as to who built the first structure with CFS, an architect in Berlin, a homebuilder in upstate New York … it appears that the first documented use of CFS as a building material is the Virginia Baptist Hospital built around 1925 in Lynchburg, Va. The walls were load bearing masonry, with a floor system framed with double back-to-back CFS lipped channels. A site observation during a recent renovation confirmed that these joists from the “roaring 1920s” are still supporting loads.