The Steel Framing Industry Association has launched the Industry Project Awards, an annual competition recognizing excellence in the use of SFIA-certified cold-formed steel products. Architects, engineers, manufacturers, distributors, contractors and others can enter projects in the 2023 competition, so long as the projects feature SFIA-certified CFS products and the entrants themselves are SFIA members.

“The SFIA 2023 Industry Project Awards will be the premier awards program for projects featuring SFIA-certified steel and steel connectors,” said Larry Williams, SFIA executive director. “SFIA-labeled steel has passed physical tests for mechanical properties, coatings and manufactured dimensions, so our award winners will certainly be ‘top tier’ in steel framing manufacturing and construction excellence.”

Applicants to this year’s competition, the SFIA 2023 Industry Project Awards, may submit projects using the official Awards Application Form. The deadline for this year’s competition is 8:00 pm EST on June 23. The Contest Rules are available for download in PDF format.

Five Categories of Awards

The SFIA Industry Project Awards will emphasize the innovative use of CFS framing. The 2023 competition will include entrants in the following 5 categories:

1. Efficient use of cold-formed steel framing.
2. Conversion from another material to cold-formed steel framing.
3. Architectural design detail.
4. Sustainability.
5. Size of the job (quantity of cold-formed steel products used).

One winner and one honorable mention will be awarded for each category unless suitable submissions are not received. Winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony to be held by SFIA this fall.

Judging Criteria

A panel of industry representatives will judge entries based on the following criteria:

1. Design Quality, which includes the efficient and sustainable use of CFS products.
2. Installation Complexity, focusing on conflict resolution, timeframe challenges, etc.
3. Manufacturing Complexity, which can include custom orders, panelization, special material sourcing and more.
4. Overall Job Quality, which includes alignments, finishes and other attention to detail.
5. Conversion from Alternative Framing Material (if applicable), which reflects how metal framing can lower a structure’s weight, add stories, save on builders’ risk insurance, etc.

The SFIA 2023 Industry Project Awards will focus on CFS manufacturing and construction. The SFIA awards program is a complement to the Design Excellence and Creative Detail Awards governed by the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute.

For more information, visit www.cfsteel.org.