Architectural and Structural Metals

Approaching the Council Chamber with its highly durable bronze finishes. Winnipeg City Hall, Winnipeg, MB. Source: TRACE

	Recommended
1	Reinstating metal projecting elements such as cornices and eaves that shield building envelope components.
2	Maintaining mullion profiles and spandrel panel sizes when rehabilitating or upgrading a metal and glass curtain wall.
3	Rehabilitating metal components by splicing and patching deteriorated areas.
4	Retaining/reinstating sound metal components within an assembly after rehabilitating adjacent surfaces.
5	Designing structural steel interventions using reversible bolted connections.
6	Recycling all metal elements removed from secondary elements that cannot be retained.

Sustainability challenges for architectural and structural metals include:

Material extraction and production that may create pollution and require significant energy input;
Metals that may not be locally available;
Protective coatings that can fail prior to the underlying metal;
Protective coatings that may contain toxic substances;
Toxicity of some metal such as lead, which limits potential treatment options.