Originally published in School Construction News
Key Takeaways
- Early coordination made steel reuse feasible.
- Reused materials cut carbon without added cost.
- Demolition became a circular design opportunity.
- Visible steel tells a clear sustainability story.
Overview
A look at how the Georgia Tech team reclaimed structural steel to reduce carbon, cut waste, and reimagine what’s possible in sustainable, performance-driven design.
As the built environment grapples with the urgent need to reduce embodied carbon, a growing number of project teams are exploring ways to reuse—not just recycle—existing materials. But in an industry where time, cost, and risk are paramount, is structural steel reuse truly feasible at scale?
At Georgia Tech, the answer was yes.
The Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center, currently under construction at the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium, offered an unusual opportunity: incorporate salvaged steel from the stadium’s demolished upper deck into the new 100,000-square-foot facility.
That opportunity, however, didn’t come without challenges. It required extensive planning, design coordination, and a shift in how project teams think about structural material lifecycles.
Thinking Beyond Recycling
Steel is one of the most recyclable materials in construction, but recycling typically involves melting the material down and recasting it—a process that consumes significant energy. Reuse, on the other hand, avoids this energy cost altogether. Yet for structural steel, reuse remains relatively rare.
That’s partly due to design constraints. But as the Georgia Tech team found, when project timelines and design intent align, reuse can deliver sustainability gains without compromising cost or schedule.
The salvaged steel was transported just nine miles to a local fabricator, fitted with new connection materials, and then returned to site for installation—a loop that embodied both efficiency and circularity.
Lessons for the Industry
Early alignment across the project team was essential. The design team, contractor (DPR Construction), and demolition partner (Green Circle Demolition) collaborated closely to plan salvage operations and integrate the materials into the construction sequence. Because steel salvage can affect subcontractor pricing and scope, Roberts stresses that timing is everything.
The strategy ultimately resulted in a 25,000-kilogram reduction in CO₂ emissions, the equivalent of roughly 60,000 miles driven by a typical gas-powered car.
And though the reclaimed steel made up a small fraction of the building’s overall material volume, its visible presence—left exposed in key areas—tells a larger story about circularity, material value, and what’s possible when structural engineers take the long view.
