Since the introduction of steel as a building material in the early twentieth century, its superior performance has challenged conventional wisdom about construction, enabling designs of surprising lightness and span. Steel offered the opportunity to significantly expand buildings vertically and thus emerged as a symbol of the conflict between technological progress and the architectural ideal. More recently, the use of exposed steel elements in modern architecture ushered in a rediscovery of buildings metamorphoses. Continuer en acier looks at the largely ignored topic of steel additions in architecture and engineering, documenting an ambitious, interdisciplinary research project by architects, engineers, teachers, and students at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Constructive Design. The book offers basic theoretical and technical information on a selection of outstanding steel additions alongside more than one hundred illustrations, including plans and photographs.

Daniel Stockhammer has been a research assistant at ZHAW, Institute of Constructive Design, in 2016-17 and is a teaching and research assistant at University of Liechtensteins Institute of Architecture and Planning. Astrid Staufer is an architect, professor at Technische Universität Vienna, and Co-director of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Institute of Constructive Design in Winterthur, Switzerland. Daniel Meyer is a civil engineer and a lecturer at ZHAW, Institute of Constructive Design. Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) Institute of Constructive Design is an interactive hub for teaching and research in building design and construction.