Importance of column-free engineering to maximizing space

Beams are an eye-sore, obstruct traffic flow, take up space and limit the potential of your warehousing, storage or working space…

In North America, we tend to take space for granted because have so much of it. However, extra space is good for business. Having an organized storage or office area without beams, columns and other obstacles interrupting space make the environment safer, healthier, more productive and generally more enjoyable to work in.

Let’s look at the actual space for a moment. A bigger building doesn’t necessarily mean a more effective and efficient use of space. Even if you escape the confines of older turn-of-the-century brick buildings with huge structural supporting walls that create a maze of small rooms, many traditional building methods still require internal columns and beams that can potentially cause hazardous and obstructive obstacles around which to work. 

Whether you have a warehouse, manufacturing facility, open-concept office or retail centre, those columns and beams in the way create significant workflow challenges and create an eyesore that is impossible to remove. In fact, some building concepts are impossible using interior supporting columns: imagine a sports field house, a swimming pool or airplane hangar with an array of supporting beams in the way. 

The intelligent alternative is modern steel buildings with open-bay engineering to create clear spans of 30 to 80 feet and building widths from 60 to 300 feet or more. Buildings can be as long as is needed. Think of all the possibilities when you have wide open, unobstructed space. 

As existing warehousing and storage buildings become rarer in large urban centers, like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, it becomes a smarter decision to build a little further outside the core and save money while improving the performance of your organization. The benefits are obvious.