These days people consider various criteria carefully, for example, environmental standard, when purchasing even household items like furniture and decorative items. For construction materials, stricter standards should be applied, one would think. This is why POSCO came up with ‘INNOVILT’, a premium brand of steel products for construction that applies POSCO steel. It’s a brand everyone — from workers to end-users — can recognize and trust.

l Why Did POSCO Launch a Construction Material Brand?

Since POSCO mainly produces flat products, its performance didn’t stand out in the construction market, which mostly consists of rebar and section steel. Instead, POSCO worked with its client companies to create solutions for premium steel products for construction. As a result, lighter, stronger, more aesthetically pleasing and cost-efficient products were developed. Since ‘High-end’ steel is no longer used just in automobiles and home appliances, POSCO’s world-class technology began to stand out in the construction field as well. However, since most businesses are carried on in B2B (business to business) form, POSCO was unable to deliver these solutions directly to end-users.

At the same time, new changes were detected in the construction market in Korea. As the value of safety and sustainability became higher, the end-users’ opinion, as well as the direct business parties’ — such as builders and contractors — had a greater impact on material decisions. Noticing this change, POSCO concluded that the B2B strategy is no longer viable in the domestic construction market. Hence, to make better steel products for construction than other competing materials such as wood, stone, and nonferrous metals (aluminum, etc.), changing the communication strategy was crucial. The new strategy would be B2B2C (Business to Business + Business to Customer), which actively engages the general public as well as the specialists.

On account of all these events, POSCO launched ‘INNOVILT’, a construction material brand. POSCO intends to increase customer value by expanding the premium technology and expertise — accumulated from other industries — to the construction market. Additionally, the public, who were unable to access construction material information, can easily comprehend the value and credibility of the material by recognizing the brand.

l ‘INNOVILT’ Let’s Bring the Value of Steel Into Construction 

▲ ‘INNOVILT’ brand concept

‘INNOVILT’ is the brand name. It stands for innovation, value, and built and aims to innovate the value of construction through POSCO Premium Steel. The brand slogan is — “Built the next, Let’s INNOVILT”. The core values of the brand are as follows: Hi-Tech, Creativity, Sustainability, and Partnership.

It is a known fact that POSCO’s Hi-Tech steel is used as a premium material in automobiles, home appliances, and mobile phones. And in these kinds of consumer goods, the end-user can easily judge and distinguish materials. For example, when someone says that a refrigerator made of black stainless steel is significantly better and is more expensive than other products, most people would agree.

Let’s think about it. There are hundreds of steel grades produced by POSCO, and POSCO hadn’t developed this cutting edge steel technology just for the automotive and home appliance industry alone. So 51 years of POSCO’s technology is in practice in construction steel products, making them more innovative than ever. Then how about adapting this technology into our homes? Actually, this is what ‘INNOVILT’ is trying to communicate across. “Embrace and invite INNOVILT into your house.”

l ‘INNOVILT’— Made With POSCO Steel 100%

So does this mean all POSCO steel becomes INNOVILT products automatically? The answer is No. To become an ‘INNOVILT’ product, the manufacturer of the steel products for construction must submit an application to POSCO. POSCO then reviews this application with its experts. Using POSCO steel 100%, such as WTP (World Top Premium) product, is essential. The selection criteria include the product technology, marketability, and also the stability and management ability of the client company. If the client company passes the evaluation, the company is given the right to use the brand name, and the product can be sold under the name ‘INNOVILT’.

Such a case — a steel company branding and managing client companies’ products — is unprecedented. Also, client companies who produce steel products for construction with POSCO steel or need strategic partnerships with POSCO will have mutual exchange as members of the ‘INNOVILT Alliance’.

▲ ‘INNOVILT’ brand system

The first INNOVILT product will be selected in December, but that doesn’t end there. POSCO is set to hold a brand committee every quarter and manage the INNOVILT brand continuously. The committee will look into whether the INNOVILT products are causing any quality issues that harm the brand reputation and whether the client companies continue to adopt POSCO steel 100%. POSCO will also hold meetings where solutions, applied technology, and co-marketing methods could be discussed so that INNOVILT products — just like its name — can keep being innovative. Putting up its name for this, POSCO aims to make INNOVILT completely credible to consumers.

l End-users : Experience Says It All

How can the brand ‘INNOVILT’ be applied in the real market? The following is an example showing how it works with ‘Steel Curtain Wall’.

▲ End-users, as well as business parties, can opt for the ‘INNOVILT’ brand.

Let’s say POSCO produces the WTP steel PosMAC and supplies it to a company N, an ‘INNOVILT Alliance’. Company N produces steel curtain walls which are INNOVILT  and then promote and sell the products under the name ‘INNOVILT’. Architectural design and construction companies compare general steel, aluminum, and ‘INNOVILT’ for curtain wall materials. As a result, premium material ‘INNOVILT’ is chosen and applied. The end-user may also express preference knowing that INNOVILT has a good price, and is distinctively safe.

Consumer’s experience of the benefits INNOVILT offers is the most important part of the brand. End-users can now proactively recognize, select, and enjoy the materials by themselves unlike before. For example, in the past, consumers used to be passive, regarding steel curtain walls to be just aluminum. But in the future, through INNOVILT they can make more informed decisions. With INNOVILT, such information previously unknown to customers, as the durability and insulation of the material, is now at consumer’s disposal.

As seen here, INNOVILT buildings and infrastructures will naturally become a safer, more sustainable, and cost-efficient space. If the concept of INNOVILT as a premium construction material is firmly established, end-users can make active requests for INNOVILT material like in apartment interior & exterior and so on. Some might even say, “My house is INNOVILT built.”

l “My House Is INNOVILT Built.”

INNOVILT is a construction material made of steel from the world’s most competitive steel maker. Now, through INNOVILT, users can explore values they had never experienced before in their lives.

An INNOVILT ‘PosMAC Barrier’ has an excellent corrosion-resistant and rainwater storage function, enabling the roadside trees to grow in an eco-friendly way. An apartment building can use INNOVILT ‘Stone-like Panel’ instead of cheap stone materials. It’s safer and there’s no need to worry about harmful substances. These are some examples of INNOVILT that consumers can experience in their daily lives.

INNOVILT continues its innovation to embrace all the values in construction that can’t be compromised — like economic feasibility, stability, and sustainability. In recent years, especially, sustainability is the most valuable idea across all industries. Steel is infinitely recyclable since it’s made from natural raw materials. Accordingly, utilizing INNOVILT means choosing the best technology and material that ensure economic feasibility and sustainability.

In terms of industrial ecology, the credibility of POSCO steel can be extended to the products of client companies, creating greater business value. POSCO also created the INNOVILT Smart Platform(link) where you can look at steel products for construction including INNOVILT. 3D planning and designing are also possible here using BIM (Building Information Modeling). On November 29, INNOVILT will be exhibited at the ‘POSCO E&C’s the Sharp Gallery’, located in Seoul. POSCO plans to fully support various promotion and marketing so that INNOVILT can play a substantial role in expanding the sales of its client companies.

‘Construction’ is a familiar yet difficult subject to comprehend. This is why POSCO presents a new paradigm with INNOVILT — a single name that users can rely on while choosing construction material. Build the Next. Let’s INNOVILT!

▲ Home Insurance Building, the world’s first skyscraper (Lifespan: 1885 ~ 1931)

But what about for residential construction? Steel is definitely used to build our houses – wall panels, pipes and all – but are they simply design components? If not, how crucial are they?
In the past, builders did use to prefer wood over steel to frame residential buildings. However, because of its durability, steel is gaining more popularity.
What are some of the strengths of steel for residential construction in functionality as well as aesthetics aspects? What potentials does POSCO see for steel as residential construction materials? POSCO Newsroom reports.

l Steel Beauties around the World

Although wood has been popular as structural materials for residential construction, here are some of the advantages that steel has over wood. Steel has a higher strength to weight ratio than wood, which means steel components are stronger without adding much weight.

This is what makes steel structures stronger than wood, which is very attractive in areas prone to tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Steel is also fire- and termite-resistant, making it more durable than wood. To promote the strength of steel as residential construction materials, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) introduced ten houses as part of its #lovesteel campaign. Here are some of the examples.

(1) Corten House in Belgium
Located in Kontich, Belgium, the house was completed in 2013. The steel used by the firm DMOA House for the Corten House has plenty of assets to fall in love with, for its structural strength, pureness as well as the warm color of rust. The versatility of steel allows it to shape in any way.

▲ Courten House (Photo by: Luc Roymans)

The owner of the Corten House says, “We were especially charmed by its deep rusty red color, which intensifies around sunset. While being a raw material, Corten steel also brings a vivid ambiance. The house combines a unique and contemporary style with warmth and coziness.”

(2) Flip House in San Francisco, USA
Designed by Fougeron Architecture, this 2013 Residential Architect Merit Award winner is a flip of tradition San Francisco home.

▲ Flip House (Photo by: Joe Fletcher)

Like many San Francisco homes, the original house poorly integrated its many levels with each other. Instead of selecting a new site or building a completely new home, the Fougeron Architecture reinvented and remodeled the house to suit the unique needs of a growing family in a dense urban culture. The glass panels that create the undulating curtain walls of the facade fills the rooms with natural light, allowing a great view of San Francisco – the thin steel frame made it possible to contain the glass panels.

(3) Residence at Alibag in Mumbai, India
Situated on a steep hill with Mumbai in the distance, the steel and concrete used in this design defy conventional approaches. The architect chose to deconstruct cuboid that is tilted and suspended over the ground giving the impression of a floating house. With the steel structure, the designers at the Malik Architecture successfully created concrete planes making contact with the ground, while steel floats above it.

▲ Alibag Residenc (Photo by: Malik Architecture)

All in all, using structural steel provided a column-free, and flexible use of interior space. At this residential house in Alibag, structural steel has been used in its purest form, a major aesthetic element in the overall composition.

(4) Kloof Road House in Johanenesburg, South Africa
Located at the foot of a nature reserve in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, black steel is used extensively for the house’s exterior, creating a distinct bland with the soft green colors of the garden and white-washed walls.

▲ Kloof Road House (Photo by: Nico vander House)

Steel and glass are prominent materials used in Kloof Road House and have been uniquely integrated into the design, from the boundary wall all the way into the interior details. The angled columns and steel beams pierce the double volume space. These structural elements were designed to appear sculptural, while the sculptures on display simultaneously compliment the structural components of the building.

(5) Moebius House by Tony Owen Partners
A suburban house overlooking Sydney Harbour, the complex curving structure is made possible by pre-cut steel-framed panels. The design is a good example of ‘liquid architecture’ whereby projects are designed parametrically using 3D modeling software.

▲ Moebius House (Photo by: Tony Owens Partners)

ㅣSteel Houses Made by POSCO

The houses introduced by the worldsteel proved the value of steel as structural material for residential construction, well beyond design components. Nonetheless, one of the major drawbacks to using steel in residential construction is price. It is still challenging to find contractors to build residential homes with steel framing. Compared to wood, steel homes cost about 14 percent more to build and require more time to complete.

The benefits of steel, however, seem too good to ignore. POSCO, who has been well aware of steel’s potential as residential construction material, took on projects to help curb the notion that steel house is expensive.

In 2018, at the heart of Seoul’s Seodaemun district, POSCO built a youth share house Nuri, made of steel, for people who are just starting out in their career. Nuri not only provides a place to nurture young people facing housing insecurity, but also uses five POSCO technologies that are ideal for structural safety, durability and energy saving.

For the construction of Nuri, POSCO used the rust-free and corrosion-resistant PosMAC. In addition, PosART (aka POSCO Artistic Steel) decorates the lobby of the Nuri, symbolizing the young residents’ passion and dream sprouting and springing up there. PosART broke ground and became commercialized last year as Korea’s first high-resolution inkjet print – PosART is also semi-permanent.

▲ PosART at POSCO Steel House, Nuri

With the company’s own steel materials, POSCO also builds and donates steel houses for the underprivileged communities – both POSCO employees and Beyonders (POSCO’s global youth volunteer corps comprised of community-minded university students) actively participate. Ever since the company broke ground for its first steel house in 2009, POSCO donated more than 50 houses to the communities in need.

Steel is also in use as the major source of residential construction material for POSCO’s Steel Village. Just like steel houses above, POSCO’s Steel Village project is also a community-oriented project where POSCO’s technology and materials are put into good use.

Since 2014, POSCO built more than 104 houses – and steel bridges – in Vietnam’s underprivileged communities. This year, POSCO is undertaking the Steel Village Project in Indonesia Cilegon district where POSCO’s integrated steel mill PT.KRAKATAU POSCO is located.

l Steel Buildings Last More Than 100 Years

To sum up, here are some key statistics of steel use in construciton:

▲ Steel use in construction: statistics – sourced from worldsteel and reproduced in POSCO Newsroom

More than 50% of all steel goes into buildings and infrastructure – and the global construction recovery rate for the 100% recyclable steel is at 85%. Not only that, thanks to new high strength steel, building components require 25-50% less material.

Steel buildings last more than 100 years – that’s why steel is one of the major structural materials for so many commercial buildings whilst establishing itself as crucial design components in residential buildings.
The strength of steel as residential construction materials is getting recognition and its use is likely to be expanded. As a steel company, POSCO will continue the journey to promote the potential of steel in a way that can help contribute to the community it serves.