The concept of sustainable development can be traced back to fifty years, the green building movement in the U.S. originated from the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly construction practices. There are a number of motives for building green, including environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Green building brings together a vast array of practices, techniques, and skills to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques are used, such as using low-impact building materials or using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water.

On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.

The United States Steel Corporation, one of the largest steel producers in the world, wanted to make a statement about the strength and beauty of steel. The original concept was to design the tallest building in the country, with an outer facing completely made of Cor-Ten Steel. It was to be a huge advertisement for the steel industry, which was centered in Pittsburgh.

The U.S. Steel Tower is architecturally noted for its triangular shape with indented corners. The building also made history by being the first to use liquid-filled fireproofed columns. U.S. Steel deliberately placed the massive steel columns on the exterior of the building to showcase a new product called Cor-ten steel. Cor-ten resists the corrosive effects of rain, snow, ice, fog, and other meteorological conditions by forming a coating of dark brown oxidation over the metal, which inhibits deeper penetration and doesn't need painting and costly rust-prevention maintenance over the years for U.S. Steel Tower, also known as the Steel Building (formerly USX Tower) is a 64-story, 256.34 m (841.0 ft) skyscraper with 2,300,000 sq ft of space

Structural steel: 44,000 U.S. tons (40,000 metric tons)
Height: 256.3 M / 841 ft
Floors Above ground: 64
Floors below Ground: 3