2. A brief history

Thin, cold-formed elements were first used in building construction at the end of the 19th century.

Their development was the result of research carried out mainly in the United States and Great Britain from the 1960s onwards, in particular under the impetus of Professor George Winter (1907-1982).

The first text governing these products dates back to 1946 (AISI – Design of Light Gauge Steel Structural Members); in France, numerous publications accompanied the appearance and gradual use of these products, leading naturally to the first text in December 1978, DTU P 22703 "Règles de calcul des éléments à parois mince en acier", reflecting a change in the status of this technique, which can now be described as "conventional".

In France, in the 1970s, the first use of thin profiles in panelling applications met with some...