World’s first 3D-printed medical center completed

3D construction printing reached new heights this week as the world’s first 3D-printed medical center was completed in Thailand.

Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California. Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses.

Seismic compliance with the applicable California building codes is onerous and disruptive for building owners, especially for a building in the heavily regulated sector of healthcare. Owners of older buildings that house acute care services have a big deadline on the horizon—Jan. 1, 2030, the cutoff date to upgrade their buildings to SPC-4D.

Faster delivery of buildings isn’t always associated with sustainability benefits or long-term value, but things are changing. An instructive case is in the development of steel structures that not only allow speedier erection times, but also can reduce embodied carbon and create durable, highly resilient building approaches.

Here are seven key areas where innovation in structural engineering is driving evolution.

Vancouver, Canada’s third largest metropolitan area, has the country’s highest seismic risk.

Getting a project through plan review can be an unusually long process, anywhere from six months to two years.

Significant risk increases seen in some areas of the U.S.