Arup uses cloud computing to drastically cut structural design time for massive Istanbul hospital

2020-06-04T18:44:00-04:00

A recently inaugurated 1 million-square-meter hospital complex designed by Arup, Perkins and Will, and Yazgan Design Architecture for Rönesans Holding and Sojitz Corporation in Istanbul, Turkey is a feat of engineering and design coordination.

The building contains many interior courtyards that connect different wings and buildings together.

The massive Başakşehir Pine and Sakura City Hospital complex consists of three nearly identical hospital towers containing a main hospital facility, a psychiatric hospital, and a physical treatment and rehabilitation facility. The 2,682-bed hospital, developed as a public-private partnership, also includes six clinic buildings and five auxiliary facility buildings situated on the site.

While the massing, articulation, and materiality of the complex are relatively staid and straightforward, its what lies underneath these elements that truly defines the complex.

Overall view of the hospital complex.

For example, the hospital sits on 2,068 seismi...

Throwaway cities vs seismic resilience: How American and Japanese buildings don't follow the same path towards earthquake safety

2019-07-31T19:18:00-04:00

Japan, through both government mandates and its engineering culture, builds stronger structures capable of withstanding earthquakes and being used immediately afterward. The United States sets a minimum and less protective standard with the understanding that many buildings will be badly damaged. The two approaches reflect different attitudes toward risk, the role of government and collective social responsibility.

The NYT takes a look at the drastically differing approaches (and ideologies behind them) towards earthquake safety in Japan compared with the United States and asks experts what would be at stake in the greater, urban picture in the anticipated event of a very big earthquake.

"The debate over whether to build more resilient buildings in the United States has been held largely out of public view, among engineers and other specialists," the piece goes. "But at stake is whether places like Silicon Valley, Seattle, Salt Lake City, San Francisco or Los Angeles might be forced to shut down after a direct hit — and for how long."

In this shake table test, the building model on the right is equipped with a seismic base isolation. Image: Valentin Shustov/Wikimedia Commons.

While strict regulations and advances in seismic engineering in Japan appear to favor base-isolated structures to allow tall buildings to resist the shaking ground, the regulation-averse American construction industry over...

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Arup uses cloud computing to drastically cut structural design time for massive Istanbul hospital

Throwaway cities vs seismic resilience: How American and Japanese buildings don't follow the same path towards earthquake safety