The 31-story Metropolitan Tower in downtown Seattle uses a number of engineering techniques to produce a state-of-the-art concrete structure at a competitive price.

A multimillion-dollar building project warrants careful selection and engineering of the structural system to ensure that both structural integrity and construction cost are optimized. Assuming the design team is qualified, structural integrity is seldom a problem. Construction cost often is. But there are ways to achieve structural economy, particularly in the structural design of concrete buildings.

“Buildability” is the term often used to discuss the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of structural design. Buildable structural design requires several critical activities.

 
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