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13Ideas

The instant high-rise

Novel modular construction using AI and robots can raise a 15-storey building in under a week.

Original reporting by Chris Cannon

The instant high-rise
IdeasDr. Tony Yang (left) heads UBC's Smart Structures Lab. Photos by Si Ming Zheng. Novel modular construction using AI and robots can raise a 15-storey building in under a week.Photo: Chris Cannon

Where the work begins

Novel modular construction using AI and robots can raise a 15-storey building in under a week.

What follows

Further reporting continues across the university network.

At a glance

  • Campus: UBC Vancouver & Okanagan (Point Grey & Kelowna)
  • Focus: Research & public discovery (Ideas)
  • Outcome: Verified reporting (September 2026 issue)
Sources 1
  1. Original reporting · magazine.alumni.ubc.ca

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This story is from the September 2026 issue of Alumni Digest · UBC. It's free, monthly and independent.

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Alumni Digest is independent and is not an official University of British Columbia publication. Stories summarize the public reporting linked under each piece; photographs belong to the credited sources and remain under rights review.