A University of Indonesia student team finished sixth overall at the 2026 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Seismic Design Competition in Portland, Oregon. The event, held from July 13 to 17, brought together 47 teams from leading universities around the world. UI was the only team from Indonesia and Southeast Asia to reach the final round, and its result was the best achieved by an Indonesian entry.

The students presented Bifurca Tower, a proposed 20-storey building designed to remain functional while responding safely to simulated earthquakes. Its two building sections separate and reconnect at different floor levels, creating demanding questions involving weight distribution, structural stiffness and the release of earthquake energy. To improve performance, the team included a Negative Stiffness Friction Damper, which can absorb seismic energy and limit movement between floors without adding substantial weight.

The project also connected modern engineering with architectural traditions. Its nature-centred design took inspiration from the Panjai house of the Iban Dayak people and the Cedar Plank House associated with Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest. Team supervisor Josia Irwan Rastandi said the work combined structural safety, practical use, environmental responsibility and cultural references.

Civil engineering students Michael Fernando Theng, Muhammad Thoriq Ramadhan, Ihksan Putra Jaya and M. Fadhil Al-Ghani worked with interior architecture students Rasya Khairani Santoso and Joey Paul Thobias Awuy. Besides sixth place overall, UI ranked fourth for its proposal, fifth for presentation, sixth for communication and third in the T-shirt design category. The results showed the team’s ability to address both technical and presentation requirements in a demanding international contest.