Engineer shuts down rich developer’s attempt to make her break safety codes to save money, and her firm backs her up against him: ‘My entire job is to make sure buildings don’t fall down’

Some people hear seismic zone and think that just means shaking the piggy bank, not worrying about foundations, and a rich developer named Eric took this to Olympic levels by demanding a licensed engineer shave twenty percent off concrete slabs because his spreadsheet was allergic to decimals and his patience runs only as deep as the shallowest footing. Structural engineering has two rules: buildings stay up and lives stay uncrushed, but none of that fits a PowerPoint or pairs well with a Porsche, so the pitch meeting turned into a circus the moment a no stepped into the ring.

This is how money tries to bribe physics or at least see if it will fold under pressure. In any business where the stakes are invisible until they go horribly public, there is always a shortcut artist with grand designs and a tantrum ready to set to vibrate once someone says safety has a minimum thickness. The real test comes not with endless calculations or code books, but when the boss's ego collides with regulatory reality and tries to get a professional to sign off based on gut feelings and builder's folklore. 

Author image for Etai Eshet Etai Eshet
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