ISU seeks a consultant with significant experience in structural engineering, innovation, resilience, digital fabrication, and high-performance infrastructure to determine whether innovations in concrete 3D printing can provide a sustainable, resilient, and replicable model for Iowa to create multi-use safe rooms. A safe room is a hardened structure specifically designed to meet the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) criteria and provide near-absolute protection in extreme wind events, including tornadoes and hurricanes. Near-absolute protection means that, based on our current knowledge of tornadoes and hurricanes, the occupants of a safe room built in accordance with FEMA guidance will have a very high probability of being protected from injury or death. 3D printing concrete has many advantages over traditional construction methods, primarily the flexible customization, increased levels of safety compared to manual labor, significant decreases in carbon dioxide emissions and overall carbon footprint, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to create complex structures and geometric freedom
