StructureCraft Scales Data-Driven Design on NetApp

NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, today announced that StructureCraft, an award-winning global structural engineering and construction firm known for complex timber and hybrid builds, is now using NetApp to modernize and create an AI-ready data infrastructure. The new infrastructure enables the company’s employees to collaborate globally, store and manage large-scale design workloads, and take advantage of AI-driven tools on a scalable, centralized platform.

StructureCraft specializes in innovative timber engineering, structural design, and sustainable building solutions for large-scale architectural projects worldwide. Its globally distributed team delivers complex projects across North America, Europe, and Asia, guided by a core purpose to engineer and build beautiful, efficient structures.

The StructureCraft team regularly takes on complex projects such as designing and constructing of the Barbados National Performing Arts Pavilion, a ground-breaking structure that boasts the world’s first 80-foot clear-span all-wood truss, engineered completely without metal screws or fasteners and delivered on a constrained timeline of less than four months from concept to completion. The team worked on the ground in Barbados, needing reliable and speedy access to its main data storage at headquarters.

To achieve these feats of design and engineering, StructureCraft relies on advanced 3D and computational design tools, including AI‑enabled Rhino 3D, which generate large, complex, file-intensive datasets. As the company grew, it found its previous storage solution made data management unnecessarily complex and could not scale to support future data infrastructure goals. StructureCraft is now running its file shares and virtualized infrastructure fully on NetApp.

“I found NetApp quite easy to work with in my previous experience, so when it was time to replace our data infrastructure, it was a simple choice,” said Peter Meschke, IT Manager at StructureCraft. “We run NetApp Snapshots hourly, enabling our designers to recover quickly if a file is damaged or misplaced without losing hours of work. With NetApp’s data management and resilience technology, we’ve simplified our operations, enhanced our resilience, and increased productivity. Now, we have the foundation and confidence we need to focus on driving innovation.”

With the initial deployment complete, StructureCraft is looking to consolidate its data operations in a single location to avoid frequent cross-continental data transfers and improve operational efficiency. To take advantage of new technologies, the company is also building StructureCraft OS, a framework that will allow team members to securely build their own AI tools to enhance their workflows, stored on their NetApp data infrastructure.

“Making your data intelligent makes it simple to manage,” said Riccardo Di Blasio, Senior Vice President of North America at NetApp. “Companies like StructureCraft are focused on bringing true craftsmanship to their projects, not managing data. By providing a simple and powerful data infrastructure, we enable them to excel at what they do best and build beautiful cultural centers.”

Additional Resources

• The Best Data Storage Lineup Anywhere
• Barbados National Performing Arts Centre, Phase 1