>Glue-laminated beams and trusses are extremely strong... but will they last centuries? We don't know yet.

Good glue is stronger than the material it binds. It usually breaks somewhere near the glue, not on it. The laminated wood seems to be so thoroughly immersed in glue that I don't see it even losing the gloss. I've seen the building and there are many signs of neglect on it - except the wood is intact. Seems to be nearly maintenance-free.

>I'm a great believer in good old steel! A decent i-beam carries unbelievable loads and lasts effectively forever. Somebody "modernized" my home in NZ in the 1920s, using steel beams to support a new art-deco-heavyweight external brick staircase and entryway. In 2005 those beams continue to support tons of brickwork without a murmur and can be expected to do so indefinitely.

For our house we took the standard approach for our zone - a reinforced concrete frame (corners, foundation, top floor frame). We're the fourth quake zone there, and that's a requirement if you want to get a building permit, even with "fourth zone" meaning "we get just a Richter 5 once in a decade".