A future plant and environmental science building under construction on the north side of campus near Veihmeyer Hall will be the first in the nation to use a seismic bracing system developed in Japan. Diagonal steel braces installed last month are smaller than in conventional systems, but are encased in mortar that in a temblor keeps the steel from buckling. Gary Dahl, project manager for the Architects and Engineers Office, says in addition to preventing a building from collapsing on the people inside, the patented system is designed to protect a building's contents. In tests conducted at UC Berkeley, he says, the braces withstood pressures equivalent to the Northridge, Loma Prieta and Kobe quakes. Eric Ko, structural engineer for a design team from Ove Arup and Partners in San Francisco, says the system is "like playing zone defense in football-bend but don't break." The $40 million building is scheduled to open in 2001-02.