Submitted For
Module 7 - Points to Ponder
Please share your comments on 3 of the following Points to Ponder questions. (Choose 3 of the questions below.)
Which types of structural framing systems and materials are most commonly used in the US for residences? For office buildings?
- For residences in the US, the most common structural framing system is the 2x4 or 2x6 wooden framing system. This is due to the relative abundance of wood across the country and the low cost required to process and fabricate the material into usable components for construction.
- For office buildings, the most widely used structural framing system is steel framing. Steel has the ideal material properties of being incredibly strong and durable while remaining lightweight. As such, steel framing is used because it allows for taller buildings and buildings with larger spans between interior columns to be built. This maximizes interior office spaces while minimizing cost.
What factors determine why these are the most used materials?
- key factors:
- cost
- availability/abundance
- life cycle
- strength/durability
- weight
Why do different teams of designers and subcontractors link and share their models during the design process?
What are the advantages of linking models?
Are there any disadvantages to linking models?
How do you think design coordination was done before we started using digital models?
What advantages does doing this coordination digitally have over previous methods?
What strategies can design teams use to find and avoid clashes prior to the start of construction?
What can be done besides sharing the models digitally?
- architects during the initial idea conception and modeling phase can collaborate early on with structural engineers, and MEP engineers, to incorporate their perspectives into the overall design. This will allow the architects to be more informed in terms of their spatial and material decision making, which would make the overall design more compatible with structural and MEP contraints.
- teams could build scale mock-ups of certain aspects of a model that are particularly complex. This would allow the design team to simulate the construction process and assess the feasibility of the given design.
At what point in the project development process should design coordination start?
- Design coordination should start very early in the project development process. It should occur once the architects/designers fully complete the translation of ideas and concepts into the 3D space. By beginning the coordination of architectural, structural, and coordination models from this stage, each unit in the project development process will be working from the same well established reference point. As such, if any alternations are made by each unit, fewer resources and time will be spent to adjust and reunify the models.