Which types of structural framing systems and materials are most commonly used in the US for residences? For office buildings?
What factors determine why these are the most used materials?
In my experience, most of the residential buildings in the US are made out of wood. For office buildings, it is mainly steel. All materials have different strengths, which determine when they are used. For instance, steel is very strong but also very ductile. Concrete is very strong in compression and is provides a lot of stiffness. And timber is light and better for the environment. These, along with monetary considerations determine the structural framing materials on a project.
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?
I think it is to make sure that what is being built can all work together. For instance, the structural group, the architectural group, the geotechnical group, and the MEP group need to make sure that they can all do whatever it is that they have to do to make sure the building is operational in time and on budget.
One disadvantage might be that in order to link models, there needs to be an initial model, and the architect is usually in charge of that. As a result, they get to make decisions first, before the other modelling teams.
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?
I would guess by stacking blueprints on top of one another to overlay certain information. This way of doing it would require tons of drawings and thousands of man hours. Digital models definitely speed up the process.
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?
At what point in the project development process should design coordination start?
Is it ever too early?