Which types of structural framing systems and materials are most commonly used in the US for residences? For office buildings?
Small residences typically have wood members whereas larger apartment complexes can be made of concrete or steel. On the other hand, large office buildings typically use steel or concrete due to its larger heights, spans, weights etc. Larger structures like office buildings typically have larger loads and thus require a heavier frame.
How do you think design coordination was done before we started using digital models?
Previously, design coordination was done on paper. All the dimensions had to be manually checked and cross-referenced. This was obviously a lot more time consuming and a lot more labor intensive as all the sketches were done by hand by multiple people.
At what point in the project development process should design coordination start?
The design coordination should start at the very beginning. Architects, structural, mechanical, electrical etc. engineers, contractors should always maintain communication and keep each other up to date on their part of the project. This eliminates possible errors and mismatches.