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?
For smaller shorter residences such as townhomes and single-family homes; platform, balloon and post-and-beam structural framing systems are the most commonly used in the United States. Platform structural framing systems are the most common, balloon structural framing systems were popular in the past few decades and have since been replaced by platform systems. Finally, post-and-beam structural framing systems are mostly seen in frame or industrial-style homes. The materials seen in structural framing systems for residences in the United States is timber. The factors that have lead timber being the most common used materials in residences is; timber is cheaper than other construction materials such as concrete and steel, timber is easy to install and is more time effective because it doesn’t need good weather or a drying time to place onsite while also being able to handle large loads. For office buildings, like the ones you see in the downtown of cities, skeleton structural framing system is the most commonly used. This system uses a system of columns and beams to support the interior and exterior walls of the building which then leads to the loads of the building being carried down to the foundation. The materials seen in structural framing systems for office buildings in the United States is steel. Steel is the most used material because it can handle the loads that a taller building has. It also is better for fire resistance and weather resistance because it does not degrade as quickly as other materials. Steel also comes in many shapes that have consistent strengths across different members, unlike wood or concrete that could have defects that affect the strength between members.
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?
After working in the construction industry for the last three years, there is a lot I have learned in strategies to prevent clashes in design teams. To prevent clashes there should be several post-contract award and pre-construction meetings with all the stakeholders including the designers. These meetings should be designed to cover and review the contract specifications and the owners of the project’s wishes for what the final product will look like. These meetings should also have the contractor and designers cover their methods and timeframes for completing the project and the respective large milestones within that project duration. Besides sharing the models digitally, the designers can host two weekly meetings once their design process starts to avoid clashes with one another and/or the stakeholders. One of these meetings will have the stakeholders included so they can see what progress is being done on the design and model weekly. The other meeting will be an internal design team meeting where all the designers go over the model and design them are working on for the project and discuss any issues with the design together as a team.
At what point in the project development process should design coordination start?
Is it ever too early?
It is never too early to start design coordination on a project. Design coordination should start right away in the initiation phase of the project development process. From the start of an idea of an upcoming project and when stakeholders are determined, all parties involved need to start having conversations on design coordination and how that coordination process will look throughout the duration of the project. Making sure there are good mechanisms in place for communication and coordination before the project gets underway is a good way to ensure effective partnering throughout the entire project.