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?
Why do different teams of designers and subcontractors link and share their models during the design process?
The advantage of linking the models is that the information is shared in a coordinated manner; the flow of information is continuous as models are updated constantly. Also, by linking the model, the other parties can see my design, but cannot edit it. The disadvantage would also be related to this, if there is a small mistake that would be very easy to fix, only the owner of that model can do it.
How do you think design coordination was done before we started using digital models?
In the past, if there was any sort of coordination, this must have been done by hand, looking at the 2D paper drawings of the building and trying to figure out if there were any conflicting elements between specialties. In the cases that poor/no coordination was done, interfences or clashes were found at the moment of construction, when fixing these issues is very expensive. The advantage of doing this digitally is that the computer helps us to find the clashes, and also that different project versions can be updated automatically.
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?
I think that whenever the gross part of the architectural design is closed and defined, coordination can start, as then the rest of the specialties will start working based on that design: structures, HVAC, piping, etc. Being coordinated at an early stage of the project will help to prevent future interfecences.