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?
What are the advantages of linking models?
Are there any disadvantages to linking models?
There are multiple factors supporting that we should link and share models during the design process.
First, linking models boosts efficiency. All of people, including architects, interior designers, MEP engineers, structural engineers, etc., who are responsible for different parts of a project can focus on their own sections at the same time and then link their models together later. Therefore, they don’t have to start their own work until another department has finished.
Second, linking models not only promotes the coordination of the design across different disciplines, but also lowers the risk. If there is anything goes wrong with the host model, it is simple to link the separate models again. However, if everything is in one model, it may be hard to recover.
There are also limitations on linked models. It takes longer time to open the host model if there are more models linked to it.
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 believe the design coordination process before using digital models was all parties involved in a project had a long meeting to achieve the agreements on the building design, including the connections between different disciplines. Then designers in each discipline would start working, and there had to be a lot of meetings or calls among different sections to make sure everyone is on the same page. Designer would be required to have the updated drawings from all other disciplines to avoid any conflicts.
The advantages of digital coordination consist of higher efficiency and accuracy. It is more timesaving to check the design of other disciplines in the model than calling them. Also, the model provides better visualization, dimensions, and details.
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?
It is never too early to start design coordination. It is always necessary to keep designers/engineers in different disciplines on the same page. Designers should achieve agreements on the general picture before starting to work on a model, and on the details during the design process. The design coordination should start early, so designers can work with same grid lines and levels. It is also helpful to link models from different disciplines to visualize the whole project in the middle.