Which structural framing systems and materials are most commonly used in the United States for residences? For office buildings?
◦ What factors explain why those dominate?
◦ Why did you choose your system, and what did it cost you?
For residences, wood and concrete is most commonly used. For offices, concrete and steel are more common. Material choice depends on the building height/size and the span lengths needed. Wood isn’t very strong, so its sufficient for smaller residential buildings. If the residence is in a mid rise or high rise, then concrete will be used instead. Steel is better at reaching longer span lengths which is more common in open office spaces. I chose wood because I’m working on a mostly residential building, and it isn’t that tall. It led to bigger sizes and lots of beams, but its great for the environment relative to the other materials.
You sized members by judgment rather than analysis.
◦ What did you base your first guess on?
◦ Why is it safer to guess large and shrink than to guess small and grow?
◦ At what point in a real project does the engineer take over from the guess?
I based my first guess on the tributary area of the members and how occupied those areas would be. I also looked up common wood sizes since I have no knowledge of wood strength. It’s safer to guess large and shrink because it’s always possible to shrink, but there isn’t always space to grow. Guessing small also means potential for costs to increase later, but guessing large leads to better final outcomes. After the architectural form is laid out, the engineer should take over to make sure it is financially reasonable to design. They may advise different layouts to compensate for smaller sections.
Design teams link and share models rather than working in one file.
◦ What are the advantages of linking?
◦ What errors does linking make possible that a single model would not?
◦ Why is getting shared coordinates right at the start so much cheaper than fixing it later?
Not every clash is a problem.
◦ On what basis did you classify a clash as an issue versus not an issue?
◦ Who should have authority to close a clash on a real project?
Your beam depths just constrained next week's ductwork.
◦ Where in your building is the ceiling plenum now tightest?
◦ What would you give up to get it back?
◦ Should the structural engineer have consulted the mechanical engineer before setting spans?