Which structural framing systems and materials are most commonly used in the United States for residences? For office buildings?
In the U.S., houses and lower-rise apartments commonly use wood framing because it is economical, readily available, and familiar to builders, while fitting their shorter spans and repeated layouts. Taller residential buildings often use concrete, likely for its strength, relatively shallow floor systems, sound separation. Offices commonly use steel because longer spans create open spaces with fewer columns. Additionally it can allow for fast fabrication and construction.
I chose reinforced concrete because it suited the limited floor-to-floor heights, provided good sound separation between residences, and supported the occupied rooftop terraces. The changing layouts between floors and the skybridge connections also made a consistent concrete frame appealing. The main trade-offs were potentially higher embodied carbon than wood and greater structural weight
You sized members by judgment rather than analysis.
My first guesses were based on industry averages, suggested sizes from class, and the options available in Revit to get a sense of common dimensions. Choosing larger sizes gives the architectural layout more room to accommodate the structure. If members can later be smaller, that frees up space. If they need to grow, they could interfere with rooms, doors, windows, or ceiling heights. Larger guesses therefore provide planning allowance
In a real project, it is probably best for the engineer and architect to work together from early stages. That way they can discuss the building’s form, column locations, spans, and floor depths before the layout becomes too fixed. As the design develops and the loads become clearer, the engineer carries out more detailed calculations to refine member sizes and connections. The architect can then uses that information to adjust the spaces and details. The earlier that coordination starts I think the better for ensuring that less additional work or reconstructing of ideas occurs.
Design teams link and share models rather than working in one file.
Linking lets each team work on its own model while using the others as references. Architects and engineers can focus on their own work, control their changes, and share updates without making one file too large or difficult to manage.
However, linked models can be outdated, positioned incorrectly, or have elements duplicated across files. A team might make decisions using an older version or mistake a model alignment problem for an actual design conflict.
Getting shared coordinates right at the start keeps the models in the same location and orientation. Fixing them later can require checking and correcting multiple models and drawings, especially after teams have already placed elements using the incorrect alignment.
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?