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?
While I am not a US citizen nor have I lived that much time in the US, from my experience most of the structural framings in US residences are wood, and some sometimes concrete or brick. I believe this is because of availability, i.e., what maters are there that are quick to obtain, especially from local sources. While wood may not be suitable for a high rise building, it is a good choice in US residence due to the relative abundance of wood in the country. For office buildings steel and concrete and probably more used since these can support large-scale, multi story buildings.
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?
Designers and subcontractors link and share their models in order to visualize all the different components that are essential for the construction in one place. The advantages of this include: 1) Stakeholders are able to see how the different models (structural, architectural, etc) and layers interact with each other and detect any errors or differences right away. 2) This leaves less room for error of issues that can go potentially unnoticed. 3) Linking the models gives automatic updates that all designers and stakeholders are notified about. For instance, a structural engineer will immediately know that changes were made to the architectural plan and can adjust accordingly. One potential disadvantage is that a linked model can be significantly bigger in size which might make it more difficult for users if they don’t have the needed processor power. It can also take time to fully learn appropriately how to use the linked functionality.
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?
Before we could we use digital models, I can imagine design coordination was probably with physical plans and prints layered over each other. Doing this coordination digitally allows for people to collaborate in different places all at once; it removes the barrier that everyone has to work in the same physical space in order to make progress. Additionally, digital design coordination allows to visualize the model more easily with 3d tools.