The proliferation of mid-rise, multi-family buildings in urban and suburban areas has prompted the need for greater scrutiny in how these buildings can resist lateral forces, particularly as they become taller and more complex in shape. This course will explore traditional construction solutions for multi-family projects, including mass timber framing and wood shear walls, and how alternative steel lateral systems can expand design capabilities and optimize projects by using off-site construction components.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify why light-frame wood framing, including wood shear walls, have traditionally been used for multi-family construction and other mid-rise projects, and why mass timber construction has been catching on.
  • Explore alternatives to traditional wood shear walls and how steel lateral framing systems can provide improved design capabilities.
  • Analyze how off-site construction and components further accelerate the benefits of steel lateral framing systems.
  • Examine case studies where steel lateral framing systems were used in multi-family projects.

Pre-Requisite: Basic knowledge of multi-family construction best practices.