Design Considerations for Economical Formwork - Simplified Design of Reinforced Concrete Buildings - page 265

(4) Determine preliminary member sizes from available design aids (see Section 1.8).

(5) Make cost comparisons based on sketches from Step 2 quickly, roughly, but with an adequate degree
of accuracy.

(6) Select the best balance between cost of structure and architectural/mechanical design considerations.

(7) Distribute prints of selected framing scheme to all design and building team members to reduce

unnecessary future changes.

(8) Plan your building. Visualize how forms would be constructed. Where possible, keep beams and columns

simple without haunches, brackets, widened ends or offsets. Standardize concrete sizes for maximum
reuse of forms.

(9) During final design, place most emphasis on those items having greatest financial impact on total
structural frame cost.

(10) Plan your specifications to minimize construction costs and time by including items such as early
stripping time for formwork and acceptable tolerances for finish.

Reference 9.4 should be consulted for additional information concerning formwork.

References

9.1 Concrete Buildings, New Formwork Perspectives , Ceco Industries, Inc., 1985.

9.2 Guide to Formwork for Concrete , ACI 347-04, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Michigan,

2004, 32 pp.

9.3 Concrete Floor Systems—Guide to Estimating and Economizing , SP041, Portland Cement Association,

Skokie, Illinois, 2000, 41 pp.

9.4 Hurd, M.K., Formwork for Concrete , (prepared under direction of ACI Committee 347, Formwork for

Concrete), SP-4, 6th Ed., American Concrete Institute, Detroit, Michigan, 1995.