When I had more hair and less of it was gray, I worked on a project as an assistant engineer doing the calculations for a mixed-use building in San Jose, California. Final design consisted of four stories of wood framing over a concrete podium slab and another level of below-grade parking. At that time, my firm had designed many two- and three-story residential buildings, but common thinking was you switched to steel or concrete for taller structures because of perceived limitations in wood-framed construction.Continue Reading