Design Challenges Design challenges included the presence of very poor subsurface soil conditions at the location of the housing building. Early in the design phase, a detailed cost analysis was performed to optimize the foundation system. The building structure uses conventional wood wall framing with engineered open web truss floor framing and prefabricated wood roof trusses and wood panel sheathing. The building was designed to resist wind and earthquake loads via a system of shear walls with steel anchorage to the foundations. Framing for the elevator and stair shafts was designed to achieve fire resistance in accordance with building code requirements. One of the most challenging areas of this project was the common area, which required a combination of structural steel framing and wood floor framing. Because each floor plan in the common area was unique, much collaboration with the architect was required to find a layout that worked for everyone.