Mechanical-Structural Interface in Building Design

In a building design team, the importance of a mutual understanding between the structural engineers and the architects is well recognized. Occasionally, a mutual understanding between the mechanical and structural engineers is lacking. Many times, the design team places too much emphasis on the functional and visual requirements of the occupancy, and overlooks the importance of the services behind the scene that support the functional requirements. It is quite common for the architects to allocate restricted ceiling to floor spaces ( ceiling cavities) and then ask the mechanical and structural engineers to work out the space problems between themselves.