framed building  framed building,  structure in which weight is
carried by a skeleton or framework, as opposed to being
supported by walls. The essential factor in a framed building is
the frame’s strength. Timber-framed or half-timbered houses were
common in medieval Europe. In this type the frame is filled in
with wattle and daub or brick. A modern lightweight wood-frame
structure, the balloon-frame house with wood cladding, was
invented in Chicago and helped make possible the rapid
settlement of the western United States. The framed building
enjoyed an extensive revival after World War II as the basic
form of American suburban housing.  Steel and reinforced
concrete are the most common materials in large contemporary
structures. During the 19th century, brick or stone walls
continued to bear loads, though cast-iron framing was sometimes
used supplementarily, being embedded in walls or sometimes
freestanding. True skeletal construction on a large scale was
first achieved in Chicago by William Le Baron Jenne