The use of glass and fenestration as part of the building enclosure material/system has become a significant consideration and component in today’s building design. Glass in a building enclosure is used as the medium that breaks down the visual/psychological barrier between the interior and exterior of a building. Glass introduces natural daylight into a space and provides views of the outside while it simultaneously keeps the forces of nature to the exterior.

However, glass and fenestration technology has also rapidly evolved in recent years - predominantly to address energy conservation concerns. These advancements and product offerings range in aesthetics, performance and application. This meeting will explore and discuss current glass and glazing system technology and how the wide range of product availability can be more optimally incorporated into our projects with desired aesthetic and performance results.

Stanley Yee is a partner and building enclosure consultant for The Facade Group, a building enclosure consultancy based in Portland, OR. The Facade Group provides building enclosure design/construction expertise and support to building owners/developers and the architectural/engineering/contracting community.

The University of California San Diego is has commissioned the design of a new 177,000 square foot Health Science Research Laboratory on its main campus in La Jolla, CA. Based the on the experience and the mission of the institution, one initial goal for the project was to create as nearly as possible a daylight-autonomous laboratory building. The goal was subsequently refined to include the design and optimization of a façade system that yielded the maximum daylight benefit with minimal cooling penalty. John Breshears will present the design, simulation, and analysis findings relative to building envelope as well as a site-specific dynamic solar shading and glare control system. John will also give a brief description of the concept for an enthalpy recovery ventilated façade system. This project was recently awarded a research grant under the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program for development by a team including Architectural Applications LLC, Membrane Technology Research Inc., and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The October meeting will continue the theme of Building Science Basics with a look at below grade waterproofing systems, strategies, and details.

Austin Sloat, AIA is a board member of the Portland BEC and is a principal at Neumann Sloat Architects LLP, a firm specializing in building envelope consulting and remedial design.

For the opening presentation of the 2010-2011 Portland BEC season, we thought it appropriate to begin with some building science basics. Mr. Ariel Levy, P.E., of RDH Building Sciences, Inc., will take a somewhat off-directional and (possibly) entertaining twist to this topic. He will present some different perspectives on the classical heat, air, and moisture control functions, including some side commentary on current building code and general industry practice that may not be all that consistent with general building science principles.

In the U.S., buildings account for roughly 40 percent of all annual energy consumed and 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. So as members of the building design industry, we have a responsibility to design as efficient a building as possible. In the Northwest climate, the building envelope plays a major role in determining the amount of energy the building uses. This seminar will discuss how the envelope factors in to the building’s energy use. Topics include glazing percentage, improved envelopes, balance point temperature and the latest trends that we are tracking in envelope materials.

Ruwan Jayaweera, PE, LEED AP Associate/Mechanical Engineer

Ruwan is a mechanical engineer with more than 12 years of experience in design and modeling of sustainable buildings. As a PAE Associate he leads teams in design and commissioning while also spearheading the firm’s work with Engineers Without Borders. He has provided expertise for 12 LEED projects including a new administrative and interpretive building in Olympia, Washington that is on track for LEED Platinum. A well-travelled fellow, Ruwan was born in Sri Lanka, earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Maryland and in 2005 moved to the Pacific Northwest. He has two children, is a backpacker and runner and occasionally plays the violin.

This Month’s Meeting: “Measurement of Green Roof Performance”

Green roofs are basically low maintenance gardens grown on the flat roofs of commercial and institutional buildings, whereby the building’s conventional roof is covered with a waterproof layer, a drainage layer, soil and plantings of grasses, shrubs or flowers. Many advantages are offered by eco-roofs, including storm water control and reduction of roof top heat flux. Field monitoring studies on three green roofs located in Portland, OR have shown savings in both areas. To better identify ways to optimize green roof design, laboratory tests have been preformed. Lab results show that plants using more water in summer can reduce building energy requirements.

Graig Spolek is a Professor of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department at Portland State University. His educational background includes BS and MS degrees from the University of Washington and a PhD from Washington State University, all in mechanical engineering. At PSU, Spolek teaches courses in thermodynamics, heat transfer, instrumentation, thermal systems design and design of experiments. His research areas include fundamental heat and mass transfer, industrial energy utilization and measurement green roof performance.

The call for higher energy performance buildings is being heard loud and clear. A new state wide code is being released this summer with changes that affect envelope construction and design by changing critical energy performance criteria. In preparation for the July 1 adoption of the 2010 Oregon Energy Efficiency Specialty Code (OEESC), based on the IECC, Portland BEC will host a presentation that highlights what changes have and haven’t taken place in this code cycle. Alan Seymour from the Oregon Department of Energy will present the new energy code requirements as they apply to the building envelope.

Alan Seymour has worked in the energy conservation related field for 29 years. He is currently is an Energy Policy Analyst for the Oregon Department of Energy. Alan managed residential and commercial energy conservation programs as well as provided code and energy-related services to the general public. In the past, he has provided non-residential energy code Circuit Rider services for the Oregon Building Officials Association. Alan has also assisted design professionals with code compliance on behalf of local building jurisdictions. He has reviewed well over three million square feet of commercial buildings for energy code compliance and provided clarifications to code and regulation questions.

This presentation has been requested and scheduled for the AIA National Convention June 11, 2010. As an early viewing of the same presentation, we will briefly review the latest version of The Living Building Challenge 2.0, while discussing envelope opportunities within this progressive framework. The Living Building Challenge is a measure of sustainability far more progressive than LEED Platinum or Triple Net Zero alone. This system does not contain points, rather 20 simple but profound imperatives that is performance based, not prescriptive.

The presentation focuses on a half dozen imperatives, showing what the envelope opportunities are and how they have been implemented on several projects. Those wanting to learn more about skin sustainability and the Living Building Challenge should attend this presentation. Since creating a more sustainable skin design is an imperative charge for the new decade, it is relevant and imperative to discuss this topic.

Sean Scott is a licensed architect with 2 professional architecture degrees currently working at SERA Architects in Portland, Oregon. Sean has 15 years of experience, 11 years of which working on LEED buildings and 2 years working and researching with The Living Building Challenge. Sean is actively involved with 5 committees within the BEC and COTE. Sean’s career focus is with sustainable envelopes as he actively pursues this research through a book authorship called, “ENVELOPE TOOLS”.

Whole-building commissioning is a process of quality assurance in building construction. It is a systematic process of ensuring, through documented verification, that building systems are installed and perform according to the documented design and the owner's operational needs. The process starts at the project Design Development stage and continues through staff training, pre-warranty inspection and completion of the wrap-up Commissioning Manual. This presentation will describe the commissioning process developed by ASHRAE in Guideline 0: The Commissioning Process and NIBS in Guideline 3 Exterior Enclosure Technical Requirements for The Commissioning Process. Emphasis will be place on the importance of the building envelope in whole-building commissioning.

Medgar Marceau is a licensed professional engineer and building science consultant at Morrison Hershfield. For over eleven years he has been providing consulting services in the areas of energy modeling, building science, environmental life cycle assessment and sustainability. His experience includes modeling whole-building energy use, evaluating building envelopes for resistance to heat and moisture flow, modeling heat flow through mass concrete and conducting life cycle assessments of buildings and building materials. He received his bachelor's degree of science in engineering from the University of New Brunswick and master's degrees in applied science from Concordia University and applied mathematics from DePaul University. He is a member of ASHRAE, CSI, USGBC, and is a LEED™ Accredited Professional and Life Cycle Assessment Certified Professional (American Center for LCA).

In the recent construction economy, high performance new building construction has been complimented with prominent energy efficient retrofit projects. In both categories of construction, improved building envelope design and materials are needed to achieve energy savings goals. One important envelope element is a new class of glazing that has entered the market. So-called “super insulating glass” is capable of attaining high thermal resistance by combining a variety of high performance components. Today’s designers can now choose from an expanding range of high-performance glazing systems and technologies including: improved low-e coatings, high performance films, novel spacers and more. This next generation of windows has full frame R-values of 5 to 10 with a similar cost basis to traditional glass packages. These may be installed as replacement glass or in addition to the existing system. As a result, traditional metrics of economic viability and payback periods must be revised. This presentation is a review of key technologies in the field of advanced windows.

Brandon Tinianov – Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Tinianov is a recognized expert in building science and in the creation and patenting of novel construction materials to support global sustainability initiatives. A registered Professional Engineer, LEED Accredited Professional, and consistent Bay Area bike commuter, Dr. Tinianov is devoted to implementing globally sustainable practices in both his professional and personal life. Prior to joining Serious Materials in 2004, Dr. Tinianov provided eight years of leadership to the Building Sciences and Engineering Applications Center of Excellence at Johns Manville Corporation in Denver, CO, where his areas of focus included most aspects of building materials including heat transfer, fire resistance, and noise control. He is also an Executive Officer of American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E60 on Sustainability, and a Board of Directors member of USGBC’s Northern California Chapter. As an inventor, Dr. Tinianov has 12 issued patents and holds more than twenty pending applications.