Past Meetings

May 2023 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
New Ways to Warmth: Applications of Alternative Insulation Materials and Strategies
Location

Hybrid Event - In person and via Zoom

EcoTrust Building
Billy Frank Jr Conference Center
721 NW 9th Ave. Suite 200
Portland, OR 97209

for Zoom register at the link below

Presenters
Will Babbington, AIA, PE
Description

By now, design and construction professionals are well aware of the significant impact of buildings on the natural environment. That fact is even more prevalent as evidenced with the ever increasing thermal performance provisions in our codes and standards. While the industry has become adept at throwing more and more insulation at these challenges, there are a few exciting insulation technologies, and creative ways to deploy them, than many enclosure professionals may realize.

This presentation will discuss how these options, in the forms of new insulation materials providing designers with more aesthetic leeway in attaining elevated performance levels. Detail-driven dives will also demonstrate how clever approaches to design and construction, as well as innovative detailing strategies, can be leveraged to accomplish these thermal performance goals without sacrificing design intent.

Will is Principal and Façade Design Director for Studio NYL’s Skins Group. As both an architect and an engineer, he has designed, realized, written, and presented on award-winning and high performance building enclosures on local, national, and international levels. Will's passion lies in the leveraging of both high- and low-tech methods to merge high performance and high design.

Will is the current National Past-Chair of the Building Enclosure Council and is AIA’s Liaison to NIBS/BETEC/BEC. He is a leader and active member in other numerous professional organizations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Building Performance Knowledge Community’s Leadership Group and American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) where he is a voting member on the E06 Performance of Buildings Committee. Will is also a member of the Facade Tectonics Institute's Special Advisory Council, a developer/trainer for ASTM/NIBS new Building Enclosure Commissioning (BECx) certificate program, and a representative for AIA National on the ASHRAE’s 90.1 Envelope Subcommittee.

April 2023 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Visualizing the Pathway to Energy Efficient Buildings
Location

Hybrid Event - In person and via Zoom

EcoTrust Building
Billy Frank Jr Conference Center
721 NW 9th Ave. Suite 200
Portland, OR 97209

for Zoom register at the link below

Presenters
Stevan Vinci
Nick McElmurry
Description

As we move toward higher performance buildings supported by advanced technologies, we require more advanced tools to not only analyze but also disseminate the information. This session will use data driven guidance and highly visual tools to communicate a more complete picture of whole building energy performance. The frameworks presented will highlight the relationships between multiple performance variables, allowing designers to make more informed decisions and building energy policy makers to focus attention on areas of higher priority. The session will include a brief overview of the recently published Building Envelope Thermal Bridging Guide (available publicly, free of charge), followed by a “how-to” use the guide, using building case studies and hands-on examples. The exercise is meant to teach participants how to use the guide, but also to understand the implications that the information has on opaque building envelope performance.

The second part of the session will introduce the concept of building energy performance mapping (BEPM) using unique visualization techniques. With a case study as a backdrop, we will explore how the use of BEPM can put into context building performance characteristics, such as thermal bridging and wall R-values in comparison to glazing, architectural massing and other parameters. Highly visual tools will be used to consolidate vast amounts of data into a package, allowing architects and designers to make informed decisions throughout design without relying solely on, or waiting for, project-specific calculations. The ease at which BEPM helps visualize results makes it accessible to all designers, allowing this part of the presentation to be highly interactive.

Stevan is a building science and sustainability specialist with over 19 years of experience who focuses on passive design, material resiliency and energy efficiency which help create sustainable and durable buildings that give more than they take. He is a LEED Fellow and serves as the Building Envelope Commissioning Practice Lead for Morrison Hershfield and has provided Building Science expertise on high performance building projects in the US, Canada, South America, Europe and China. His experience in building envelope contributes to a better understanding of whole-building energy systems enabling project teams to see the connection between the passive and active energy systems of a building. Steve was also a key contributor to the USGBC for the education component of the online reference guide for LEED v4 in regards to the new Building Envelope Commissioning requirements and is part of a committee developing the training modules for IIBEC’s Certified Building Enclosure Commissioning Provider Certification. Stevan is on MH’s LEED Certification Review Team, and he has completed over 120 LEED project certification reviews on behalf of the CaGBC to date. He serves as a Living Building Challenge Ambassador and served as Faculty for the CaGBC and USGBC.

Nick McElmurry graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2014. He has worked in the field of building science for the last seven years with projects throughout the US, including Florida, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Washington, California and Oregon. Nick joined Morrison Hershfield in 2017. He is involved in all stages of project development, from the initial building assessment, through design and value engineering, to contract negotiation and project oversight.

1 AIA LU provided by Morrison Hershfield

March 2023 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Non-Combustible Metal Bearing Wall System: A Case Study
Location

Hybrid Event - In person and via Zoom

EcoTrust Building
Billy Frank Jr Conference Center
721 NW 9th Ave. Suite 200
Portland, OR 97209

for Zoom register at the link below

Presenters
Dawn Woods
Description

This course is a case study of a metal bearing wall system implemented in a multi-family residential mixed-use building in Portland, Oregon. It will cover considerations of using the structural system, including advantages and limitations.

Dawn Woods is an architect at YGH+Integrus Architecture and a member of the Portland Building Enclosure Council. With more than 30 years of professional practice, Dawn’s experience includes multi-family residential, government, healthcare, educational, and commercial projects. She has been engaged with programming, schematic design, design development, documentation, and construction administration, with a focus on building enclosure and performance. As a project architect, Dawn has been responsible for technical design and developing details for a wide array of complex projects. Dawn is currently working on a government project abroad.

1 AIA LU/HSW

February 2023 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
PDX Next Main Terminal Expansion - Curtainwall
Location

Hybrid Event - In person and via Zoom

EcoTrust Building
Billy Frank Jr Conference Center
721 NW 9th Ave. Suite 200
Portland, OR 97209

for Zoom register at the link below

Presenters
Glen Justice
Description

This course provides an in depth look at the design of the curtainwall systems for the PDX Next Main Terminal Expansion at the Portland International Airport. It will cover the background for the project, including project and design goals, seismic resilient design aspects of the curtainwall system, and also cover the use of oversized glass and performance mockup testing.

Glen Justice is a principal and project architect at ZGF Architects and a member of the Portland Building Enclosure Council Board. With more than 25 years of professional practice, Glen's experience includes educational, civic, transportation, commercial, office, residential, retail, and medical projects. He has been responsible for master planning, schematic design and design development, preparation of construction documents, and administration of the construction phase, with a focus on façade and building enclosure design. As a project architect with ZGF, Glen has a responsibility for technical design and managing documents, with responsibilities for developing the details on numerous project types. Glen is currently working on the PDX Next Main Terminal Expansion project as the lead for the vertical envelope and his recent projects include the Nike World Headquarters Expansion, Sebastian Coe Building, the GSA Federal Center South Building Complex and the Twelve | West Mixed-Use Building.

January 2023 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Electronic Leak Detection
Location

Live Zoom Webinar. Register at link below.

Presenters
Shaun Katz
Description

This course will cover Electronic Leak Detection (ELD) testing methods used for quality assurance of roofing and waterproofing membranes. Participants will learn about the principles outlined in the ASTM Standard Guide D7877 and ASTM Standard Practice D8231 and will be able to identify which assemblies are compatible with electronic testing and active monitoring.

Shaun Katz has been with Detec Systems for 7 years and has over 20 years of experience in customer service, sales and business administration. Shaun has assisted contractors, architects, engineers and consultants, manufacturers, facility managers and building owners with forensic leak investigation, as well as leak detection testing in new construction. He has performed presentations and demonstrated ELD throughout the world, and won the 2020 Presenter of the Year Award from the Chicago chapter of IIBEC.

His goal is to provide a basic understanding of Electronic Leak Detection and to assist design teams with ensuring valid and conclusive ELD.

1 AIA LU/HSW

December 2022 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Introduction to Building Science Advisor (BSA)
Location

Live Zoom Webinar. 

Presenters
Michael Lubliner
Description

The Building Science Advisor (BSA) is a rule-based expert system web-based tool developed to assist building professionals in designing energy efficient and durable residential wall systems for new or retrofit construction. When examining new construction and based on location, the BSA will assess the proposed design. For proposed retrofits, the BSA provides recommendations on how to address the retrofit in a manner that will not create a durability problem. The capabilities of the BSA will be demonstrated. Your feedback and guidance are sought on how to improve the tool and what additional features are needed to make this tool useful for your everyday activities.

Lubliner is internationally recognized for his 40 years of significant contributions to residential building science research, demonstration and deployment (RD&D), of emerging technology and building systems engineering. He has worked with leading industry partners to promote best practice associated with; building enclosures, fenestration, HVAC systems, domestic hot water (DHW), lighting, MEL’s and renewables.

He uses his effective and passionate communications style and SME knowledge and wisdom from the “school of hard knocks”, to communication with a broad group of residential construction industry stakeholders. These stakeholders include; federal, state and local governments, utilities, community developers, general and subs-contractors, supply chain manufacturers/distributors, building code officials, consumer DIY and others.

Lubliner helped to design, implement and evaluate utility energy efficiency efforts as well as EPA Energy Star, EPA Indoor Air Plus, HUD Healthy House, DOE NZEH, and Washington state energy codes. He has a long history of building science support to large and small site built builders and factory built HUD-code/modular builders client.

He has collaborated with progressive not for profits affordable organizations such as King and Pierce County Public Housing Authorities and Habitat for Humanity towards improving environmental equity. In 2018-2020 he provided technical support to over 5000 Washington state residential energy code clients (WSEC-R) hotline clients.

1 AIA LU/HSW

November 2022 Month Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Contemporary Masonry Design
Location

Live Zoom Webinar.

Presenters
Cole Cabler
Description

By understanding masonry’s modular design, colors, textures and technical detailing issues, architects can open the door to innovative new building designs. Using creative design examples, this seminar will review innovative ways to use brick and stone masonry to create new exciting building aesthetics. Standards and methods for upholding industry requirements for structural integrity, movement, moisture, and thermal control will also be integrated in the discussion of material systems.

Cole Cabler is the Regional Director of the International Masonry Institute. He has vver 15 years of experience in the architecture industry as both a project designer and project manager. He’s worked on myriad projects throughout his career, ranging from office to civic and residential buildings.

1 AIA LU/HSW

October 2022 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
When to Use Storefront and Curtain Wall
Location

Live Zoom Webinar.

Presenters
Bud Henson
Description

Architectural Aluminum Framing Systems have grown and multiplied over the years to meet the changing demands of building envelops. This industry started by meeting the demand for a sustainable storefront solution in the early 1900’s. Today architects are faced with selecting from a wide range of system options. Two major types of framing systems are Storefronts and Curtain Walls. In some cases, these systems could occupy the same space but in others, selecting the wrong system could have harmful consequences. This presentation will help attendees determine the correct system and understand why a storefront or curtain wall should be used.

Bud Henson is Vice President of Window Tech., Inc., a full-service manufacturer's representative in the Pacific Northwest. Bud's primary responsibilities include working with/supporting architects with selecting and detailing aluminum glazing systems.