As more states, jurisdictions and the design community require air barriers, the issue of connecting the wall air barrier assembly to other building assemblies, such as below grade, window systems and roofs need to be completely understood in order to design and construct a functioning building enclosure.

In this course we will present a basic guideline for identifying and understanding water ingress in new and existing buildings. We will review the different modes of water-related building enclosure failures, discussing how to identify and approach repair of both unique and systemic issues, in the context of multiple different building typologies, materials, and typical assemblies. The course will present a number of case studies, highlighting issues that may arise both during and after construction, as well as after many years of operation and occupancy.

The building enclosure design is an important element in all project construction types but is elevated more when considering the use of Mass Timber. In the Southern US region, the learning curve is high androject examples are low for Mass Timber. Two projects in the Houston area have experienced high rain levels and even a rare snow storm event during construction. These weather events have brought to the forefront the many challenges that exist in building a project constructed of wood in this wet weather climate.

Adapting to Changing Conditions, Innovations in the Building Envelope: Technical Innovations, Adapting to Changing Weather, and Disclosure Requirements Related to Climate Change Performance

The evolution of outcome-based performance criteria in the building & construction industry is placing more emphasis on the traditional ways of addressing air and water tightness. There is such a strong correlation between energy performance of commercial buildings and the management of uncontrolled air infiltration that we have seen Energy Codes (e.g. ASHRAE 90.1) and select jurisdictions adopt requirements to show a continuous air barrier systems in the construction documents and to demonstrate compliance of the construction through testing.

This presentation is an overview of the environmental and economic benefits of a properly designed, installed, and maintained vegetated roof. We will review the generic components that comprise typical green roof systems, and we will address concerns in-depth including wind uplift considerations and how to treat drains to avoid flooding. We will also review local case studies ranging from thriving systems to outright failures, and how the design and maintenance of the systems affects the outcomes.

Oversized and super-sized glass for construction is offered in various formats across the North American and international markets. Suppliers have scaled up most glass production processes and can offer high performing glass with impressive dimensions. Scaling up glass production comes with cost and technical implications. This lecture provides an overview about the development and status of oversized glass production and the various production and processing stages involved.

This presentation will explore how the details of iconic historic houses, both traditional and modernist, have contributed to their durability or lack thereof, and what we can learn from their successes and failures for both preservation and new design. Case studies will include the speaker’s assessment or restoration work on these six details from six iconic houses:

A failure of an installed curtain wall on a commercial project can be costly and time consuming. A failure can do more that physical property damage. It can have an impact on all parties involved in the project and repercussions could last years. Most failures can be tracked to simple mistakes that were preventable.

This course will review the myriad attachment methods for single ply membranes, including different membrane types, substrates, and structures. Advantages and disadvantages of the various attachment methods will be discussed as well as various criteria which may dictate a certain attachment type.