Driven by rising energy costs, government mandates, long-term cost savings, and simply doing the right thing for future generations, schools are increasingly turning to engineers and architects to move towards net zero energy consumption.

Building Enclosure was recently joined by Brian Pallasch, EVP/CEO, IBBEC. Brian sat down with us to talk about the Moving Forward report. Each year, The National Institute of Building Sciences Consultative Council publishes the Moving Forward Report to investigate critical challenges facing the building industry.

Pressure is mounting for the building and construction industry to become more sustainable. Designing more energy-efficient buildings is part of that, but reducing embodied carbon is a more pressing — and often challenging — issue.

According to the latest determinations issued by the U.S. Department of Energy, ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019 would achieve greater energy efficiency in commercial buildings compared to the previous edition (2016) of the standard.

Browse our articles to read about topics such as reducing carbon in precast wall systems, achieving the proper airtightness of buildings, and how metal roofs are leading the way toward energy efficiency.

New energy codes are placing strict limitations on the amount of glass that can be incorporated into a new building. In high temperatures, glass simply lets in too much heat, and in low temperatures, too much cold. Reducing the amount of glass in a building reduces heating and cooling costs significantly.

CO2 concentrations are frequently a point of concern in the context of indoor air quality. It is relatively easy to measure and is commonly included in indoor air quality monitoring procedures.

Metal siding is far from a new concept, but many commercial project managers are turning to it today. Amid this shift, construction and architectural firms should ask why and see if metal walls are right for them.

Building Enclosure was joined by Ryan Colker, Vice President of Innovation for the International Code Council. Ryan is here to talk about how the ICC and ASHRAE have joined in the development of a standard to assess carbon emissions across the entire building life cycle.

The analysis documents the energy performance of the 68-story KOI Tower in Monterrey, Mexico, the country’s second tallest building, which features a facade composed primarily of double-pane insulating glass units fabricated with Solarban R100 Optiblue glass by Vitro Glass.