The Spring 2022 edition is jammed packed with technical articles describing the challenges of meeting increasingly stringent standards to support energy-efficient building construction. We also discuss the emergence of the envelope backstop and why it was introduced by policymakers to limit how far building enclosure thermal performance can stray from the prescriptive requirements. Our CEU article this issue discusses the interconnectedness of roof strategies that can help minimize whole building carbon emissions while improving long-term performance. Read now to earn 1 AIA LU/HSW; 1 IIBEC CEH; 0.1 IACET CEU; 1 GBCI CE Hour.
One of the ways the design, engineering and construction teams met the City of Vancouver’s new stringent energy requirements was by using structural thermal breaks to prevent thermal bridging at balconies, eyebrows, parapets and planter walls.
The envelope backstop was introduced by policymakers to limit how far building enclosure thermal performance can stray from the envelope prescriptive requirements.
EIA’s most recent data reports that energy-efficient, multi-paned windows are featured in 60 percent of U.S. buildings, which account for 75 percent of commercial floorspace. This presents a significant opportunity to improve existing buildings and to construct new buildings with energy-efficient daylight openings, including polycarbonate glazing and wall systems.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted expectations in nearly all aspects of our lives. Whether in work, school, or leisure, we’ve collectively been forced to adapt new habits and ways of thinking.
Whole-building pressurization testing is becoming standard practice for building projects. Many common energy conservation standards and model codes now exhibit requirements for enclosure airtightness, which are to be achieved through measured air leakage rates.
As some of us make the shift from working from home to heading back to an office space, it leads me to wonder what the offices of the future will look like. There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered our entire way of life. It’s definitely altered how we’ll design public places too.
Low-slope membrane roof system metal edge securement, except gutters, shall be designed and installed for wind loads in accordance with Chapter 16 and tested for resistance in accordance with ANSI/SPRI ES-1, except the basic wind speed shall be determined from Figure 1609.
1807.1.2.1 Flood hazard areas. For buildings and structures in flood hazard areas as established in Section 1612.3, the finished ground level of an under-floor space such as a crawl space shall be equal to or higher than the outside finished ground level.
The profile of specific components, their configuration or sequencing, can vary with the roof system, climatic differences, and regional or area practices.