82 results

  • Renewing Historic Facades

    As the first phase of a $4 billion dollar, 180-acre, 60 building government preservation project in Washington DC, this case study reviews the

  • EUI of Building Clusters

    Large master planned developments such as Battery Park City in Manhattan, Mission Bay in San Francisco, and Playa Vista in Los Angeles were built

  • ACT Facade featured image

    ACT Facade

    Due to material and technological advancement during the last century, transparency has become a prominent trend in contemporary architecture.…
  • The Monash Woodside Building featured image

    The Monash Woodside Building

    Today’s environmental challenges highlight the necessity of a holistic approach to façade design and construction, key to achieve the ambitious 2030…
  • U-Factor Matters in Hot Climates

    It is commonly thought that fenestration U-factor is not a key determinant in the performance of facades in hot climates, and generally the focus of

  • The Thermal Blanket Concept

    This paper tells the story of a Double Skin Facade (DSF), where high performance and multi-disciplinary collaboration saves a library concept of

  • Structural Skin

    Many prominent, recent buildings feature forms suggesting structural surface while their enclosures are really non-load-bearing curtain wall. At the…
  • Terra Cotta Skins featured image

    Terra Cotta Skins

    This paper will address the potential of ornamental architectural terracotta surfaces to mitigate the effects of climate fluctuations that will…
  • Put Your Sweater On!

    During the particularly cold first months of 1977 President Jimmy Carter, in what some call “The Sweater Speech,” famously noted how much energy

  • Hydrophobic Stainless Steel Surfaces featured image

    Hydrophobic Stainless Steel Surfaces

    There is no doubting the longevity of stainless steel building facades. The Chrysler Building and numerous buildings that followed have stood the…
  • Deconstructing the Window featured image

    Deconstructing the Window

    Over the years, the industry has relied heavily on the increasing performance of low-e coatings to drive window U-factors (thermal transmittance)…
  • Curved Forming Panel Facades featured image

    Curved Forming Panel Facades

    The performative and visual aspects of curved forming/bending thin “formable” planar materials is explored. Early tests for deflection indicate that…
  • Saving Face

    In 1871, a fourth level Architecture course was offered in New York City that instructed on topics such as heating, ventilation and circulation of

  • Climate-Oriented Prefabricated Building Envelopes featured image

    Climate-Oriented Prefabricated Building Envelopes

    Facades developed in response to climactic factors increase performance and human comfort while reducing energy loads. A single building envelope…
  • Integrated Energy Analysis

    Energy codes across the country are progressively getting stricter and increasing the threshold for a baseline building’s energy performance.

  • Thermal Performance of Closed Cavity Facades

    Closed cavity facades (CCF), a configuration of Double Skin Facade (DSF), consists of a double-glazed unit on the inner layer and single glazing on

  • Carbon Lean Facades featured image

    Carbon Lean Facades

    With net zero and carbon neutral mandates on the near horizon, New York City has pushed the green building envelope by leveraging incentive-based…
  • Green Façade/Roofs Design Tool featured image

    Green Façade/Roofs Design Tool

    Climate change and related thermal issues, draw attention to the impact of green facades and roofs on energy savings and thermal comfort. Besides, by…
  • Vintage Vinyl featured image

    Vintage Vinyl

    Mid-century through 1980’s buildings with lock-strip or “zipper-gasket” glazing systems are an ever present part of the urban landscape in many…