Renewing Two Saarinen Icons
Kresge Auditorium and the MIT Chapel, designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1955, are both world renowned works of architecture and powerful symbols…
176 results
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Embodied Carbon Of Timber Unitized Curtain Wall
The building envelope is at the intersection of embodied and operational emissions. Curtain wall specifically could play an important role in reducin…
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Solid Surface Material for Facades
Navigating the building code, while challenging in any respect, can be even trickier when considering the use of emerging materials on building facad…
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Retroreflective Coating for Window Blinds
Solar shading devices are required to find a trade-off between conflicting requirements: Protection from excessive solar gains and glare, daylight pr…
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The First Triple Certified Facade
Johnson Controls (JCI), a leading provider of intelligent building technology solicited the design of a 35,000sm headquarters for its Asia-Pacific Re…
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Shadow Box Design
Shadow boxes are commonly used in curtain wall construction, but can be problematic if not designed and detailed correctly and appropriately for the …
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The Craft of Building Enclosures
This paper will provide case studies of two high-performance building envelopes in the San Francisco Bay Area where the fabrication of bespoke façade…
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Determining the Optimal Opening for Multi Skin Facade with External Ventilation
The envelope of the Harbin Bank Building in Beijing has a Multi-Skin Facade where the outer cavity is naturally ventilated. During the design the cli…
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The Facade and Energy Codes
Ever-increasing performance requirements in the latest version of the energy codes are compelling project teams to consider the thermal performance o…
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Data-Driven Shading Systems
Analyzing the energy performance of complex building envelopes, determining the need for sun protection, and assessing the effectiveness of shading d…
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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 t…
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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 citie…
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Highly Efficient Façades with Innovative Shading and Light Control
The Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) on the Allston Campus is the largest new building at Harvard University in recent decades with a footprint …
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Modelling Perimeter Heating Demand
Thermal discomfort can occur in perimeter zones due to radiant heat loss from the occupant to a poorly insulated exterior wall. It is valuable for ar…
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Steel As A Curtain Wall Framing Material
This paper will explore steel forming methods other than cold drawn or hot rolled processes, and how they allow steel to be utilized as the primary f…
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Origami-Inspired Facade Design
To paraphrase Robert le Ricolias, the art of the structure is where to put the folds. Using that inspiration, fundamental concepts from origami, topo…
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DC Water Headquarters Case Study
Facades must be responsive to a myriad of qualities and influences ranging from urban impact and aesthetic character to numerous performance requirem…
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Managing Constraints
On a commercial high-rise tower project located in Hong Kong, the design team was challenged to make a facade that would beneficial to tenants with a…
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Thermal Comfort Assessment of Multi-Zone Electrochromic Window
Access to natural daylight and connection to the outdoor environment is one of the key elements of contemporary architecture. This design concept is …
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Contextual Envelopes
Aesthetic and technical capabilities of facade design have become seemingly endless as building technologies progress. While the capacity to address …