81 results

  • Green Wall Rainscreen featured image

    Green Wall Rainscreen

    Green Wall applications are growing in popularity around the world. Often thought of as a decorative element they provide much more than aesthetic ap…

  • Simplicity is Deceiving featured image

    Simplicity is Deceiving

    The case study presented is a 195 meters tall office tower with a raised podium made of 16 meters full height glass panels (and smaller). The panels …

  • Stainless Steel 101 featured image

    Stainless Steel 101

    This paper presents a summary of the industry advances beyond T304 and T316 austenitic stainless steels. The greater availability of precipitation ha…

  • Digital Lifecycle of Building Envelopes

    “The digital transformation will change everything” – with this quote in mind a deep look into the current facade business will be given with a speci…

  • Architectural Ceramic Assemblies

    This paper documents a six year academia/industry collaboration between researchers at the Department of Architecture, University at Buffalo (SUNY) a…

  • Design Considerations and the Complex Facade featured image

    Design Considerations and the Complex Facade

    The design of complex, high-performance facades involves balancing attention towards principles of material selection, thermal and moisture protectio…

  • The Tectonics of Flimsiness featured image

    The Tectonics of Flimsiness

    Architecture has traditionally celebrated the joining of two building components or materials. Joinery serves as a key site for architectural express…

  • Digital Enablement for Manufacturing

    Architectural design freedom achieved on high-end projects currently costs over $1,000/sq. Ft. Building materials have long been relegated to plane s…

  • Hybrid Timber featured image

    Hybrid Timber

    This case study provides an overview of building hybrid curtain wall system and future opportunities for the use of timber. It will also review the b…

  • The First Triple Certified Facade featured image

    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…

  • Modeling Megapanels

    Large format, steel-stud framed “megapanel” facades with rainscreen cladding create uniquely complicated requirements for digital documentation and 3…

  • Catalytic Conversion featured image

    Catalytic Conversion

    Nowadays, the power of images is seductive. Bold and complex facades often have an innovative appearance but superficial tectonic depth; experiential…

  • Novel Thermal Break Solution featured image

    Novel Thermal Break Solution

    Thermal-break-blanket technology is a novel and high-performance thermal break solution for aluminum curtain walls. The thermal-break-blanket is inst…

  • Controlling Anisotropy in Heat Treated Glass featured image

    Controlling Anisotropy in Heat Treated Glass

    Anisotropy is also known as Brewster marks, quench marks, strain pattern, leopard spots, Iridescence, etc. Although anisotropy is inevitable when hea…

  • 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 …

  • Contextualizing Glass and Carbon Impacts

    Climate change goals will require significant improvements in the way buildings are constructed and operated. Building reuse can combat climate chang…

  • HydroSKIN

    Building envelopes cover a considerable part of the urban exterior surfaces, and to therefore have a significant leverage effect on the climate resil…

  • Facing Density

    The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs projects a world population growth of over three billion over our current, nearly eight …

  • Highly Efficient Façades with Innovative Shading and Light Control featured image

    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 …