Bringing an Icon Into the Future: Willis Tower
Few buildings are as iconic as Willis Tower. Generations of Chicagoans have a collective memory of this building playing a role in their entire lives…
39 results
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Modern Heritage and Facade Improvements
Approximately 80% of our total building stock is from the 20th century. During the last decades, along with an increasing appreciation of modern arch…
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Optimized Adaptive Re-Use
Contemporary building practice represents a disconnect between traditional manufacturing techniques, that favor straight runs and orthogonal geometri…
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Terra Cotta Skins
This paper will address the potential of ornamental architectural terracotta surfaces to mitigate the effects of climate fluctuations that will creat…
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Innovative Façades for a Sustainable Architecture
Facades play a relevant role in the search for a more sustainable approach to modern architecture. The amount of embodied and operational energy can …
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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…
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Fire Safety and Code Challenges for Mass Timber in Curtain Wall Systems
With the desire for more sustainable construction and reduced embodied energy, mass timber is being explored for building structures. For medium and …
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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 …
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Predictive Modeling in an Automated Building Facade
Computer simulations of an automated dynamic facade in a passively heated and cooled building by using predictive modeling of short-term future weath…
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Preserving a Historic Facade
Environmental and socio-economic benefits of sustainable preservation have become apparent most recently in the restoration of the historic former Ma…
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Effect of Thermal Bridging on Buildings' Energy Performance
Heat transfer through building facades can occur by any combinations of conduction, convection, and/or radiation. Conductive heat transfer depends on…
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Envelope For Service
Envelope-for-Service (E4S) is a novel business model developed with the aim of converting the building façade from a traditionally traded good to a c…
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Structuring Skin
Curtain wall is the prevailing type of enclosure on modern buildings because of its economy, its independence from structure that allows flexibility …
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Orbit Tower
While most of high-rise buildings feature a core surrounded by a spatial frame defining the volume, one could envision a column-free plan where the p…
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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 tes…
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Novel Active Facade Systems and Their Energy Performance in Commercial Buildings
This article presents results of a research study that focuses on understanding energy performance of novel facade systems that integrate thermoelect…
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Passive House Facade Design and Construction
Buildings account for over 40% of global emissions (GlobalABC, 2018). Growing populations and higher standards of living are increasing pressure on t…
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Designing with Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics (PV) have been utilized in buildings for decades, especially in Europe where legislative support has largely driven the market. With ne…
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Shaping Skin
The conventional modern facade is essentially flat, which creates the tendency toward visual monotony and problems for modulating daylight—both on th…