27 results

  • Balustrade Design Loads

    A review of balustrade practices from around the world, and why practices in United States and countries using ICC code/ASCE 7 designs are failing to

  • Lightning Protection as Building Envelope featured image

    Lightning Protection as Building Envelope

    A building’s envelope mitigates the effects of meteorological phenomena – including lightning – upon the structure and its occupants and contents.…
  • Glass Balustrade Design

    Glass handrail design in the United States lags behind best practice in other parts of the world. There can be as much as a factor of four (4)

  • The Scope of the Structural Glass Design Manual

    The technology of glass now allows glass to be fabricated in sizes and structural configurations not previously conceivable. The standards and codes

  • The Great Spandrel Glass Debate

    As we change the rules of thermal performance for facades, we are changing the conditions the glass is subject to in shadow boxes and glazed spandrel…
  • Subjective Perception and Objective Measurement featured image

    Subjective Perception and Objective Measurement

    Current glass industry standards provide clear tolerances for readily quantifiable physical properties to assist with the evaluation of visual…
  • A Structural Glass Design Manual

    Other than limited special cases, there is a lack of standards providing guidance on the design of structural glass. This has resulted in an ad-hoc…
  • Laminated Security Glazing

    Glass is an essential component for any type of building. Its transparency enhances daylighting and provides occupants a view to the outside. Whether…
  • Rammed Earth & Wildfire featured image

    Rammed Earth & Wildfire

    California is set to be drier and more drought prone with climate change. Wildfire and the subsequent loss of life and housing is a huge challenge.…
  • Glazing Design By ASTM E 1300

    ASTM E 1300 “Standard Practice for Determining Load Resistance of Glass in Buildings” defines the load resistance of a glass construction as being

  • Heat-Treated Glass

    What was once an accepted reality in heat-treated exterior glass, optical disturbances in glass are under increasing scrutiny by developers,

  • Specifying Commercial Aluminum Finishes featured image

    Specifying Commercial Aluminum Finishes

    Many factors will influence coating selection, but to achieve the desired performance level for a given situation, coatings must be specified based…
  • Control Tower Glass Design

    ASTM published the first version of ASTM E2461-05: Standard Practice for Determining the Thickness of Glass in Airport Traffic Control Tower Cabs in

  • More Than a Facade

    In 2014, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) as an accredited ANSI Standards

  • The Seismic Capability of Curtainwalls featured image

    The Seismic Capability of Curtainwalls

    The testing of aluminum/glass curtainwalls for seismic capability, mainly inter-story drift, has been carried out on many curtainwalls over the last…
  • The Evolution of AEC Professional Silos featured image

    The Evolution of AEC Professional Silos

    Healthcare projects in northern California require specialized knowledge to navigate regulation, technological advancements, and project execution…
  • 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

  • Fire Safety in High Rise Exterior Facades featured image

    Fire Safety in High Rise Exterior Facades

    One of the most complex yet least understood areas where fire can spread is at the perimeter of a building. Fire can not only spread from…
  • When Facades Kill

    The tragic fire of June 14, 2017 at the Grenfell Tower in London, England has brought to a very public global forum issues related to the impact of