Facade Tectonics SKINS

SKINS: July 2020

Virtual World Congress? Bah, humbug!

I’ve heard a little of this from some people and, I gotta tell you, it bugs me! We are going to have the best World Congress event in the history of mankind! The prospect of taking FTI’s signature World Congress event to a digital platform is nothing but opportunity for the Institute. Let me tell you why you ought to be breathless with excitement about this.

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Featured
Ajla Aksamija Facades Education in the Time of the Pandemic Figure 3

Education

Facades Education in the Time of the Pandemic—Perhaps We Can Learn Something from This?

Ajla Aksamija, the chair of FTI’s education committee, reports on a virtual education experience bringing students and professionals together. The outcome exceeded all expectations and points to a new model for facades education.

Read the article.

City Tech Net Zero Commercial Tower Façade Design Studio Spring 2020

Education

Net Zero Tower

John Neary describes a collaborative Advanced Design Studio at City Tech that involved Permasteelisa, Skanska and Onyx Solar, with links to the published student works.

Read the article.

Edward Mazria headshot

Sustainability

Ed Mazria – The Voice of Hope and Optimism

Amidst the crisis of the global pandemic, Mazria sees the opportunity to reshape our world toward a “carbon positive” future.

Read the article in Architect Magazine.

Episode 04 2020 WC The First Triple Certified Facade

Listen

Explore the top papers from the 2020 World Congress

Each week leading up to the 2020 World Congress, we will announce one of the four winning authors, selected from the 118 papers to be presented at the virtual event, and releasing an interview with them on our SKINS Podcast.

Listen and subscribe.

2020 World Congress Paper Spotlight

The First Triple Certified Facade

Author Stephen Katz, senior associate at Gensler, provides a detailed facade-focused case study of the recently completed Asia-Pacific region headquarters for Johnson Controls.

Read and download the paper.

SOMA tower

Feature

The Battle For The Wall, Part Two

Blogger and FTI President, Helen Sanders, lays bare the spandrel as the weak link in typical curtainwall assemblies, a weakness that threatens the efficacy of contemporary curtainwall technology as a viable future facade solution.

Read more in USGlass Magazine.

Shop Talk Podcast

Listen

Shop Talk Podcast Interviews FTI's Mic Patterson

Michael Hammond and Mic Patterson PhD, LEED AP[BD+C], Ambassador of Innovation & Collaboration at Facade Tectonics discuss arguably one of the most important parts of any contemporary building.

Listen on the Shop Talk podcast.

Marlon Blackwell

Awards

Marlon Blackwell is SEC Professor of the Year

Is there a trifecta in architectural honors? If there is, Marlon Blackwell is after it, having earlier won the 2020 AIA Gold Medal. Blackwell’s career is exemplary in many respects, but perhaps most of all in integrating teaching and practice.

Learn more in Architect Magazine.

Tenderstream SQ Mono v2

Feature

Tenderstream.com | Build your future projects pipeline

Global architecture project leads streamed to you daily, including university building envelope renewal in Canada and a new city hall, in Demark. You can claim a 15% discount on full membership through the end of August using code #FT1520.

Start your free trial here.

Industry Calendar

October 12-13

Facade Tectonics 2022 World Congress

Los Angeles, United States

Register Now

August 13-20

Imagining Future Innovative Facades

Learn More

September 13-14

Net Zero 2023 Conference

Los Angeles, USA

Celebrating our 10th anniversary!

September 15-16

BuildingsNY

New York City, United States

Learn More

October 2

Architectural Glass Bootcamp 2020

San Leandro, United States

Learn More

Previously Featured

2020 World Congress Paper Spotlight

End-of-Life Challenges in Facade Design

Cambridge University PhD candidate Rebecca Hartwell presents “A disassembly framework for assessing the environmental reclamation potential of facade systems,” a recovery strategy for the high-value embodied carbon materials often used in high-performance facade systems.

Read and download the paper.

Listen

SKINS Podcast – Latest episode released, "DOE Does Windows"

Mic Patterson hosts Marc LaFrance, windows technology manager with the emerging technologies team at the Department of Energy, and Stephen Selkowitz with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as they discuss challenges and trajectories in building facade research.

Listen and subscribe.

Feature

Improving Envelope Performance: Influencing the Design Process Early

Helen Sanders posts on a discussion with facade contractors Nick Bagatelos and Matt Kamper, who make the case for the critical importance of the early involvement of the facade contractor in the design process. Hard to believe we are still struggling to make this a best practice.

Read more in USGlass Magazine.

Education

Designing, Fabricating and Installing the Carapace Pavilion

A 15-minute video describing the in-progress work of students from the School of Architecture at the University of Southern California. Prof. Doug Noble narrates a slide show describing the project and its current state as of April 2020. Check out Doug in his coveralls!

Watch the video.

Awards

The Daylight Award 2020 Laureates Announced

“The Daylight Award honours and supports daylight research and daylight in architecture, for the benefit of human health, well-being and the environment. The award puts specific emphasis on the interrelation between theory and practice.” Henry Plummer receives the Lifetime Achievement award.

Meet the laureates.

Contribute to SKINS

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Organizational Members of the Facade Tectonics Institute

Executives

Kuraray, Permasteelisa Group, seele, TriPyramid Structures

Associates

Dow, Finishing Contractors Association, HOK, Lerch Bates, Technoform North America, Valmont Structures, Vitro Architectural Glass, WRNS Studio, W&W Glass

Supporters

Antamex Industries, FreMarq Innovations Inc, Heintges, Kreysler & Associates, MdeAS Architects, Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Roschmann Steel & Glass Constructions, Schüco USA, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, SOCOTEC, Inc., The Architect's Newspaper, The Façade Studio

Academics / Nonprofits

Aarhus University, Denmark, IIBEC, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, National Fenestration Rating Council, Rainscreen Association in North America, Universidad de Concepción, University of Utah, Western Wall & Ceiling Contractors Association