23 results

  • Skin Deep: Health, Wellness, and the Facade System

    Here we are, a full year after the initial COVID-19 surge rocked the United States. It’s hard to believe we’ve been living through the pandemic for a full year at this point; and yet it also feels like it’s been multiple years. We are beginning to see glimmers of hope on the horizon as more people..

  • Episode 01: Passive House

    The Facade Tectonics Institute is pleased to launch our long-awaited podcast, starting with Episode 01: Passive House, a moderated discussion between Lois Arena, Director of Passive House Services at Steven Winter Associates and Spencer Culhane, Senior Building Envelope Specialist at Schüco USA.

  • 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

  • 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…
  • 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

  • Silicone Spandrel Glass Opacifiers featured image

    Silicone Spandrel Glass Opacifiers

    Curtain wall design commonly uses insulating glass units for vision and spandrel glazing to provide better visual harmonization of building facade…
  • 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.

  • 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…
  • EUI of Building Clusters featured image

    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…
  • Deconstructing the Window featured image

    Deconstructing the Window

    Over the years, the industry has relied heavily on the increasing performance of low-e coatings to drive window U-factors (thermal transmittance)…
  • 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

  • U-Factor Matters in Hot Climates

    It is commonly thought that fenestration U-factor is not a key determinant in the performance of facades in hot climates, and generally the focus of

  • Heat-Treated Glass

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

  • Carbon Lean Facades

    With net zero and carbon neutral mandates on the near horizon, New York City has pushed the green building envelope by leveraging incentive-based

  • 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

  • The Evolution of AEC Professional Silos

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

  • Passive House Facade Design and Construction featured image

    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…