Contextual Envelopes
Aesthetic and technical capabilities of facade design have become seemingly endless as building technologies progress. While the capacity to address
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Adaptable Glazing Shields
Today, about 40% of all buildings in the U.S. still have single-pane windows, and ~70% of the existing building stock is estimated to suffer from… -
Thermal Stress Analysis in Glass
The use of glass in windows and curtain walls in residential as well as in commercial buildings needs to be designed very carefully. In addition to
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Facade Mock-ups
Curtain walls and window walls are typically specified to meet a variety of different performance and testing criteria, some of which can be quite… -
Two Sides to Sustainability & High-performance
High performance can be defined as “a building that integrates and optimizes all major high-performance building attributes, including energy
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Heat-Treated Glass
What was once an accepted reality in heat-treated exterior glass, optical disturbances in glass are under increasing scrutiny by developers,… -
Translation from Concept to Construction
Fidelity between the built enclosure and early visualizations is rarely, if ever, an accident. When achieved, it comes as the result of persistent… -
Steel As A Curtain Wall Framing Material
This paper will explore steel forming methods other than cold drawn or hot rolled processes, and how they allow steel to be utilized as the primary… -
Slipping through the Cracks
We construct building enclosures to keep the elements out, but sometimes air and water infiltrate the building envelope, causing several problems for… -
Corrugated-geometry Copper and Glass Facade
The subject of this case study is the design and construction of a custom corrugated-geometry facade featuring pre-patinated copper and glass for an… -
Shaping Skin
The conventional modern facade is essentially flat, which creates the tendency toward visual monotony and problems for modulating daylight—both on… -
The Tectonics of Flimsiness
Architecture has traditionally celebrated the joining of two building components or materials. Joinery serves as a key site for architectural
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Doubling Mies
Mies van der Rohe’s concurrently designed projects for Commonwealth Promenade Apartments (1953-1956) and the Esplanade Apartments (1953-1957), saw
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Facade with Innovation
Shanshui City and Star Bund Center can be considered as representative projects of RFR Shanghai recently Both provide creative solutions for complex… -
Realizing Bespoke Structural Glass Facades
In the very earliest stages of a design, an architect imagines a unique glazed facade form and wonders, “Is this possible?” and “What will it cost?”
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Determining the Optimal Opening for Multi Skin Facade with External Ventilation
The envelope of the Harbin Bank Building in Beijing has a Multi-Skin Facade where the outer cavity is naturally ventilated. During the design the…
