37 results

  • Spandrel Glass Design

    Currently, most spandrel glass in commercial curtain walls comprises insulating glass fabricated using an interior heat strengthened glass lite that

  • The Aesthetics of Big Tech

    The San Francisco Bay Area is synonymous with leading edge technology and innovation. Many of the biggest and wealthiest tech giants have huge

  • Elliptical Ways

    Construction projects almost invariably encounter a critical stage at the moment of handover between the designing and the executing party. At this

  • Verifying Thermal Performance

    Architects specify curtain wall thermal performance criteria and usually identify simple modeling software, like THERM, to perform thermal analysis

  • Vintage Vinyl

    Mid-century through 1980’s buildings with lock-strip or “zipper-gasket” glazing systems are an ever present part of the urban landscape in many

  • Thinking About Facades featured image

    Thinking About Facades

    There have been three decades of liberating developments in the application of descriptive geometry and freeform design methods, as well as the…
  • Terracotta 1912 to 2018

    Center Three is a 100-year-old, one million square-foot building in Long Island City, New York that was constructed over the course of one year. It

  • Teaching Facades

    As facades become more sophisticated and complex, more detail-intensive and performance-critical, it's vital that architecture students develop a

  • Shadow Box Design

    Shadow boxes are commonly used in curtain wall construction, but can be problematic if not designed and detailed correctly and appropriately for the

  • Seismic Movements

    A common building upgrade to add value to existing commercial real estate is the renewal of the entrance lobby. The lobby facade is replaced to give

  • Renewing Two Saarinen Icons

    Kresge Auditorium and the MIT Chapel, designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1955, are both world renowned works of architecture and powerful symbols

  • 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

  • Hardened Facades Effects on Structural Systems

    To ensure the safety of U.S diplomatic personnel overseas, the U.S Department of State (DoS) has developed facade retrofits capable of resisting high

  • Glazed Spandrels

    Recent years have seen an increased use of insulated glazing units in spandrel applications to visually blend the appearance between the vision and

  • Fully Tempered Glass in Spandrel Applications

    Recent years have seen an increase in the use of insulated glazing units (IGUs) in spandrel applications to visually blend the appearance between the

  • 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

  • Facade Wind Loading

    Wind induced pressure is a major design consideration for building facades. However, the effects of facade geometry and urban terrain on wind loading