Commercial & Institutional

Significantly reducing energy use in commercial buildings is a challenge. Doing so in cold climates even more so. Getting to Net Zero Energy use in these climates, now that’s what we call a tough. But with good design and engaged tenants, the near impossible becomes entirely possible, practical, and fun. This panel will describe key strategies for greatly reducing energy consumption in commercial buildings in cold climates with a focus on smart choices for building design, high performance mechanical systems and the tenant’s role.

As architects, engineers, and municipal planners, how can we rethink the built environment to install more urban food production and distribution in the city? An urban permaculture will frame the session, discussing practices such as: green roofs, pink houses, vertical growing walls, a farm-in-a-box and vertical farms. We will mix short presentations with facilitated conversation about how we, as urban practitioners, can shape the built environment to include urban food.

This session will look at the basic shapes of aluminum and fiberglass products used for frames, and identify the basic principles to be used to develop functional details for both new and retrofit construction. We will isolate the heat, air, and water control layers in windows and connect those in precast, solid masonry, and framed walls. Issues of structural support, construction sequencing, building movement, and high humidity interiors will be addressed. Numerous examples and case studies rich with photographs and drawings will be used.

Do you understand moisture dynamics? Do you have a comprehensive plan to control moisture in your buildings? If you answered no to either question, then you run the risks of occupant discomfort, mold growth, excessive maintenance and/or premature building failure. This session will help you avoid these risks. A veteran building scientist and co-author of the EPA Moisture Control Guide will share key measures—from design through operations—for controlling water and moisture in buildings.

The role of a building's structure, and of the structural engineer, in achieving sustainability goals is frequently marginalized. Yet it represents a majority of a new building project's material mass and embodied energy, and is responsible for a large portion of its CO2e emissions. It can also play a role in the annual energy usage of a building, both in good ways (i.e. thermal mass) and bad (i.e. thermal bridging).