Past Meetings

September 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
NFPA 285 - Assembly Test of Exterior Walls with Combustible Components
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Maria Spinu, PhD
Description

NFPA 285 is the Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Non-Load-Bearing Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components. NFPA 285 assembly tests are required by the International Building Code (IBC) when exterior non-combustible walls contain combustible components. The scope of materials classified by the IBC requiring NFPA 285 testing is increasing. Combined with more stringent energy code requirements, the use of combustible materials is also growing in exterior walls. This seminar will discuss the impact of the NFPA 285 Test on buildings using IBC and ASHRAE 90.1 energy code requirements, the parameters and history of NFPA 285, and the definition of what building envelope components are combustible and require NFPA 285 testing by IBC. All of these elements combine to integrate NFPA 285 compliant assemblies into building envelope systems.

Maria received a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech. She joined DuPont Central Research & Development in Wilmington, Delaware in 1990 as a Research Chemist and in 1995 she was promoted to Research Manager. In 2000 she joined DuPont Building Innovations as New Business Development Manager.

She currently leads Building Science and Sustainability initiatives for the commercial market. Her background in engineering, materials science, and building science provides an insightful understanding of current challenges in achieving sustainable building enclosures. Maria advises building professionals on the best alternatives for achieving energy efficiency without compromising durability of the building enclosure.

Maria is a member of ASHRAE 90.1 Standard Committee and Envelope Subcommittee, CSI (Construction Specifier Institute), and other professional and trade organizations. She has published many articles in peer reviewed and trade journals, is the author of 16 patents and has been a speaker at many regional, national and international conferences on building science and sustainability topics.

June 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Water Testing Using PPV Fans to Simulate Wind-Driven Rain
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Jasha Kistler
Mike Williams
Description

We believe this testing methodology is an innovative new approach of simulating the effect of wind-driven rain on the building enclosure to investigate water intrusion. The method builds on existing standards and utilizes readily available equipment to provide a cost effective, versatile, time-saving, and realistic means of replicating weather events to recreate leaks. In conducting hundreds of leak investigation tests, this technique has proven to recreate leaks quickly and without overloading the building’s water management systems. It is our belief that this method expands the knowledge of testing industry in providing a procedure that is a valuable tool for the forensic leak investigator.

May 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Air Barrier Case Studies
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Marty Houston, AIA - Walsh Construction
Description

Different approaches to constructing air barriers have varying implications for cost, constructability, complexity, and effectiveness. This presentation will describe the air barrier approach on three different projects, evaluating the impact on the cost and constructability of each approach as well as a description of the testing methods and resulting measurement of the air tightness of the buildings involved. Additional discussion regarding the areas of air leakage and lessons learned when employing various different approaches will inform the effectiveness of each approach.

With a B.Arch from the University of Cincinnati, Martin Houston is an architect licensed in the State of California. Mr. Houston practiced for 16 years before joining Walsh Construction's QA/QC program in 2006 and is currently the Quality Director for Walsh. He is a LEED AP, a Certified Building Science Thermographer and is a Certified Document Technologist through the Construction Specifications Institute.

April 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Material Compatibility and the Building Enclosure
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Dave Young, PE
Ken Roko, AIA
Austin Sloat, AIA
Description

This talk revisits some issues discussed during two presentations from 2007 that focused sealant adhesion and compatibility with self adhered membranes. This talk will focus on common issues with material compatibility and the effect on building enclosure performance as well as air barrier material transitions.

Dave Young, PE RDH

Dave has focused on building enclosure consulting for the past 23 years. His experience includes low to high-rise commercial, institutional, and multi-family residential buildings. Dave is a licensed professional engineer in Oregon and a past president of the Portland BEC.

Ken Roko, AIA The Facade Group

Ken has over 14 years of experience in building enclosure consulting with a diverse background in both architecture and engineering. Ken is a board member of the Portland BEC.

Austin Sloat, AIA NSB Architects

Austin has been working in the building enclosure consulting industry since 1996 and has worked on a wide range of new and remedial projects. Austin is a board member of the Portland BEC

March 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Passive Design: Using the building as the mechanical system
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Susan Hayes
Description

A “passive” approach to building design uses architectural and building enclosure elements aligned with local, micro-climate considerations to meet thermal comfort requirements. This can significantly reduce the need for “active” mechanical and electrical equipment that would typically provide heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting. Ideally, a truly passive building would eliminate the need for active equipment all together. This presentation will discuss common passive design features and their potential for reducing annual energy consumption, including case studies from building projects where passive strategies have been employed.

Susan Hayes, P.Eng. is a mechanical engineer with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. She is experienced in the design of low-energy mechanical systems and energy modeling in a variety of software tools. Susan’s project accomplishments include: leader of the LEED energy modeling team for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Athlete’s Village; mechanical consultant for Vancouver’s first LEED Gold office building and presenter at a number of seminars and events. Prior to joining RDH in early 2012, Susan worked as a designer for a mechanical engineering firm and as sustainability project manager at an integrated design firm.

February 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
CLSB - Envelope Case Study
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Sean K. Scott, AIA, SERA
Description

CLSB - Collaborative Life Science Building is an extremely complicated, hyper-fast construction schedule project with several large clients and an amazing set of functions housed within the building. The building enclosure was developed with key lessons that will apply to most other building types. The complexity of the schedule, team, functions, and enclosure performance program all combined to make an interesting project. This course is intended to share the lessons that have been learned and are continuing to evolve through construction.

1 LU HSW/SD

Recognized as one of the leading sustainable envelope experts, Sean Scott has influenced sustainable envelope design through requested consultation, national presentations, instruction and research. Sean Scott has worked in London, and presented at numerous national and regional venues. He is currently practicing at SERA Architects, and concurrently as an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon teaching “High-Performance Envelopes”. Sean is quoted by and has published envelope articles within Environmental Building News, Trim-Tab, and others. In his spare time, he serves on several envelope committees, is authoring a book called “Envelope Tools”, and developing an iPhone application for envelopes.

January 2013 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Building Envelope Commissioning
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
John Duncan, AIA, Morrison Hershfield
Description

"Building Envelope Commissioning" will discuss the process of envelope commissioning and how the NIBS structure can be implemented. ASHRAE states, "The Commissioning Process is a quality-focused process for achieving, verifying, and documenting that the performance of facilities, systems, and assemblies meets defined objectives and criteria."

Drawing on project experience from across North America, the presentation will examine the need for commissioning the passive building envelope systems, the process, the challenges and the impact on energy performance.

1 LU HSW/SD

John is a licensed architect with over 15 years of experience as a designer in Portland. He has worked as a project architect and project manager on highrise residential buildngs, medical office buildings, commercial construction, and schools. He is proficient at building envelope design with more than three years of experience as a Façade Consultant, currently working at Morrison Hershfield. John has conducted Building Envelope Commissioning and also acted as the facade consultant on a wide range of projects.

December 2012 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Oregon Reach Code: Designing for Tomorrow
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Mark Heizer, PE
Description

An introduction to Oregon's Reach Code, an advanced energy code for optional use in all jurisdictions in Oregon. Background on the development and why it is one of the most advanced energy codes in the nation. Participants will learn the basic structure of the code and how to apply it in everyday projects.

1 LU/HSW/SD

Mark is a mechanical engineer with nearly 30 years of HVAC design experience, working on a wide range of projects around the globe. A graduate of Georgia Tech, his experience includes project management and the sustainable design on some of the earliest LEED projects in Oregon while at Interface Engineering.

At Building Codes Division, Mark is responsible for technical support, development and interpretations for Oregon’s Mechanical, Energy, and Reach Codes. He directed the energy sub-committee for development of the energy efficiency chapter of the Reach Code.

He is an active participant in sustainable and energy issues. He is vice chair of the ICC Sustainability, Energy and High Performance Code Action Committee, which will submit recommended revisions to the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code and the International Green Construction Code.