Portland BEC Sustainability in the Building Envelope

Cross laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered wood building system designed to complement light- and heavy-timber framing options. Now available to North American building designers, it offers the structural simplicity needed for cost-effective projects, as well as benefits such as fast installation, reduced waste, improved thermal performance and design versatility. This presentation will introduce CLT through a series of project examples while considering some of the more challenging aspects of CLT building design—such as fire and life safety, lateral and seismic design, acoustic performance and building envelope. Topics will also include the manufacturing and specification of CLT, building code considerations and available resources such as the US CLT Handbook.

As the Northwest Regional Director for the U.S. WoodWorks program, Ethan’s directive is providing project assistance, education, and resources for developers, architects, engineers, and contractors for code-compliant design, engineering, and construction of non-residential and multi-family wood buildings. Ethan is a licensed engineer and joined WoodWorks when the pilot program went nationwide in 2011. Prior to that Ethan had his own engineering firm for eight years and is a Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate of Cornell University specializing in structures.

WoodWorks is a non-profit organization established and led by the Wood Products Council and funded by the Softwood Lumber Board, USDA Forest Service, Forestry Innovation Investment and Natural Resources Canada and is closely affiliated with the American Wood Council and other partner organizations, whose resources it utilizes in the resolution of technical issues and the identification of appropriate wood solutions.

A panel discussion that reviews the challenges and opportunities of the Enclosure Development Process. This discussion will include the perspective of the Architect, Contractor, and Owner regarding the successful and “challenged” processes for going through iterations of modifying the Enclosure. Specifically the panel will discuss examples of successful value engineering processes; a review of why we do not always get what we want, and also cases where the envelope wins; what to avoid early in the process (starting with systems that the budget will not support); what to avoid late in the process (losing sight of why early decisions were made); key decisions to make and commit to; how to analyze trade-offs to support the Owner's goals; what have we learned; and what do we still need to learn.

Paul Kisling: Paul Kisling has more than 35 years of design and construction experience. His past work includes residential/mixed use, commercial office, retail, industrial, and institutional projects. Paul returned to Mackenzie as Director of Architecture in early 2013 after spending nearly a decade working in development including projects delivered through public-private partnerships and design-build. During his previous tenure with the firm, he served as senior project architect for a range of complex projects, including projects such as the 2100 SW River Parkway Building (former Pacific Gas Transmission building) and Clackamas County Public Services Building. From 2003-2006 he managed the Elizabeth Lofts condominium construction for Carroll Aspen Elizabeth LLC. From 2006-2013 he worked as a senior project manager for Gerding Edlen Development, where he oversaw significant projects including The John Ross and CYAN/pdx high rise multi-family projects and PCC’s Willow Creek Campus. Paul has considerable experience working within a fast-track design-build framework, both representing the owner and as a member of the design team.

Sean Scott: Sean is an Architect that is requested to consult, present nationally, research, and instruct on topics enclosure topics. Currently Sean works for Ankrom Moisan Architects focusing on building enclosures, QA/QC. Sean works within the University of Oregon as a Professor of High Performance Building Enclosures. In his spare time, Sean is progressing with his book “Envelope Tools” which is written by the industry, for the industry with input from every participant type in the industry. Sean has published envelope articles within Environmental Building News, Trim-Tab, and other publications. Prior to joining his current engagement, Sean had spent 18 years working with mixed-use high-rise, educational, institutional, multi-family, commercial, and governmental buildings. Some of this work in London, England, (as well as Ghana, West Africa) has led to his career focus. Furthering this effort he has been participating with the evolution of The Living Building Challenge. He has a professional Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree both in Architecture from the University of Oregon.

Martin Houston Martin Houston, AIA, is the Quality Director for Walsh Construction Co. in Portland, Oregon. He has a B.Arch. degree from the University of Cincinnati, holds a California architect’s license, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and is a certified Building Science Thermographer. With WCC since 2006, Martin’s focus includes ensuring overall building quality while concentrating on high performance envelopes and emerging technologies for building envelope commissioning and diagnosis. As the Quality Director for WALSH, he is responsible for the implementation of Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures. In the preconstruction phase of a project, Marty reviews the drawings and specifications in progress and advises the project team on quality and constructability issues. During construction, Marty oversees envelope coordination activities and conducts construction reviews with the craftsmen responsible for execution to ensure a high quality project.

Mike Shadley Mike currently works as a Construction Manager at American Assets Trust and was previously the Owner of TS Construction Management.

Lindsey Pflugrath, an attorney with Skellenger Bender, P.S., will present a case study involving a recent jury verdict in a public, design-build project and catastrophic injuries to a State worker. Ms. Pflugrath will discuss the risks presented by joint venture partnerships on design-build projects, how employer immunity can shift risk to design and construction professionals, the importance of contract-specific contracts, and the new “failure to warn” negligence theory.

Lindsey Pflugrath (Floo-grath) is a partner with the law firm of Skellenger Bender, P.S., located in Seattle, Washington. Lindsey’s practice focuses on all aspects of construction law. She advises clients on risk management, and represents clients in litigation involving claims for personal injury, breach of contract, cost or schedule overruns, negligence, safety violations, and construction defects. Lindsey is serving her second term as a member of the board of Directors of the AIA Seattle, and she is the current President of the Seattle Architecture Foundation. She is also involved in ACEC, AACE, the Urban Land Institute, and the GeoProfessionals Business Association. She is a frequent speaker on legal issues affecting the construction industry. Lindsey is admitted to practice and advises clients in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Arizona.

This tour will feature in-progress construction of the largest Passive Haus project in North America to date. Attendees will hear from both the design and construction teams about the challengers and solutions to creating a project that will meet the Passive Haus standard. The design and construction team will share their experiences as members of a collaborative team that has worked together to come up with solutions to meet the high level of air tightness and thermal barrier continuity required by the Passive Haus standard. Of particular interest will be the changes to the design process required by the construcion schedule and methods of construction. A thorough review of the building enclosure construction will highlight air control and thermal control continuity, both as designed and as constructed.

Martin Houston, AIA, is the Quality Director for Walsh Construction Co. (WCC) in Portland, Oregon. He has a B.Arch. degree from the University of Cincinnati, holds a California architect’s license, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and is a certified Building Science Thermographer. With WCC since 2006, Martin’s focus includes ensuring overall building quality while concentrating on high performance envelopes and emerging technologies for building envelope commissioning and diagnosis. Michael Bonn is a Senior Associate at Ankrom Moisan Architects in Portland Oregon. Michael has deep experience and expertise in multi-family housing with an emphasis on high performance design.