Past Meetings

Most punched window selections are based on what the firm or team had on the last project, looks, and price. This course offers performance based selection criteria to add to the selection tools.

Sean is an Architect with Ankrom Moisan Architects that focusses on enclosures within his career. He is presently writing a book entitled "Enclosure Tools" that is created by the industry for the industry. His past speaking engagements have included AIA National, Living Future, and many local venues. Teaching High Performance Enclosures at the University of Oregon Portland School of Architecture feeds into the professional practice and vice-versa.

Today’s design and construction environment is expanding at an increasing rate with product offerings and new technologies leading the push that result in more complicated buildings. The selection and installation of air barrier systems is no stranger to this phenomenon. The technology of sheet applied and fluid applied air barrier systems have progressed at a rapid pace over the last 20 years with so many different product offerings, chemical compositions and installation methods that the choices can seem daunting.

This presentation will involve a panel discussion with members of the panel representing the manufacturing, installation and specification sides of the process. The discussion intends to speak to current state of air barrier technology, the challenges of each type, what’s important from the manufacturing side, design side and applicator side, and what we see for the future. The panel will consist of Ariel Levy of RDH Building Sciences, Nathan Weibel of Henry Company, and John O’Brien of Western Partitions.

Recent years have seen an increased trend towards rainscreen cladding system. These systems typically consist of an exterior cladding, a drainage cavity and a back-up weather resistive barrier. Traditionally in rainscreen cladding designs, the joints in the exterior cladding are sealed to minimize the potential for water intrusion into the drainage cavity with the exceptions of weeps and pressure equalization vents which are generally sheltered from water ingress.

In the open joint rainscreen systems, the joints between the cladding elements are intentionally left open.

This presentation will discuss the implications of open joints for the performance of rainscreen systems. Various approaches to the design of open joint raDeinscreen cladding systems will be reviewed. Two construction case studies demonstrating successful and unsuccessful implementation of the open joint rainscreen concept in the field will be presented.

Claude works as a Building Envelope Specialist in the Building and Facilities Division of Morrison Hershfield in Portland. He completed post-graduate architectural studies focusing on building technology. He developed an expertise in the design, detailing and construction oversight of building envelope assemblies and has been involved with all aspects of building envelope services.

Mark Rose is Technical Lead for Building and Facilities Division of Morrison Hershfield in Portland. He is a building technologist specialized in building envelope assessment, design, rehabilitation and field review. Before coming to MH, Mark was employed as a contractor and oversaw the rehabilitation of a variety of distressed buildings resulting from water intrusion issues. He also has expertise on the investigation, assessment and conservation of historical buildings.

Beginning with an overview of sustainably managed forests, life cycle analysis, and the carbon cycle of wood, this presentation introduces the current thinking on architectural and structural use of Cross Laminated Timber in buildings with a focus on high rise projects. Included will be a short history of CLT which began in Europe and a discussion of building enclosure strategies.

Ethan Martin, PE is Senior Technical Director, Pacific Northwest US for WoodWorks. He is based out of Seattle, WA. Ethan received a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. As the previous owner of a structural engineering firm in Asheville, NC, Ethan has worked on projects that range from small renovations and additions to a 470,000 square-foot, $125 million central school for the Cherokee Nation.

In his role with WoodWorks Ethan serves as a wood products industry spokesperson and educator dedicated to growing the knowledge and use of structural wood products in non-residential construction through a variety of forums and seminars reaching over 1,000 design professionals annually. He currently serves on both the Midrise Construction and Schools initiative WoodWorks teams, and his primary role as Senior Technical Director, directly consulting with design professionals to educate and successfully implement wood into their designs.

This presentation will explain how this sealant adhesion and compatibility study was conceived and executed and will also provide conclusions about the observed reactions between many different substrates and sealants. This study was executed to determine the varying levels of adhesion between commonly specified sealants and substrates (including weather resistive barriers, self adhered membranes, liquid applied membranes and cladding components including brick, fiber cement cladding and various window materials. Similarly, observed compatibility issues will be discussed and the cause of the incompatibility explained in order to better inform designers about posssible adverse reactions between materials.

Sharon Libby is a Quality Assurance Manager with Walsh Construction. Sharon has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Oregon and worked in architecture for about 8 years before making the switch to construction with Walsh’s Quality department. There she is involved with several projects providing reviews and field research during pre-construction and active construction phase. Concerns raised in the field are a great motivator for Sharon to research and solve problems. The sealant study Sharon conducted is a great example of that process.

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.

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.

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.