High-Performance Building Facades

  • Event by University of Massachusetts Amherst

This workshop will cover methods for designing sustainable, high-performance facades, and the necessary steps in ensuring that the environmental factors and energy-efficiency strategies are integrated with the design process. The facade is one of the most significant contributors to the energy budget and the comfort parameters of any building. High-performance facades need to block adverse external environmental effects, while maintaining internal comfort conditions with minimum energy consumption.

The workshop is organized by the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Dr. Ajla Aksamija, Suncica Milosevic and Mahsa Farid Mohajer) and mӧdfacade (Dave Sommer). The covered material is based on Dr. Aksamija’s book Sustainable Facades: Design Methods for High-Performance Building Envelopes (John Wiley & Sons, 2013).

Learning Objectives

  • Identify design methods for high-performance facades.
  • Learn about building performance analysis tools that are suitable for facade design.
  • Learn about the thermal behavior, occupants’ comfort, materials and advanced facade technologies.
  • Recognize how these approaches have been used for innovative facade designs through case studies.

Schedules and Topics

The workshop will be conducted online, with four 1.5-hour long sessions over two weeks (January 6, 8, 13 & 15, 2021) from 12 pm to 1:30 pm EST.

An invitation with a link to the online meetings will emailed out to all registrants several days in advance of the workshop start.

DAY 1: WED, JANUARY 6th

  • PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING FACADES’ PERFORMANCE, BASED ON CLIMATE.
  • FACADES TYPES AND MATERIALS.

DAY 2: FRI, JANUARY 8th

  • FACADES’ IMPACT ON BUILDINGS’ ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND OCCUPANTS’ COMFORT.
  • SIMULATION TOOLS FOR ANALYZING FACADES’ IMPACT ON BUILDINGS’ ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

DAY 3: WED, JANUARY 13th

  • THERMAL BEHAVIOR AND MOISTURE RESISTANCE IN HIGH-PERFORMANCE FACADES.
  • SIMULATION TOOLS FOR ANALYZING THERMAL BEHAVIOR AND MOISTURE TRANSPORT.

DAY 4: FRI, JANUARY 15th

  • IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON FACADE PERFORMANCE.
  • ADVANCED FACADE MATERIALS AND FACADE SYSTEMS.

Audience

This workshop is intended for architects, designers, engineers, manufacturers, consultants, and owners’ representatives interested in learning about high-performance facades. The workshop is inclusive, and everyone interested in methods for designing high-performance facade systems is welcome.