A question for architects and building industry: Can our cities be part of the solution to the challenges facing humanity, or are they intrinsically and inevitably a big part of the problem? To move beyond the latter demands nothing less than a fundamental shift in the way we think about buildings.
Hamid Vossoughi talks facade retrofits: the importance of and how to
Building facades for flagship stores play an important role in people’s perception of a brand. Facade system and material selection as well as detailing therefore have to take careful consideration of the image to be conveyed. - Karine Charlebois PE, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Architecture students from Philadelphia University took five of the top ten spots in the building Healthy building(s) competition. The student competition was conducted as a precursor to an upcoming conference...
Authors and educators Eugenia Gasparri, Arianna Brambilla, Gabriele Lobaccaro, Francesco Goia, Annalisa Andaloro, and Alberto Sangiorgio address the major challenges and opportunities ahead for the construction (and façade) sector, with a focus on product and process innovations.
Welcome to this edition of the SKINS newsletter, which is all about carbon! As guest editor this month, I am representing FTI’s embodied carbon (EC) working group. This issue highlights several important topics relative to embodied and the trade-offs with operational carbon.
How can we be more equitable and inclusive and provide greater opportunities and create an ethos of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace? I offer a few thoughts for consideration.
NYCCT Architecture Program Chairman Sanjive Vaidya, asked HOK facades architect John Neary to give a design studio focused on detailing the building skin system. With HOK designer Michael Miller, Neary led a group of students through the facade system design development process.
Biofacades integrate biological systems into building enclosures. This article introduces performance benefits, challenges, and taxonomies for different forms of building-nature integration. Beyond green walls, other forms of living matter such as algae and myceli
This paper, written by a team at the Technical University at Darmstadt, uses examples of 3D printed structural glass, reinforced thin-sheet façade panels, and nesting bricks that can be integrated directly into facades to support work successful industrial applications.
Thermal bridging through building facades have been overlooked or over-simplified by designers and building energy codes and standards in the past, which has led to higher space heating and cooling loads, occupant discomfort, and higher risk of condensation.
Research is an essential part of innovation. Our industry has seen an increased interest in research over the last fifteen years, driven by the multifaceted challenges facing our profession—environmental concerns, increasing complexity in building design and construction, necessity to improve...
On October 26th and 27th, the Facade Tectonics Institute assembled a world-class lineup of building facade specialists at the CTBUH 2015 International Conference in New York City.
Here’s the thing about the building SKIN: It is utterly unique in the built environment in separating the interior and exterior environments, balancing attributes of both appearance and performance in the process. It’s the gateway to resilience and sustainability goals in urban habitats.
From gothic masonry to the sculptural building facades of today, exposed structural surfaces are often the most defining element of architecture. Increasingly, however, designers sit at a nexus of these aesthetic considerations and performance-driven design.
Pushing Change: R&D Innovation Processes in Construction Building Products, the second installment of the FTI Dialogues: Suppliers & Contractors Series, took place virtually on Friday, March 26th.
This article explores the need for measurement and verification of building envelope and mechanical systems.
A collection of available public assets to assist in your resilient and sustainable building design and delivery.