![]() ![]() This "sustainable" approach supports an increased commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation, and results in an optimal balance of cost, environmental, societal, and human benefits while meeting the mission and function of the intended facility. Because of the varied and sometimes competing functions associated with the building envelope, an integrated, synergistic approach considering all phases of the facility life cycle is warranted. The prime functions of the building envelope are to provide shelter, security, solar and thermal control, moisture control, indoor air quality control, access to daylight, and views to outside, fire resistance, acoustics, cost effectiveness and aesthetics. The building envelope is comprised of the outer elements of a building-foundations, walls, roof, windows, doors and floors. ![]() As the economy and population continue to expand, the design, construction and operation community will face increasing challenges to meet the new demands for facilities that are accessible, secure, healthy, and productive while minimizing their impact on the environment.įor the design, construction and operation of a facility, there is an especially important interface between the indoor and outdoor environments, that of the building envelope. It is no secret that building construction and operation have an enormous direct and indirect impact on the environment in terms of energy use, atmospheric emissions, use of raw materials, waste generation, water use, and many other factors. The trend towards old buildings is very real: Sasaki is moving from its long-term offices in Watertown, a Boston suburb, to a historically important 1890s building in the heart of Boston’s downtown.Since the early 1990s, sustainability has become an increasing priority for facilities projects. electricity came from renewable sources.” “Renewable energy is at a strong level of consciousness all across the country, at all levels. “A lot of thoughtful, sustainable building is happening today, especially along the coasts in California and the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, Chicago and other places,” she says. Tamar Warburg sees the design landscape trending green. The only way to do it is with mechanical changes, like windows.” “The concrete envelope and the structure are one, and very porous. She says that the most difficult architectural style to retrofit for energy efficiency is that of a 1960s Brutalist building. “Heat pumps are great as long as you have a good building envelope.”īerry also touts the use of energy recovery ventilators to boost the efficiency of cooling systems. “We want to get away from electric resistance heat like electric radiators, which are not very efficient and very expensive to run, and use variable flow electric technology, like heat pumps. “In those cases, we do careful calculations and figure out how we can add interior insulation,” Berry says.īoth she and Warburg recommend replacing outdated heating and cooling systems in older buildings with heat pumps. When used as a house’s exterior wall, it is meant to breathe. We replaced them with double-paned replicas of the originals.” ![]() In another project, that was impossible – the old windows had been replaced. All the old wood windows were taken off site, repaired and then sealed. ![]() For example, a few years ago, we worked on a small – only 15,000 square feet – but historically important building at Boston University. “With windows, the first line of action is always to repair, preserve and seal the original windows. ![]()
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