BEC National Symposium Topics

The BEC National Symposium has some great sessions lined up this year. Be sure to get your ticket now and head to Austin, TX in May.

Historical Perspectives on Enclosures
Larry Speck, FAIA
1 LU/HSW

This session will examine some time-honored principles and practices regarding the design of building enclosures as well as options that often seem to disappear and re-appear in the guise of advancement. What are we not learning? What can we learn from the past that will carry us forward?

We will examine several enduring truths regarding designing enclosure that have been pervasive through history and will examine how different eras have dealt with them to their benefit or disadvantage.

A Building Scientist’s Perspective on the Building Enclosure
Dr. John Straube, Keynote
2 LU/HSW

Project teams use their understanding of the enclosure to deliver good buildings to their clients. This understanding is based on the function of the assembly in relation to the climate, Codes and physical laws relating to heat, air and moisture flows across the enclosure. This seminar focuses heat transfer across the building enclosure. The mainstream understanding of heat flow across building assemblies is based on layers of simplifying assumptions. Do these simplifications distort our understanding of what is implicitly a complex, interconnected, three-dimensional process?

Think About This
Two-Guys on Your Head
1 LU

We evaluate, design, and construct environments that consist of complex building materials and systems, but are our thought processes inhibiting or enhancing our ability to make wise decisions? Do we have sufficient knowledge in how the environments we create affect the occupants and users of those environments? Understanding how we process information may assist us in deciding whether we continue delivering buildings the way we have always done it or do we join the voices that advocate for change.  In this session, Dr. Bob Duke and Dr. Art Markman, along with Rebecca McInroy, will give us insights into understanding how our brains work so that we may better manage our daily decision making and better manage changes in our industry.

Best Practices for Enclosure Design from the Perspective of Hygrothermal (heat &moisture) Analysis
Dr. Achilles Karagiozis
1.5 LU/HSW

Clients and owners are demanding building with enclosures that align with outcomes of high thermal comfort, reduced energy costs and increased durability. To achieve these goals, project teams must appreciate the importance of heat and moisture flow on the assemblies they design. With modern materials and increased expectations in the marketplace, avoiding thermal bridging and tightening air barriers is only part of the answer. This seminar will provide both an introduction to hygrothermal analysis and its application to real world assemblies.