AGG - 2006 - May/June

Volume 20 • Issue 3 • May / June 2006

AIA Offers Architectural Glass-Related Educational Sessions

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Annual Convention in Los Angeles features a diverse educational program with a number of sessions focusing on subjects that will provide information about the architectural glass and metal market.

One of the most important design topics today is daylighting, the subject of a day-long session (WE26) on Wednesday, June 7. The series of lectures and hands-on experimentation will focus on the best daylighting design strategies for siting and development of a building’s basic organization, including shaping the room and its windows, as well as forming the skin. Joel Loveland, University of Washington, Seattle, leads the session.

Applying the IBC: Fire Protection and Egress (WE33) is the title of an afternoon session on Wednesday that examines construction types, fire wall use, fire barriers, smoke barriers and smoke partitions. Carroll Lee Pruitt, Pruitt Associates, Fort Worth, William Jay Rakatansky, Freeman White Inc., Charlotte, and Jerry Tepe, JRT-AIA Architect, Hopkington, N.H., lead the session.

What architects need to know about the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and the IECC is the subject of a session (WE39) also on Wednesday afternoon. Sachin Anand, CCJM Engineers Ltd., Chicago, Helen Kessler, HJKessler Associates, Chicago, and Leonard Sciarra, SerenaSturm Architects Ltd., Northbrook, Ill., will explore these two nationally and internationally used energy codes and how to document compliance with them.

Operable windows in commercial buildings, a trend which is gaining popularity, is the subject of a session (FR10) on Friday morning June 9. Peter Alspach, Arup, San Francisco, Gail Brager, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, and Paul Torcellini, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo., will discuss operable windows in commercial buildings, including benefits and market barriers, adaptive thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings, and analysis methods used in the design process to predict the building’s thermal performance.

Innovation in blast-resistant design is the subject of a session (FR11) also at the same time on Friday morning. Ken Hays of Masonry Arts/Physical Security, Bessemer, Ala., will moderate a panel that will use the case studies from the Pentagon (before and after 9/11), the award-winning Oklahoma Federal Building, and the U.S. embassy in Moscow to explore innovations in blast-resistant curtainwall design. Members of the panel are Kevin O’Connor, Ross, Barney+Jankowski, Chicago, Robert Smilowitz, Weidlinger Associates, New York City, and Morgan Williams, Hellmuth, Obata+Kassabaum, Washington, D.C.

Preventing moisture in building envelopes is the subject of a session (FR48) at the end of the day on Friday. Joseph Godfryt, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., Northbrook, Ill., will review typical moisture problems and an approach to locating and addressing problems prior to and during construction.

CES Theater
This part of the AIA program consists of 60-minute programs on a variety of topics with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Consider these sessions:

Falling Glass: Innovation without Problems (CT01); provider: Goettsch Partners (Thursday, 10:30-11:30 a.m.);
Architecturally Innovative Building Integrated Photovoltaics (CT02); providers: UCLA Institute of the Environment, U.S. Green Building Council and Stellar Energy Solutions (Thursday, 12-1 p.m.);
Specifying Windows and Doors Using Performance Standards (CT06); provider: American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) (Friday, 3-4 p.m.);
Whole Building Design Guide and Envelope Design Guide (CT07); providers: National Institute of Building Sciences, Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council, and Building Enclosure Councils (Saturday, 10:30-11:30 a.m.);
Impact of South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1113 for Architectural Coatings (CT08); provider: Tnemec Co. Inc. (Saturday, 12-1 p.m.). AG

Earthquake-Resistant Design
On Friday morning at 8:15, a panel will discuss earthquake-resistant design for houses and other low-rise buildings (FR21). Jim Sealy, a Dallas architect and consultant, who is also a member of the Architects’ Guide to Glass & Metal Editorial Board, will moderate the session. On the panel are Kelly Cobeen, Cobeen & Associates Structural Engineering, Lafayette, Calif., and J. Daniel Dolan, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.

On page 34, Sealy discusses glass and the multi-hazards of nature.