Tag: Efficient building

Yes, it’s that time of year again….when a certain chill fills the air, making your teeth chatter and your cheeks burn as you hurry home from the office. Maybe the chilly weather fills your head with thoughts of ski slopes or holiday traditions…or maybe it starts you dreaming of warm, sandy beaches far away from the cold.

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A new project in Chicago is breaking ground and Schӧck is pleased to be part of it.

The six-story, 79-unit building on the North-West corner of Cicero and George in Chicago, Illinois is part of the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation. The residential building is for seniors age 55 and over whose income meets the needs for affordable housing. The project will utilize Schӧck Isokorb type CM structural thermal breaks in the concrete slab connections of 16 balconies.

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Schock Isokorb® structural thermal break’s primary function is improving energy efficiency, yet equally important to building performance is building safety. As the Vancouver construction market continues to strive for new heights in building performance, Schock Isokorb® thermal break installations increase.

A recent installation of structural thermal breaks in Surrey at 3 Civic Plaza  initiated an evaluation of the Division 3 Part B of BC Building Code 2012  by fire code experts GHL Consultants LTD.

The results of the report  by GHL Consultants confirm that Schock Isokorb® structural thermal breaks will meet the BC building code requirements. … read more

Building envelope thermal performance is greatly affected by thermal bridging, or localized areas of increased heat flow through walls and roofs. Mitigating the impact of thermal bridging is not only necessary to reduce energy consumption but is also an important consideration for minimizing the risk of condensation on cold surfaces and for maintaining occupant comfort.

As part of new Building Envelope Thermal Bridging (BETB) Guide, various construction details have been analyzed to evaluate traditional thermal bridges and various solutions provided by Schöck Isokorb. Please find the report here.

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ASU’s new Arizona Center for Law and Society broke ground in October 2014 for their 260,000 square-foot facility in downtown Phoenix. The new building is planned to accommodate a projected growth in student population of 20-30% over 10 years,  and will house the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics and the McCain Institute for ­International Leadership, and the ASU Alumni Law Group.

The ASU project will be using Schӧck Isokorb® structural thermal breaks in their structural steel beam connections to offer thermal protection and alleviate condensation issues at the building envelope. Structural thermal breaks will be one of the many energy saving features of the building.

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The University of Massachusetts at Amherst has completed the installation of Isokorb® structural thermal breaks in their second project, the Champions Center.

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The Kiln Apartments of Portland, Oregon are positioned to be one of the largest mixed-use, multi-family buildings at such a high energy efficiency standards. With the target design goal to meet and exceed Passive House requirements, the Kiln apartment is said to be the largest Passive House project in the U.S.

At these aggressive energy efficient standards, the building is actually required to be 65-75 percent better than Portland’s industry leading building codes.

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In May 2013, Sacred Heart University Campus in Fairfield, CT broke ground on the largest new academic building in the school’s 50-year history.  The new structure will house the John F. Welch College of Business (COB), the Department of Communications, the Media Studies programs and the Executive Leadership Institute at 5401 Park Ave.

Designed by Sasaki Associates, the modern three- level, 125,000 square-feet design strives to balance traditional with contemporary. Building on technology as the backbone, the new building will provide a professional and collaborative environment for learning at all levels.

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We must give the crew working the Tower at PNC Plaza some well deserved credit. The downtown Pittsburgh structure is climbing steady at 30% total progress, with completion of the structural steel more than half way done. See the progress on the Tower at PNC Plaza project website.

The installation of Isokorb® type CM in the concrete slab edges continues to progress  as rebar and slab installation nears the 30^th floor. The live construction camera shows the crew steady at work.

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My name is Mike Lemen from Washington State in the Pacific Northwest. I’m proud to join the Schӧck family of Innovation Building Solution as Sales Manager for Western North America including Alaska, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.

Mike at a recent jobsite visit to LIDO in Vancouver Canada.

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Installation of Isokorb® continues at 199 Mott Street, by Alfa Development.

The 199 Mott St. condo building is being labeled, “The Green Collection” due to the energy efficient initiatives which are being installed in the structure.

Located in the Nolita area of New York, between Kenmare and Spring Street, construction continues to progress on the “steampunk aesthetic” development. Kutnicki Bernstein Architects designed the boutique, eight story building, which will include a ground-level retail area, 11 residential units and a rooftop terrace.

The owners, Alfa Development, are raising the bar on luxury condo construction by implementing design knowledge and well-known strategies to maximize energy efficiency, thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

Alfa began with Chelsea Green by taking responsibility to build to higher energy efficient standards in their luxury condo suites, which sold 90% of their units off the floor plan.

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Last week, we attended and exhibited at the 2013 AIA National Convention and Expo in Denver, Colorado.  The Mile High city, located 5,280 feet above sea level is a vibrant metropolis, full of excitement in the streets, culture and art, sunny skies, and an assortment of locally crafted beer.

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 The NY13 Symposium will take place at the City College of New York, The Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, located at 160 Convent Ave, New York.

The symposium will be held from 9:00 am to 5:15 pm on Saturday, June 8th. 

This will be the second annual New York Passive House Symposium, with a focus on Policy, Finance, and Performance. … read more

Even though structural thermal breaks were developed for cold weather conditions, design firms in Texas and the Southwest have been eager to learn about this technology. During the first five months of 2013, APCS (independent representative of Schöck) has presented the course on Structural Thermal Breaks 9 times, for medium and large architectural and engineering firms in Texas and Arizona. Many of these firms design commercial and institutional projects nation-wide, as well as for international. These firms have opened their doors to APCS and Schöck to learn more about the causes and effects of thermal bridges, and how to minimize these effects.  Architects, Civil, Structural, and Mechanical engineers have been interested in the scope of thermal bridge consequences such as excessive energy losses, cold slabs, condensation, and even mold occurrences.

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I am excited to attend the 17th International Passive House Conference in Frankfurt, Germany on April 17-21. With 16 session and 90 presentations this is the world’s largest Passive House Exhibition. With a focus on energy efficiency and renewables, the conference will cover a wide range of topics from regional concepts, energy refurbished projects, and the use of renewable energy sources.

This years conference will include presentations on large number of US projects, a trend that is growing as energy use continues to become a greater focus in buildings.

Just last month, Schock received Passive House certification of the very first “thermal bridge free” construction for balconies while attending the BAU show, the World’s leading fair for Building and Design.

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We are excited about the recent annoucement of LIDO, a  21-level residential tower in False Creek, Vancouver, Canada  to include Isokorb^® thermal breaks in their balcony/slab connections.

The LIDO project by Bosa Properties, who is known for their legendary attention to detail, is setting a new benchmark in sustainable luxury.

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Every balcony, penetrating the building envelope with scenic window walls, has three main issues to be addressed: thermal bridging, forces at the balcony/slab connection, and water intrusion. The Schöck Isokorb® Type CM is the effective solution for these obstacles, reducing the heat flow from the inside to the outside, while also conserving full structural integrity.

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On February 13th and 14th Schöck had the great opportunity to present the company and Isokorb structural thermal breaks, at BuildEX 2013 to the construction community in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We experienced great interest at our booth, and found out that most people are aware of the problems and effects of thermal bridging. But not of the solution – Schöck Isokorb^® for concrete and steel applications.

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At the 2013 BuildingEnergy Conference in Boston on March 5th, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is hosting a workshop entitled Structural Detailing for Energy Efficient Building Envelopes. Russ Miller-Johnson and I will be co-facilitating.

This will be a three-hour, hands-on opportunity to learn strategies to mitigate thermal bridging of structural elements in buildings. We’ll also give participants a chance to bring their favorite (or worst) details of thermal bridging to the workshop, to get help with developing a way to modify the detail to reduce thermal bridging, or to bring a detail showing their favorite solution to a thermal bridging problem that they have developed.

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Everyone wants to know The Real Cost of an Energy Efficient Building Envelope. Now you can learn more by joining the panel of experts in Vancouver, BC at BuildEX, for a session to explore the various costs associated with implementing an energy efficient building envelope.

Research results will be present on energy modeling assessments of thermal bridging, examining the impact on annual energy consumption, cost implications, and thermal comfort. In addition, recent project installations with thermal break technology will be presented and analyzed.

Course Title:

The Real Cost of an Energy Efficient Building Envelope  (W11)

Course Schedule:

Wednesday, Feb. 13th  10:30am – 12:00pm … read more

The business has been extremely rewarding this past year. The sales of ComBAR® climbed drastically and achieved 3 times the sales volume of 2011. We have also noticed that GFRP is now a common building material and is being specified in a great number of bridge and tunnel structures, especially in Ontario. But also the United States has been an interesting market in 2012. Besides, we have seen a great interest in the future use of GFRP in New Brunswick, Manitoba and British Columbia.

In 2012, we also had an amazing and successful introduction of our Thermal Break Element, the Schöck Isokorb®. Isokorb® has being installed in over 10 different buildings across Canada!  We are now starting to convince architects, engineers and primarily developers and owners about the unique advantages of the Isokorb® to minimize energy consumption, improve the quality of living space and subsequently protect the environment in which we all live and in which our children and their children will live in the future.

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Construct Canada is one of Canada’s largest building design and construction shows. Held in Toronto, Canada in conjunction with Home Builder, Concrete Canada and DesignTrends, the show hosts over 1000 exhibits, and more than 24,000 visitors.

I attended the show this year to present to over 70 architects, builders, contractors, engineers, specifiers and facility managers.  The room was packed with attendees interested in learning more about thermal break solutions for building envelope.  The presentation was ideal for the audience, covering concepts for reducing energy loss, and avoiding moisture issues associated with thermal bridging.

Many questions were asked during the interactive session. One attendee asked, “Why change the way we build, Why now?”

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On November 14-16th, the Isokorb® product was featured in the Innovative Products Pavilion at ABX (Architecture Boston Expo) 2012.

Alongside Isokorb® were other innovative products, such as Schuco Curtain wall systems.

There was a great amount of interest in the Isokorb® displays and samples. People were drawn to the unique nature of how the product works and many said this will solve problems in design and construction which have always been overlooked. … read more

My name is Adam Kimble, born and raised in the suburbs of New Orleans, LA. Explored the world in previous business roles only to land back in Louisiana. Now, I have the great opportunity to start a new adventure in the great city of Chicago, IL, where I will manage Midwest sales for Schӧck USA Inc.

With a degree in Civil Engineering and Business Administration, I have been afforded the honor to work for multiple international companies in various capacities from business development to director of operations.

Now I have the special honor of joining Schӧck to introduce Isokorb® in the U.S.A. which will provide high performance solutions to the long outstanding problem of thermal bridges at balconies and other external wall projections. … read more

The University of Massachusetts Amherst began construction of the new  Life Science Laboratory building in February 2010. To meet energy efficiency goals, Isokorb® thermal break elements were installed in the canopy walkway to the entrance of the 310,000 GSF building. The images below show Isokorb® type S (for steel) installed along the building entrance, providing a structural thermal break connection at the canopy. … read more