Tag: Specialist in Buidling Science

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.

… read more

Sainte-Germaine-Cousin is a project for the community. Located in Quebec, the church of Ste-Germaine-Cousin has come a long way, overcoming an asbestos closure in 2005.

Today, the revitalized church building stands central with a new addition, a curvy, s- shaped structure, of affordable housing with 126 affordable (PAPA type) units and intermediate housing for seniors.

Asbestos within Ste-Germaine Cousin Church presented a considerable financial challenge. After the closure of the church building, it was 7 years later in which construction began with asbestos removal and groundwork for the new addition. However, perseverance has proven successful, providing an exceptional building of great heritage value.

… read more

I recently traveled to Middlebury, Vermont to conduct an on-site training and assistance for the installation of Schöck Isokorb® thermal breaks on the New Field House at Middlebury College .

It was nice to have some good weather for the drive:

The Schöck Isokorb® S22 structural thermal breaks are currently being installed on the New Field House at Middlebury College .

The Isokorb® thermal break modules are used to isolate large beam overhangs along the main promenade next to the building.

… read more

Steel beams which penetrate the exterior wall (and break the continuous insulation layer) represent a detrimental thermal bridge in the building envelope. This situation often occurs in the structural details when a continuous steel canopy or balcony beam cantilevers out from the interior structure.

This penetration to the continuous insulation (CI) layer, is being further considered and addressed in energy building codes such as the ASHRAE 189.1 and 90.1 and the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), which guides codes and standards for both baseline and high-performance green buildings.

Since steel is a highly conductive material (k=50W/mK) / (R-0.003 per inch), a thermal break solution is necessary to reduce energy loss, prevent condensation on the surface, and avoid damaging results to the building. … read more

During last month’s American Institute of Architects (AIA) tradeshow, a noteworthy study was released, which compares the thermal performance and whole energy impact of concrete balconies. The research was completed by Morrison Hershfield, a leader in building physics, who also completed the ASHRAE  1365-RP, Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Details.

 Morrison Hershfield had the opportunity to determine the impact of Isokorb® structural thermal breaks compared to conventional balconies and balconies with intermittent insulation. … read more

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.

… 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.

… read more

As part of the Building, Ecology, Science and Technology (B.E.S.T.) Lecture Series, Mark Lawton, Vice President and Senior Building Science Specialist at Morrison Hershfield presented “Myths and Realities of Thermal Bridging” at the University of Toronto, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and on February 28, 2013.

In this lecture, Mark speaks about his latest ASHRAE sponsored research project entitled “Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Details for Mid- and High-Rise Buildings” (1365-RP). It is worth your time.

… read more

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.

… read more

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.

… read more

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?”

… read more

Annual Ontario Concrete Awards Banquet honors the most creative and visionary projects that have made concrete their construction material of choice. This year it was held on the 28th of November at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, in Toronto.

Awards are given for the following categories: Architectural, Structural, Materials & Constructability, and Sustainability. ComBAR® GFRP, as an innovative material, provided points to the Whitemans Creek Bridge project, which received the Structural Design Innovation Award, in the Structural Category.

… read more

As part of an outreach program to promote German sustainable construction technology, the GACC (German American Chambers of Commerce) invited Schöck to present about Isokorb® structural thermal break solution, as well as other leading companies and institutions to present at Rice University and the University of Houston. … read more

It was this July while in Baden-Baden for the Schöck 50th party that I got to meet (among many others) our fellow colleagues from Schöck Ltd. UK.  Simon Howland and several others from the office happened to be on a production tour with me. While lagging towards the back of the pack, we got to talking.  I was describing how we are just underway in the US and our efforts to educate about the problems of thermal bridges. They understood, having been in the same situation. Now they are 6 years in the making, with steady project flow, gaining market share and an acceptance by the building community that structural thermal breaks really are necessary to make a proper building envelope.

… read more

This summer has been busy, in May we launched Isokorb® product in Canada with the Innovative Connections event. Joined by other specialist in building science, we presented latest finding and research on thermal bridging.

… read more