The Building Enclosure Council of Kansas City is pleased to announce our next session on Thursday April 25th. We will be gathering at 6pm with the presentation starting shortly afterwards. Please note that the session will be located at The Center for Architecture and Design at 1801 McGee on the first level.
Our guest speaker will be Paul Totten, PE, LEED AP, Vice President, Practice Leader – Building Enclosures at WSP in Washington, D.C.
** This presentation is eligible for (0) CEU credits.
The session will focus on HVAC Interaction with Building Enclosure Systems, People and Space.
Many building types are designed, especially in the commercial office field, as a cold dark shell where interior tenant fit out will occur later. Many aspects of the fit out such as final HVAC system layout, partition wall locations, location of larger assembly spaces like conference rooms or other amenities may not be fully defined at the same time as the core and shell. If tenant spaces are designed separately from the core and shell, the disconnect between the two designs may unintentionally impact the comfort of the interior space where it does not perform at a high level.
As people utilize and move through the space, they are constantly being impacted by the building physics of the interior environment. This includes moisture and heat transfer across their skin. Clothing and footwear can impact a person’s overall comfort within the space based on how heat transfers through these and in some cases, moisture load within the space. System furniture, layout of structure, and HVAC system type and distribution can also affect a person’s comfort by adversely impacting the intended building enclosure performance. As the art and science of building design becomes more complex, it is necessary for designers to maintain a suitable proficiency in both these spheres and understand how different building systems interact. The wealth of scientific and technical data relating to the performance of buildings is one of contemporary architecture’s primary assets. This presentation will cover the aspects of heat, air, and moisture transfer that impact our built environment, and the interaction of HVAC with interior spaces, enclosure systems, and people. The presenter will use examples from several projects to identify the concerns and practical solutions that can be implemented to improve a person’s comfort within interior spaces.
Paul Totten is a Vice President and Practice Leader for the Building Enclosures division for WSP. He has over 22 years of experience in the fields of structural engineering, building enclosure technology, and building science. He has concentrated his expertise on the evaluation and analysis of heat, air, and moisture transfer, and the cumulative effect these have on building components and building operation. Paul has worked throughout the United States on a wide range of building enclosure and building science problems and on numerous building enclosure commissioning projects, providing viable alternatives and solutions to many types of projects. He is the lead instructor for the Building Science and Technology course taught in the Master of Science in Sustainable Design program at The Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning in Washington, DC. Paul is a member of NIBS, ASHRAE and the LEED EA TAG.
The Session is open to all trades and professions related to building design, construction, maintenance and property management. Architects, Building Structural Engineers, General Contractors and Glazing Contractors are encouraged to attend.