Off-site Construction: Delivering Better Buildings
2024-03-26 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
There is no shortage of excuses not to build differently, but the current challenges we face as a building industry and society are becoming too tenuous to continue the status quo. From workforce availability and jobsite safety to housing affordability and availability, building quality and sustainability – we need solutions.
With national housing costs rising 52 percent from 2017 to 2022, off-site construction offers an affordable solution, capable of curbing construction timelines and reducing costs. Off-site construction can deliver projects 20 percent to 50 percent faster than traditional methods, which can provide cost savings of up to 20 percent. However, off-site construction makes up only a small proportion of construction activity.
This session will explore some of the challenges to the widespread deployment of off-site construction and how off-site construction leaders are working to overcome these challenges. Specific attention will be paid to the critical importance of aligning design, manufacture, finance and regulations to deliver successful projects. From barriers and best practices to finance and regulation, this session will discuss why off-site construction is a solution to drive innovation and sustainability.

Learning Objectives

Inform participants on the current challenges across the building and construction sector and explore solutions provided by off-site construction.
Develop understanding of off-site construction methods and current innovative trends across the industry.
Explore the current state of off-site construction regulation and provide an examination of the regulatory landscape through available resources.
Establish knowledge of the sustainability and affordability features of off-site construction and opportunities to integrate building innovation through relevant success cases.

NIBS congressional briefing
2024-05-07 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Rayburn Congressional Office Building, Room 2325, Rayburn Congressional Office Building, Room 2325
NIBS NEHRP AND NWIRP CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP)
National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP)
National Institute of Building Sciences
in cooperation with the
United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Nearly half of all Americans live and work in high seismic regions throughout the United States. These regions currently have $108 trillion of national building assets and the work of NEHRP must continue to mitigate risk from earthquakes.
Separately, windstorms are responsible for 60% of the nation’s total damage from natural disasters. Human and economic recovery from these events can take years, even decades. The negative impacts from windstorm damage will only increase as “Tornado Alley” creeps eastward, making future risk mitigation from the work of NWIRP just as crucial.
NEHRP and NWIRP rely upon the nation’s experts to conduct applied and basic research, share cutting-edge knowledge with community stakeholders, and take action to protect American lives and livelihoods through prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation practices. Both programs enable our nation’s security and prosperity.
The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), a Congressionally chartered building science organization, along with our partners, invite you to an important and time-sensitive briefing where we will:

Share and celebrate some of the success stories that Congress, lead agencies, and the private sector have collaboratively achieved over the past 46 years. Speaker: John Hooper, a National Academy of Engineering member and leader in building code and standard development (see page 3 of Briefing Summary).
Discuss the future of community resilience requirements. Speaker: Dr. Daniel Kaniewski, former Deputy Administrator for Resilience with FEMA and leader in emergency management, insurance, and policy (see pages 4-5 of Briefing Summary).
Share and describe recommended Congressional priorities for advancing our nation’s safety, preparedness, and resilience. Speaker: Dr. Lucy Arendt, Chair of the NEHRP Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (see pages 6-7 of Briefing Summary).

Hon. Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, NAC, CCM, LEED AP
Interim CEO, NIBS
11th Architect of Capitol
Supporting Organizations:
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)
American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Applied Technology Council (ATC)
BuildStrong America
California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP)
Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW)
Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC)
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI)
International Code Council (ICC)
International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC)
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
Reinsurance Association of America (RAA)
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)
National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
Seismological Society of America (SSA)
Steel Tube Institute (STI)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

NIBS Lifeline Infrastructure Hub Workshop
2024-05-21 13:00 - 18:00 UTC
National Press Club, Room: The Fourth Estate

From the flow of electricity to the pulse of communication, from the arteries of transportation to the veins of water supply, these essential systems quietly weave together the fabric of our society. Often taken for granted in their seamless operation, it’s only during moments of disruption that we truly recognize their paramount importance.
As natural disasters become more frequent and devastating, safeguarding these lifeline services emerges as a critical imperative. The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), an institution in the realm of building science, is poised to lead the charge in addressing these challenges. Join us as we embark on a collaborative journey towards community resilience and disaster recovery at the Lifeline Infrastructure Hub.

Launching on May 21st, 2024, the Lifeline Infrastructure Hub is an ambitious initiative aimed at fostering robust partnerships across government, the private sector, and various stakeholders. Together, we’ll confront Lifeline Gaps, tackle National and Public Priorities, devise innovative policies, and engineer solutions to fortify our infrastructure against future calamities.
Our esteemed attendees represent a diverse array of stakeholders from across the built environment, including renowned organizations such as:

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Applied Technology Council
BuildStrong America
CB&I Storage Tank Solutions LLC
Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium
Chevron
City of Portland Environmental Services
Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology Directorate
U.S Department of Transportation (USDOT)
DeSimone Consulting Engineering
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Power Company
Guy Carpenter
IEM
ImageCat, Inc.
Lehigh University
Moulton Niguel Water District

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)
National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
National Science Foundation(NSF)
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command
NYC Department of Buildings
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)
Portland State University
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Seft Consulting Group LLC
Southern California Edison
STV Inc.
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
Texas A & M University
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
University of Delaware
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Pittsburgh
Wavelength Infrastructure
White House- National Security Council

This convergence of industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators underscores the urgency and breadth of our mission.
Join us at the forefront of innovation and resilience. Together, let’s build a future where our lifelines remain unbroken, even in the face of adversity.

Schedule

12:30-1:00 pm
Check in and networking

1:00– 1:15 pm
Welcome, NIBS & Lifeline Infrastructure Hub Introduction
JQ Yuan

1:15-2:00 pm
Panel: Lifeline National Gap and Future Directions

Daniel Kaniewski, Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Chair and LIH Advisory Panel member
Greg Soules, BSSC PUC and Functional Recovery Committee member and ASCE 7 Chair
Ron Eguchi, LIH Advisory Panel Chair

Moderator:
Yumei Wang

2:00-2:50 pm
Panel: Public and Private Partnership to Strengthen the Nation’s Lifeline Infrastructure.
1. Madhu Beriwal, IEM and National Infrastructure Advisor Council
2. Derrick Hiebert, FEMA
3. Jason Averill, NIST
4. Ken Hudnut, Southern California Edison
Moderator:
Sissy Nikolaou

2:50-3:05 pm
Break

3:05-3:55 pm
Panel with Policy Leaders

Caitlin A. Durkovich, National Security Council, White House
Lauren Gros, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Natalie Enclade, BuildStrong America

Moderator:
Daniel Kaniewski

3:55– 4:50 pm
Public Input (Open Q&A, open discussion, and survey)
Moderator:
Iris Tien

4:50-5:00 pm
Wrap-Up and Next Steps
JQ Yuan

5:00-6:00pm
Reception at The Zenger Room, on-site at the Press Club
All

Digital Twinning in Practice: Insights, Potentials, and Challenges
2024-06-03 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Digital twins – detailed digital replicas of physical buildings – are recognized for enhancing design, management, and operational processes.
This session will present the fundamentals of digital twin technology, its integration with building information modeling (BIM), and the creation of interactive, real-time building models. It will highlight the technology’s role in optimizing various stages of a building’s lifecycle, from planning to operation.
Attendees will learn about the application of digital twins in the building sector through case studies. These examples will demonstrate the technology’s impact on occupant health, environmental sustainability, and operational efficiency. The presentation also will address challenges in adopting digital twins, including industry standardization, setup costs, data privacy, skill requirements, and the need for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Learning Objectives

Understanding digital twin basics
Real-world applications and case studies
Navigating implementation challenges and potential solutions
Exploring common use cases
Anticipating future trends and innovations

U.S. Design Guidance for CLT Floor Systems with Residential and Office Occupancy Loads
2024-06-11 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Mass timber structural systems are gaining popularity in U.S. construction of multi-unit residential buildings and office buildings for a number of reasons. Mass timber is well suited for prefabrication and reduced construction schedules, has low embodied carbon, can be exposed aesthetically, and can be built taller than traditional light-framed wood construction.
Because modern uses for mass timber are relatively recent, practitioners are still learning about mass timber system selection, relevant design provisions for mass timber structures, and design decisions’ effects on final design performance. Many guides and tools for mass timber structural design exist; however, these resources offer limited guidance during the early design stage when key decisions are made. Further, the available resources do not typically link multiple design goals to each other to understand how early-stage design decisions affect multiple project goals.
Based on the parametric modeling of mass timber floor structures, this presentation discusses design guidance for early decision-making related to the following performance goals: embodied carbon, fire design, structural depth, floor mass, and acoustic insulation. The discussed guidance and related parametric model data will be included in a free design guide to be released at the end of the year as part of the AIA Upjohn Research Initiative.

Learning Objectives

Discover how parametric modelling generates data for the early-stage design of mass timber floor structures.
Understand how design decisions related to floor structure type and layout, bay size, bay aspect ratio, and prescriptive fire design strategy affect design goals.
Learn how mass timber floor systems perform for embodied carbon, structural design, and acoustic insulation.
Apply early-stage design guidance to mass timber floor structures.

Unlocking the Metaverse: The Cyber-Physical Relationship
2024-06-16 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Emerging tech solutions like Metaverse, AI, Blockchain and Digital Twins are providing opportunities and challenges for the built environment. Join the author of “Unlocking the Metaverse: A Strategic Guide for the Future of the Built Environment”, published by John Wiley & Sons, for an exploration of real-world solutions and projects that are challenging our industry and discover how to deliver successful solutions for you, your projects, and your company. The Age of Cyber-Physical relationships is before us, will you meet the challenge?

Learning Objectives

Understand the new technology terms and definitions so you can make informed decisions.
Identify the value that Digital Twins, Metaverse, AI and Blockchain provide you.
Implement practical slotting of technology and innovation strategies and solutions that meet market needs.
Position you and your company to meet the challenges and opportunities the next generation of the Internet and data management in the form of Metaverse and Blockchain provide.

Women Executives in Building Symposium
2024-06-17 08:30 - 16:00 UTC
Join us for another thought-provoking Women Executives in Building Symposium. This event is focused on women’s leadership in the built environment. The symposium is designed to empower and inspire women in the industry to reach new heights in their careers. From interactive discussions to networking opportunities, attendees will gain valuable insights and strategies for success in a male-dominated industry. NIBS, with the help of our partners, are thrilled to offer this transformative experience and opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals. Reach out to Jennifer Hitzke, jhitzke@nibs.org, if you are interested in attending this invitation only event.
If you’re interested in learning about our exclusive sponsorship opportunities, please view the prospectus here.

Schedule

Time

Coffee and name tag pickup
8:30am – 9:00am

Welcome
Stephen Ayers, Interim Chief Executive Officer, NIBS
9:00am – 9:25am

A Global Construction Perspective
Tracy Thomas, Managing Director for Construction, Facility & Security Management, U.S. Dept. of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations
9:30am – 10:10am

Is the Built Environment Workforce Actually Changing for Women?
Vicki Worden, President & CEO, Green Building Initiative (moderator)
Indra Gutierrez, President, Gutier
Laura Dwyer, Business Development Leader, DuPont Performance Building Solutions
Jennifer Dewees, President, Maryland Center for Construction Education and Innovation
10:15am – 11:00am

Break
11:00am – 11:15am

Women in Government
Christine Merdon, CEO/Founder, Merdon Strategies
Marcy Weldin, Deputy Legislative Director, Army Programs, NGAUS
Alice Yates, Director of Government Affairs, ASHRAE
11:15am – 12:00pm

Networking Lunch
12:00pm – 12:45pm

Women & Financial Health: What You Can’t Afford to Miss
Matthew Koppelman WMCP®, Financial Planner, Prudential
Craig Schubert, RFC®, Financial Planner, Prudential
12:50pm – 1:30pm

The Role of Women in the Housing Industry
Ashley Prendergast Northcutt, President & CEO, National Women’s Affordable Housing Network
Emily Cadik, CEO, Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition
Regina Gray, Director, Affordable Housing Research & Technology, Policy Development & Research, HUD
1:35pm – 2:15pm

Roundtable Discussions
2:25pm – 2:55pm

Symposium Close
Rebecca Liko, Chief Financial Officer, NIBS
2:55pm – 3:00pm

Networking Reception
3:00pm – 4:00pm

The Circular Economy – A Pathway to Net Zero
2024-06-20 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-06-20 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
The built environment consumes 40% of all resources globally, generally following the take-make-waste linear economy.
By contrast, the circular economy in the built environment is a systems-based industrial framework designed to tackle global sustainability challenges, such as climate change, waste, and biodiversity loss. In a circular economy, products and materials are reused, repaired, recycled, or repurposed to create new products, contributing to a more sustainable and resource-efficient economy.
A circular economy is a crucial component of the pathway to net zero. It’s being used by several companies, including Desso, Interface Carpet, IKEA, and Patagonia. It’s also been a long-standing pathway for William McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle concept for architectural design.
Further, the latest U.S. Acts (IRA, CHIPS, and IIJA) include circular economy goals as a way forward to:

recirculating critical materials
federal buy clean initiative
extending product lifecycles
reducing greenhouse gas emissions
creating new industries and jobs
avoiding unnecessary disposal of products and materials to mitigate emissions associated with embodied carbon

In this webinar, attendees will learn about the elements of the circular economy and why it is a resilient and timely system that is good for business, people, and the environment.

Learning Objectives

The difference between a linear economy and a circular economy.
The shift from product lifecycles to material lifecycles.
How the circular economy establishes links between sustainable resource management and digital technologies, such as BIM, IoT, Sensors, Asset Management, and Digital Twins.
How a shift in design and earlier intervention can create new innovative approaches and business models in the built environment.

The Intersection of AI and Building Sciences: A New Era of Intelligent Infrastructure
2024-06-25 14:00 - 15:00 UTC
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in facility design, construction, and operation is revolutionizing our industry, fueling both excitement and apprehension as professionals navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. As AI technologies continue to advance, early adopters have experienced a spectrum of outcomes, ranging from groundbreaking successes to unexpected challenges.
In this session, we will delve into the captivating world of AI applications in the building sciences, share the lessons learned by these pioneers, and present outcomes from a series of global webinars that the National Institute of Building Sciences, Asset Leadership Network, and American Institute of Architects have participated in.
Our discussion will explore the transformative impact of AI on digital twins, industry standards, building information modeling (BIM), resiliency, sustainability, and more. Participants will gain an introductory understanding of how AI can be harnessed to optimize various aspects of the design, construction, and operation processes in the building industry. The presenters will share recent observations from the BuildingsAI conference about how Owners and the C-Suite are starting to notice the value of their data, how AI can use it, and how AI is driving the need for standards to reduce “building hallucinations.”
Moreover, this session will present valuable methods and processes that promote effective communication and collaboration among architects, stakeholders, and AI tools. By adopting these techniques, attendees can drive project outcomes and contribute to the development of safer, healthier, and more sustainable built environments. Case studies, practical examples, and insights from the global webinar series will be shared, illustrating the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI in the building sciences.
View the Webinar Slides

Fostering Collaboration for Climate Adaptation and Decarbonization in the Built Environment
2024-07-09 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
In a time characterized by rising climate extremes, this session underscores the significance of bridging the gap between the public and private sectors to effectively prepare for climate challenges. Led by experts from Arcadis, the session will delve into two key aspects of climate action: climate mitigation, which focuses on energy conservation and sustainable operational practices, and climate adaptation, which emphasizes readiness for extreme weather.
The evolving regulatory environment, exemplified by measures like Local Law 97, now positions decarbonization of the built environment as a necessity rather than a choice.
Speakers will share case studies of successful responses to risks following extreme weather events over the past decade and long-term public initiatives. By demonstrating the long-term cost savings for private owners through reduced insurance claims and damages and to public cities/agencies by preventing or reducing future hazard response and recovery costs, the discussion will underscore the benefits of public-private collaboration in working toward adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Arcadis, renowned for its expertise in sustainable development and resilience, will moderate the panel discussion. Through Arcadis’ Dutch roots and metropolitan clients such as the city of Rotterdam, New York City and Miami, there is tremendous potential to re-evaluate urban areas in a way that they are climate resilient and include other measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Learning Objectives

Understand the value proposition associated with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance, including the benefits and significance of effectively implementing ESG practices within buildings.
Understand the current state of practice of climate resilience planning and risk preparedness in the public and private sector through best practice introductions.
Understand climate risk mitigation through risk scoring and defining base and design flood elevations for built assets, performing vulnerability assessments, and defining conceptual solution strategies for flood mitigation.
Learn from real-world examples, such as Battery Park City in New York City, and 7 Square Endeavour in Rotterdam, on how private sector investments can supplement public resources for an integrative approach on climate resilience, decarbonization and hazard mitigation.

Introduction to 2024 Edition of the IRC/IBC Seismic Design Category Maps and FEMA’s Building Code Strategy Implementation to Advance National Building Code Adoption
2024-07-11 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Virtual Event

Join us for an inside look into the 2024 editions of the Seismic Design Category (SDC) Maps for the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Building Code (IBC). The SDC maps were developed under FEMA’s responsibilities within the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and have been adopted by the 2024 IRC and IBC. This webinar is one of FEMA NEHRP’s outreach activities to keep at-risk communities and relevant professionals informed about the latest seismic hazard information for building design and construction. As one of the four NEHRP agencies, FEMA NEHRP’s responsibilities include helping translate and implement research results and lessons learned from recent earthquakes into practical guidance through publications, tools, trainings and building code work to improve the Nation’s earthquake resilience.
Seismic design maps illustrate the varying earthquake demands considered in the design of buildings and other structures across the U.S. and territories. These maps also provide general earthquake hazard information and informing earthquake risk reduction projects.
The concept of the SDC integrates several key factors that influence seismic performance of structures, including potential earthquake ground motions, site soil amplification of ground motions, structure size and configuration, and structure occupancy and use.
This webinar also will feature an introduction to FEMA’s Building Code Strategy program, advancing the adoption and enforcement of hazard-resistant building codes and standards for FEMA programs. The program’s goals and objectives focus on leveraging partnerships to promote current hazard-resistant building codes and understanding stakeholder needs to identify opportunities that advance building code adoption and enforcement.

Learning Objectives

Learn the illustration objectives and development process of the 2024 IRC/IBC Seismic Design Category Maps through FEMA NEHRP.
Understand how to use the SDC maps to assess seismic hazard and risk.
Recognize when the SDC maps apply to different building types and locations.
Learn how the FEMA Building Code Strategy supports building code adoption through FEMA grant programs and partnerships with other Federal Agencies.

NASA’s POWER Project: Global Solar Insolation, Meteorological Parameter Data, and Web Services to Support Sustainable Building Design and Operations
2024-07-31 14:00 - 15:00 UTC | Virtual Event
The building industry is striving to adopt green solutions to make infrastructure more energy efficient to meet the 2050 net-zero climate goals.
Planning requires reliable environmental datasets that are crucial in designing, building, and maintaining the global built environment, as well as other energy-related processes and investments. NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) Project informs decision-making and development for sustainable building design and operations by enabling public open discovery, efficient access, and convenient distribution of NASA’s Earth Observations and atmospheric model datasets to support three focus areas: 1) renewable energy deployment and management, 2) sustainable infrastructure, and 3) agroclimatology applications.
To this end, solar data from several NASA projects and meteorological data from NASA assimilation models have already been reformatted and disseminated to the public via a user-friendly web GIS-enabled based data portal through the POWER platform.
The POWER Data Access Viewer (DAV) also features data consistent with ASHRAE Climate Design Conditions and has developed web image services showing building climate zones and their variability. Through those tools, the data can be downloaded into multiple formats that support the infrastructure community, including CSV, Geo-JSON, and Energy Plus Weather (EPW).

Learning Objectives

Provide an overview of the NASA POWER Project’s data and services developed in collaboration with the sustainable infrastructure community
Discuss the data sources and the process of determining their uncertainties
Feature brief demonstrations of using the DAV to obtain parameters
Discuss examples of how the renewable energy and building communities have utilized POWER data products to make decisions and preview of future data product expansion, including climate projections, and web services will also be provided

Construction and Fire Risk: An Insurance Perspective
2024-08-01 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-08-01 13:00 - 14:30 UTC
Buildings are built using a variety of construction types, methods, and materials. There are many risks to property and occupants, including fire, water, intrusion, extreme weather, and other natural disasters.
Developers and owners of multifamily buildings must insure these buildings during construction and occupancy over the building lifetime against these risks. Fire, however, continues to result in more fatalities in the United States than all other disasters combined.
Jeff Benson will present on the current state of the construction insurance marketplace, focusing on underwriting issues related to the increasing wildfire exposures around the country and how construction materials affect availability and cost of insurance for projects under construction.
Shamim Rashid-Sumar will provide an overview of the 2024 survey of insurance costs for multifamily buildings constructed with wood-frame and concrete, quantifying differences in costs to insure buildings of combustible versus non-combustible construction.
Dr. Anne Cope will discuss the ongoing wind and wildfire research of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). Dr. Cope will provide insights on how the findings lead to actionable resiliency guides and voluntary designation programs.

Learning Objectives

Understand the risk to buildings posed by fire.
Develop an awareness of the current state of the construction insurance marketplace.
Recognize how construction materials affect availability and cost of insurance for building projects.
Learn how current research in wind and wildfire translates into resiliency programs.

Integrating BIM and Digital Twins: Unveiling a Position Paper for the AECO Industry
2024-09-04 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-09-04 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Join us for an insightful webinar focused on the integration of BIM and Digital Twin technologies in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry. This session, based on a newly released position paper developed by the National Institute of Building Sciences and written by leading AEC practitioners, educators, consultants, and technology leaders, will dive into the innovations and efficiencies that these technologies bring.
The webinar will not only demystify technical capabilities and promote efficiency but also highlight the availability and key insights of this comprehensive position paper. Attendees will gain an understanding of the distinct yet complementary roles of BIM and Digital Twins and learn how the position paper will help with integrations and streamlining practices.

Learning Objectives

Understand the main takeaways from the newly released position paper on BIM and Digital Twins.
Explore the distinct yet complementary roles of BIM and Digital Twins.
Discover the importance of using existing data standards and clear use-cases.
Understand the importance of clear communication and proper use-case definitions.

The Intersection of Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency
2024-10-17 11:00 - 12:30 UTC
Public awareness of the need to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), ventilation, and air filtration in buildings greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Post-pandemic, several things have taken place: The Biden Administration announced the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge in 2022, held a White House Summit on Sustainable K-12 School Buildings and Grounds, and released a toolkit this past spring. In June 2023, ASHRAE finalized Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, a pioneering consensus-based standard that provides explicit requirements for airborne infection risk management, which have been absent for a century from IAQ standards. In July, Congressmen Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act.
The Environmental Protection Agency refers to IAQ as the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Controlling common pollutants indoors can help reduce the risk of health concerns and is the job of everyone on the building team.
The U.S. Department of Energy defines energy efficiency as “the use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same result.” As buildings use less energy, we need to know how indoor air quality is affected by:

Ventilation
Insulation
Building materials
Energy-efficient appliances
Control systems and operations

Balancing IAQ and energy efficiency is crucial to create healthy, comfortable, and sustainable buildings. By integrating efficient ventilation strategies, choosing the right materials, and utilizing advanced technologies, it is possible to enhance both IAQ and energy performance?
Our expert panel will discuss strategies for integration, including whole building design, performance monitoring, education, and workforce training.
Presentations
ASHRAE Presentation USGBC Presentation WELL Institute Presentation

Precast Protects Life: Healthy Buildings
2024-12-03 12:00 - 13:00 UTC
Precast, prestressed concrete is a durable material well known for its strength, resilience, and ability to protect the lives, livelihoods, and lifestyles of people and communities. Part of that equation is contributing to safe and healthy spaces where occupants can live and work.
This presentation will discuss how precast concrete can be used to create safe and healthy spaces. It will highlight case studies that utilized precast to accomplish goals.
Attendees will learn about attributes, benefits, and considerations of using precast concrete in the holistic design of healthy buildings. Participants also will understand what a healthy building is, as well as related programs and definitions to measure them.

Learning Objectives

Attendees will learn about attributes, benefits and considerations of using precast concrete in the holistic design of healthy buildings.
Participants will understand what a healthy building is, as well as related programs and definitions to measure them.
Attendees will discover ways that precast contributes to indoor environmental quality, fire/life safety, acoustics, daylighting and more.
Case studies will highlight healthy buildings that utilized precast to accomplish their goals.

Making Digital Twins useful via Mobile Robotics, AI, and Augmented Reality
2025-01-23 12:00 - 13:00 UTC
As the pioneer of BIM-based Digital Twin development, we’ve worked with the leading facility owners and builders, and the biggest challenges were related to creating BIMs for existing facilities, ensuring that new construction delivers BIMs that are of the appropriate quality, and making the created Digital Twins useful considering existing workforce isn’t used to new workflows. The Session will present how to address these challenges using the new technologies and processes.
Learning Objectives

Learn how to set up rules for BIM data and control its quality
Learn how Augmented Reality (AR) can make the adoption of BIM/Digital Twin easier
Learn how mobile robots (e.g. robot dogs or wheeled platforms) can utilize Digital Twins for automating redundant workflows.
Learn how AI/ML can be used to create BIMs from 2D floorplans.

Calculating Moisture Risk in Roofs
2025-02-20 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
The prevention of moisture accumulation in roof decks is a tale as old as roofs. Designers have traditionally used dew point analysis or the Glaser method to determine steady-state moisture risk in roof assemblies of buildings around the globe. However, building systems have become more complicated, and highly technical analysis software has become easier to access.
More designers are turning to hygrothermal analysis to get a more in-depth look at the performance of a roof assembly as components or building usage change over time; this helps account for future climate change or when sensitive materials or building occupants are involved.
This presentation will highlight the critical assumptions that go into different types of roof moisture models. It also will look at the impact of variables incorporated only in hygrothermal analysis, such as air leakage, moisture content of materials and reflectivity. Finally, this presentation will review previous research to show how the changing of basic assumptions can impact the results of both types of analysis – for better or worse.
Learning Objectives

Understand the key differences between the Glaser method and hygrothermal modeling.
Identify the impacts different variables have on roof hygrothermal models.
Determine when to use a Glaser method analysis versus a hygrothermal model to evaluate moisture risk.
Recognize how to hygrothermally model roof assemblies to reduce the risk of moisture issues.

The Importance of Standardized Data for Your Digital Twin
2025-03-13 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Many building owners are starting their transition to digital twins.
There are a plethora of use cases for a digital twin, but having standardized, accurate digital models as your foundation is key to being successful. It sometimes can be challenging to know what to ask for in a model and know that you are getting one that is useful.
Come see best practices for creating your own modeling standards and ensuring you are efficiently receiving valuable models. We will discuss examples of the right and wrong ways to define these standards and go over tips and best practices. Then, we will discover ways you can perform quick model compliance checking.

Learning Objectives

Understand the key considerations you need to know as a building owner before embarking on a digital twin journey
Learn best practices for creating your own modeling standards and ensuring you are receiving valuable models efficiently
See specific examples of the right and wrong way to define these standards and go over tips and best practices
Discover ways you can perform quick model compliance checking

Are Digital Twins Ready for Takeoff? Trends and Implementation Challenges in the AEC Industry
2025-03-26 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Digital twins have emerged as a popular term in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, often hailed as a transformative innovation. While some early adopters have embraced digital twins and invested in research and development, many facility owners are skeptical due to lack of standardized guidelines that can lead to challenges in implementation.
For this presentation, a case study approach is used to demonstrate the real-world applications of digital twins in complex facilities, such as those in the healthcare, transportation, institutional, and federal sectors. The presentation also will provide a roadmap for the AEC industry to realize the full potential of this transformative technology.
Finally, the presentation will address broader industry trends and barriers to the adoption of digital twins, including an aging workforce and a lack of shared understanding about the technology.

Learning Objectives

Understand the concept and benefits of digital twin implementation in the AEC industry and the potential of live data-based decision-making for improved facility operations and sustainability initiatives.
Analyze the process of developing a digital twin roadmap and strategy for facility owners to identify system requirements, select appropriate data frameworks, and implement a robust strategy for execution.
Evaluate the challenges and uncertainties surrounding the adoption of digital twins due to unclear return on investment for facility owners.
Explore potential use cases and current trends for digital twin implementation within various market segments and customize adoption strategies based on facility readiness.

Hindsight 20/20 - 20 Years of Leak Detection
2025-03-28 12:00 - 13:00 UTC
As architects and planners seek to maximize the use of all available space, the next generation of low-slope roofs are not only waterproof coverings, but platforms for assets such as solar panels, green roofs, water storage, and amenity spaces. With so much value tied up in our roofs, their resilience is more important than ever. This resilience is measured not in the immediate ability of the roof to withstand the elements, but in its performance over years and decades. As owners and property managers come and go, long-term roof maintenance can become a forgotten issue and defects that have been present since construction can lead to water intrusion that degrades the roof and greatly reduces its lifespan. In response, automated leak detection systems have emerged as a technology adding value for both quality assurance during the construction process, and as an early warning system alerting building owners to developing issues within their roof. Used properly, these systems extend the lifespan of the roof which in turn minimizes disruption to the assets on or below the roof, as well as increasing the quality of life of occupants using the building.
Automated leak detection systems continuously monitor the roof membrane environment, transmitting data which is used to provide a report on the health of the waterproof membrane. Stakeholders gain access to critical information as the roof system is completed – identifying damage caused during construction and verifying repairs prior to commissioning the building. During the operational life of the structure, automated leak detection systems employ sophisticated algorithms, enabling predictive leak detection, location, and assistance with preventive maintenance strategies – significantly reducing the cost of repairs.
This presentation explores the utilization of automated leak detection systems in low slope roofing, with a particular focus on Vancouver, BC lower mainland area. Drawing on experience installing and operating leak detections systems across North America, we highlight several areas in which construction practices inevitably leave defects in the waterproof membrane. Our case studies range from the very common occurrences of construction material being accidentally embedded in the layers of the roof, to chemical burns from adhesives, and risks unique to green-roof infrastructure. In explaining how these defects allow moisture to ingress into the roof environment, we will elaborate on what kind of issues can occur, with reference to real-world instances where substantial maintenance was required just months into the operational life of the roof. Finally, we demonstrate how automated roof leak detection can be used to mitigate the risk of membrane defects going unnoticed by actively monitoring the roof and guiding repairs when necessary. Case studies of both conventional and inverted roof assemblies will demonstrate how automated leak detection systems have protected the inherent value of the roof, and added value of their own over the life of the structure.

Learning Objectives

Identify risks to the waterproof membrane during construction.
Plan quality assurance for roof installations.
Analyse patterns in monitoring data.
Apply automated roof leak detection to long term maintenance planning.

The Future of Work: Leveraging Technology for Business Growth
2025-04-02 12:00 - 13:00 UTC
It’s no secret that there’s room for improvement when it comes to women in leadership positions across the country.
According to a piece by Forbes, women represented 58.4% of the U.S. workforce as of September 2022, but only held 35% of senior leadership positions. What’s more, Forbes reported companies with women executives are 30% more likely to outperform other companies.
Given today’s emerging technology tools – namely artificial intelligence, automation, and data analytics – women executives have increased power to drive business innovation and growth.
This is especially important, as technology continues to shape the business landscape of the built environment, and it’s important for women leaders to understand and leverage these tools to stay competitive.
In this session, Sandra Benson, Vice President, Federal Relations & Strategic Partnerships with Procore Technologies, and Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer with Compass Datacenters, will discuss how to harness emerging technologies to grow business and lead change.

Using Urban Building Stock Digital Twins to Streamline Building Retrofit Planning for Urban Energy Efficiency and Resilience
2025-04-09 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Rapid retrofitting of America’s existing building stock is of urgent national interest to improve energy efficiency and resilience. But how can cities plan for this significant transition with limited funding, data, resources, and time?
This session introduces a practical and scalable Urban Building stock digital twin for energy modeling developed by the Environmental Systems Lab at Cornell University. Designed to operate on widely available data, the model delivers robust, city-scale building physics models for predicting building energy use and thermal response in power outages. The digital twin platform analyzes existing energy consumption patterns. It predicts future energy consumption trends, allowing users to evaluate the impact of electrification, building retrofits, and extreme weather events on energy demand and emissions. It also enables cost and incentive modeling, helping cities and utilities assess financial feasibility and prioritize retrofit strategies. The session features a real-world case study from Ithaca, NY, the first U.S. city to commit to 100% building decarbonization and community-wide carbon neutrality. Within the session, we will provide pointers on how to scale this work to other communities.

Learning Objectives

Identify key public data required to build city-scale energy simulation models and recognize how these models can be improved using city-specific or private datasets.
Understand how Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) serves as an effective tool to analyze existing energy consumption patterns and predict future energy trends.
Explore how UBEMs could inform energy policy, guide decarbonization planning, and prioritize retrofit interventions by providing detailed and accurate information about building retrofit potential, upgrade costs, and incentives eligibility.
Learn from real-world UBEM applications based on a case study from Ithaca, NY, the first U.S. city to commit to full building decarbonization.

Home Hardening in the WUI: An Analysis of Recent Fire Testing
2025-04-21 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
As an increasing number of homes are built in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), it is important to understand how residential construction performs when exposed to wildland fires. WUI zones are the areas where wildland – forests, chaparral, grassland, etc., meet or mix with human development. Home hardening is a term used to describe purposeful actions taken to help protect buildings in WUI zones. Home hardening provisions within WUI codes rely on a combination of prescriptive requirements and performance requirements based on standardized tests.
In the past several years, the American Wood Council (AWC), Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) and the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), a part of UL Research Institutes, have independently conducted multiple series of both standardized and non-standardized fire tests to quantify typical WUI fire exposures and characterize the performance of various building envelope components and assemblies under those exposures. The fire tests have been multi-faceted with individual approaches to allow for wider industry understanding of performance. FSRI’s and IBHS’s fire tests have investigated the general performance of the entire building envelope, while AWC’s tests have focused specifically on hardening measures for exterior walls, projections, and intersections between these surfaces.
Learning Objectives

Develop awareness of the different types of fire exposure hazards within the WUI.
Recognize the importance of defensible space and how it affects fire exposure hazards.
Learn about recent fire research, fire tests and results.
Understand how these fire tests have shed light on effective home hardening measures.

Cognitive Digital Twins: A Roadmap for Evolving Operations and Maintenance in the Age of AI
2025-04-24 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Virtual Event
In this session, TwinKnowledge will discuss a new type of digital twin that has emerged with AI, cognitive digital twins (CDTs), and their implications for the AECO industry.
Cognitive digital twins enable O&M workflows that are supported end-to-end by AI. They are built on top of existing digital twins; they use AI to make sense of digital twin data, generate insights such as anomaly detection and predictive maintenance for better decision-making/planning, and combine information from scattered O&M documents to generate response plans for maintenance activities.
TwinKnowledge will discuss what CDTs are, why they are so valuable for O&M, how they build on top of current digital twin systems, and a general roadmap for where to start in evolving existing digital twin systems into cognitive digital twins.

Learning Objectives

What Is a cognitive digital twin (CDT)?
Why CDTs are so valuable for O&M
How CDTs work within current digital twin systems
Where any company can start with integrating CDT capabilities

Cognitive Digital Twins: A Roadmap for Evolving Operations and Maintenance in the Age of AI
2025-04-24 12:00 - 13:00 UTC

Optimizing Asset Definition and Structure for Enabling Digital Twins
2025-04-28 08:00 - 17:00 UTC | Virtual Event
This session will explore the importance of well-defined Asset Registries and precise Asset Definitions in the development and implementation of digital twins. It will introduce new concepts, methodologies, and standards for structuring and managing asset information to support the integration of enterprise systems.
By enhancing these definitions and registries, organizations can optimize asset data usage, align with ISO 55000 principles, and ultimately improve overall asset management and performance.

Learning Objectives

Understand the critical role of Asset Registries and Asset Definitions in enabling digital twins.
Learn new methodologies and standards for structuring and managing asset information.
Explore how to integrate enterprise systems to support scalable digital twin solutions.
Discover ways to leverage digital twins to enhance asset management and align with ISO 55000 principles.
