Face it: The imperative of increasing indoor thermal resilience and façade thermal performance

Presented by the Facade Tectonics Institute

Moderator: Helen Sanders, General Manager, Technoform
Speakers:

• Edlyn Garcia La Torre, Senior Facade Consultant, Stantec
• Ivan Lee, Senior Building Science Engineer, Stantec 
• Erik Olsen, Managing Partner, Transsolar KlimaEngineering

As climate change intensifies and building energy codes evolve, the thermal resilience of our buildings and performance of building envelopes have become critical to architectural design. This panel of experts in high-performance façade design explores the intersection of climate-focused façade design strategies, passive survivability for building resilience, and compliance with more stringent energy codes.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand the climate-responsive facade design approach and how it delivers high-comfort, low-impact buildings.
2. Evaluate thermal resilience metrics and apply them in the design of facades to maximize passive survivability for occupants during extreme climate events.
3. Understand how meeting thermal resilience targets also supports meeting both energy code requirements and human comfort goals.
4. Interpret the 2025-IECC thermal bridging requirements and their implications on facade and facade interface design, window-to-wall ration, and fenestration and spandrel performance needed for code compliance.