SeaBEC

2019 February Member Meeting

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Preserving Historical Facades with Building Science - The Seattle Asian Art Museum Case Study

The recent major renovation of the Seattle Asian Art Museum provided a unique opportunity to monitor and study how local historic buildings operate before, during, and after building enclosure and HVAC renovations. A decade ago the museum was contemplating a significant renovation and upgrade to the 1930s Art Deco building and aged building systems. As part of the building enclosure assessment, hygrothermal sensors were discretely installed within the walls, roof, and on historical glazing systems to covertly monitor and identify building enclosure performance issues including condensation on interior wall surfaces/glazing and long-term behaviour of the sandstone favade. With the recession hitting shortly after the sensors were installed and the renovation postponed until 2018. These circumstances allowed for a unique opportunity to observe the behavior of the building for almost a decade prior to the renovation. During this presentation, interesting building enclosure performance data will be shared shedding light on how local buildings get wet and dry out, where and when condensation occurs along with lessons learned from the historical retrofit design and construction process. 

Graham Finch is a building science engineer at RDH who specializes in research and investigation work. His work experience includes a wide range of projects including building enclosure condition assessments, forensic investigations, research studies, energy assessments, building monitoring programs, field review, and testing services for new and existing buildings across North America. He has also worked with numerous building product manufacturers on product research and development, performance monitoring, and field testing.

Speaker: Graham Finch, RDH Building Science

Date: Thursday, February 21, 2019

Schedule:
11:30-11:45 AM: Networking/Lunch
11:45-12:00 PM: Seabec Business & Announcements
12:00-1:00 PM: Speaker presentation

Location: GGLO, 1301 1st Avenue, Suite 301, Seattle, WA

Refreshments: Patrick McMahon with SIGA

Attendance at monthly SeaBEC meetings is free for 2019 members. We request $10 for non-member attendance. Cash, checks, and credit cards will be accepted at the meeting sign-in table. 

Seattle Building Enclosure Council PO Box 725 Mercer Island, WA 98040 www.seabec.org