AE 544- Building Envelope Systems

FALL 2015
TIME:

T R 2:00 3:20

PLACE:

Randell 326

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Ahmad A. Hamid

Office: 4-280E Phone: (215) 895-2342
Office Hours: T R 9-11

e-mail: hamidaa@drexel.edu

COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course provides the concepts, science and engineering fundamentals in the analysis and design of different
building envelope systems. Students will develop the technical skills including architectural, structural, and
environmental considerations to evaluate the performance of selected building envelope systems. Skills will
be acquired to evaluate, retrofit and maintain the building envelope including problems of leakage and
moisture, thermal deficiency, structural distress, and premature deterioration.
COURSE OUTLINE
Dates

Topic

Reading
Assignment
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Homework
Assignments
Problem 1.1
Problem 2.1 thru 2.3
Problem 3.1 thru 3.4
Problem 4.1 & 4.2
Problem 5.1 & 5.2

9/22
9/24
9/29 & 10/1,6
10/8, 13, 15 &20
10/22 & 27

Introduction
Climate
Architectural Design
Structural Design
Thermal Design

10/29

Midterm Exam

11/3, 5, 10, 12
11/17
11/19

Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Problem 6.1 & 6.2

Problem 7.1

11/24

Moisture Design
Roofs
Below Grade Building
Enclosure
Sustainability

11/26
12/1, 3

Thanksgiving Holiday
Evaluation and Retrofit

No Class
Chapter 10

12/?

Final Exam

Chapter 9

COURSE OUTCOMES
Students will learn how to:
1. Determine building envelope requirements.
2. Understand how building envelope requirements create an effective design
3. Determine and quantify building envelope responses to structural and environmental loads.
4. Understand how to assess problems with building envelope performance and design solutions for
those problems.

TEXTBOOK
ebook Design and Retrofit of Building Envelope , Third Edition, 2015
by Ahmad Hamid, available on iBook, Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble.
Published by Bookbaby, ISBN-13 : 9781483553023, ASIN : B010R63DSC
You can also get a pdf copy by going to your Paypal.com account and
paying $49.90 to Ebook.publishing.buildings@gmail.com . As soon as
the payment is received a pdf copy will be sent to you via email.
REFERENCES
1- Masonry Structures-Behavior and Design by R. Drysdale and A. Hamid , Third Edition,
The Masonry Society, 2008, ISBN: 1-989081-33-2
2- Thermal and Moisture Protection Manual for Architects, Engineers and Contractors by
Christine Beall, McGraw Hill Publishing, 1st edition, 1999.
3- Envelope Design for Building by W. Allen, Architectural Press, 1997
4- Water-Proofing the Building Envelope by M. Kubal, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1993
5- Design the Building Envelope, The American Institute of Architects, 1982
6- Designing the Exterior Wall - An Architectural Guide to the Vertical Envelope, by Linda Brock,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005, ISBN 0-471-45191-6
WEB SITES REFERENCES

Canadian Building Digest - www.nrc.ca/irc/cbd

Building Science Insight- www.nrc.ca/irc/bsi
ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals- www.ashrae.gov

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Homework shall be handed in at the beginning of class on the due date.

Homework turned in after the lecture starts will be deemed late.
All homework shall be done in a professional manner. Unprofessional work will be returned to be
redone and marked late.
Late work will receive 50% credit.
No assignment will be accepted beyond one week after its due date.
All electronics shall be turned off at all times during class. This includes laptop computers, cell
phones, IPods, etc.
Students are required to check Bb Learn weekly for announcements.

COURSE EVALUATION

Homework
Midterm exam
Final exam

25%
30%
45%