Concordia University, Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science

Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering

BLDG 463 Building Envelope Design/BLDG 6601 Building Enclosure, Fall
2019

Calendar description
Technical influences in the design of building envelope, including the control of heat flow, air and
mois-ture penetration, building movements, and deterioration. Application of air/vapour barrier and
rain-screen systems. Performance assessment and building codes through case studies and design
projects. Sustainable design principles. Design of walls, roofs, joints and assemblies. Cause of
deterioration and preventive measures, on-site investigation. Relevant building codes and standards.

Prerequisite
BLDG 365; CIVI 321
LECTURE:
Location: H521 Day: Tuesdays Time: 17:45 – 20:15

1. Instructor information:
Hua Ge, Ph.D., P. Eng., Associate Professor
Office: EV 6.122; E-mail: hua.ge@concordia.ca
Office hours: Tuesdays 12:00 to 2:00 pm from Sept. 3 to Dec. 2, 2019
Course web site: Course material will be added to the Concordia Course Websites (Moodle)

2 Course description
2.1 Course Summary
The building envelope functions as a barrier for a building to separate the indoor environment from the
outdoor climate. Deficiencies in the building envelope reduce the thermal performance of the
building, resulting in increased operating costs; reduce the durability of the envelope itself, leading to
costly repairs; and increase the likelihood of contaminants entering the indoor environment, affecting
the health of the occupants. Therefore, ensuring good performance of building envelopes is essential
for achieving high performance buildings i.e. energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality.
This course includes building envelope fundamentals, i.e. building science principles as applied in
building envelope design, the introduction of typical building envelope components and systems used
in North America, methods and procedures of testing/evaluating building envelope performance, and
relevant building codes and standards. The focus will be on the detail design of building envelopes
including walls, windows, roofs and below grades. Critical issues such as long-term performance,
energy efficiency, durability, and integrated design will be addressed.
2.2 Course objectives and intended learning outcomes
The objective of this course is for students to acquire knowledge of various types of envelope systems
and their performance requirements and evaluation and to develop skills to apply building science
principles in building envelope design for achieving good performance.
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
• Develop a good understanding of various types of envelope systems including materials,
components, and design details

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BLDG 463 Building Envelope Design/BLDG 6601 Building Enclosure, Fall 2019

• Be familiar with relevant building codes, standards and test procedure regarding building
envelope performance
• Analyze the performance requirements and propose an appropriate building envelope design
i.e. wall assemblies, windows, and roofs for a given building at a specific location
• Carry out hygrothermal analysis of a given building envelope system through both manual
calculation and computer simulations
• Review design details, identify problems and propose solutions
2.3 Topics to be covered
The topics to be covered include:
• Function of building envelope as an environmental separator
• Building envelope design and detailing principles
• Various wall and roof assemblies
• Curtain walls and fenestrations
• Advanced materials and components
• Sealants and joints
• Testing and modeling building envelope performance
• Relevant building codes and standards

2.4 Textbook and references

There is no textbook for this course. Here is the list of main references. A collection of additional
reading materials will be placed on the course website. Check the library for the references
listed.

1. Hutcheon, N.B. and Handegord, G., Building Science for a Cold Climate, CTCA, Fredericton,
1983. (Now published by The National Research Council of Canada). Students should review in
particular Chapters 5, 6, 8, and study Chapters 11, 12, and 15. TH153H87 1995.
2. Straube, John and Burnett, Eric (2005), Building Science for Building Enclosures, Building
Science Press, 70 Mai Street, Westford, MA01866. Chs. 1-3. TH7653S772005
3. Straube, J. High performance enclosures: design guide for institutional commercial and
industrial buildings. Somerville M.A: Building Science Press, 2012. NA2542C75S772012
4. ASHRAE Handbook, Fundamentals, 2017. Chs. 15, 25, 26 & 27.
5. National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 2011. National Research Council of Canada.
6. National Building Code of Canada 2010. BCEE reserve.
7. Canadian Building Digests, Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council of
Canada, Ottawa, 1960-1990, 3 volumes (TH 27 C2X periodical). http://archive.nrc-
cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/cbd/digest-index.html
8. Building Science Digest: http://www.buildingscience.com/doctypes/digests

CMHC Best Practice Guides (Current or previous versions reserved in library, available on a 3-hour
checkout)

1. Building Enclosure Design Guide: wood-frame multi-unit residential buildings. Home

Protection Office, Branch of BC Housing. TH1719 B85 2011.
2. Architectural Precast Concrete: Walls and Structure, Best Practice Guide (revised 2006)
TH2245 A72 2006

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BLDG 463 Building Envelope Design/BLDG 6601 Building Enclosure, Fall 2019

3. Brick Veneer Concrete Masonry Unit Backing, Best Practice Guide, Building Technology
(1997). TH2235M341997
4. Brick Veneer Steel Stud, Building Technology – BVSS, CMHC, ISBN 0-660-16532-5, Cat. No.
NH15-132/1996E. TH2235P671996
5. Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems, Best Practice Guide, Building Technology (re-printed
2004). TH2238.7 E87 2004
6. Flashings, Best Practice Guide, Building Technology (revised 2005). TH2235M351998
7. Glass and Metal Curtain Walls, Best Practice Guide, Building technology (re-printed 2005).
TH2238G52 2004
8. Wood-frame Envelopes, Best Practice Guide, Building Technology (Revised 2006).
TH4818W6W65 1999

Other references for students’ interest

9. Anderson, J. M. and Gill, J. R., Rainscreen Cladding, a Guide to Design Principles and
Practice. Construction Industry Research and Information Association and Butterworths, London,
1988 (TH 9031 a64 1988).
10. Lstiburek, J.W. and Cormady, J., Moisture Control Handbook: Principles and Practices for
Residential and Small Commercial Buildings, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1990. (on
reserve TH 9031 L78 1993).

2.5 Attributes
In this course the following attributes will be covered:
Design: An ability to design solutions for complex, open-ended engineering problems and to design
systems, components or processes that meet specified needs with appropriate attention to health and
safety risks, applicable standards, economic, environmental, cultural and societal considerations.
Detailed design as the indicator will be assessed in the design project by providing building envelope
design solutions that meet the performance targets through calculations and analysis.
Impact of engineering on society and the environment: An ability to analyze social and
environmental aspects of engineering activities. Such abilities include an understanding of the
interactions that engineering has with the economic, social, health, safety, legal, and cultural aspects of
society; the uncertainties in the prediction of such interactions; and the concepts of sustainable design
and development and environmental stewardship. Awareness of society and environment impact and
sustainability in design as indicators will be assessed through the design project by analyzing the
building envelope performance and discussing the impact of building envelope design on the society
and environment in terms of energy efficiency, durability and indoor environmental quality.
Life-long learning: An ability to identify and to address their own educational needs in a changing
world, sufficiently to maintain their competence and contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
Continuous improvement, self-learning and ability to use norms as the indicator will be assessed
through the design project to provide alternative solutions to building envelope design in compliance
with building codes and standards.

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2.6 Course content

Week Date Lecture content Tasks

In the event of extraordinary circumstances beyond the

university's control, the content and/or evaluation scheme in
this course are subject to change.
Sept. 3 Introduction
1 Course plan: objectives, content, references, project, Review
evaluation; questions,
The envelope: definition, importance, functions and assignments &
performance criteria design project
issued
2 Sept. 10 Review of building science: environmental loads; heat loss
through the envelope & insulations; wind, stack effect, air
leakage, and air barrier systems;
3 Sept. 17 Review of building science: water vapour diffusion;
psychrometric chart; temperature and vapour gradient;
vapour barrier; rain control strategies, water resistive barrier
Sept. 24 Building envelope design principles: thermal, vapour, air
4 and rain controls, differential movement; fire & acoustics,
etc..
5 Oct. 1 Wood frame construction: details, hygrothermal properties Individual
of wood and wood-based building products; decay and assignment #1
mould; highly insulated wood-frame assemblies; innovative due
wood-based building systems
6 Oct. 8 Windows:
Types of windows, components, performance evaluation
7 Oct. 15 In-class mid-term test
WUFI/THERM/WINDOW demo
8 Oct. 22 Curtain walls: design, components, performance, thermal
bridges; double façade, BIPV, etc.
9 Oct. 29 Masonry: Individual
Brick veneer on metal studs Assignment #2
Brick veneer with concrete masonry unit backing; due
Nov. 5 Precast Concrete Walls;
10 EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems)
11 Nov. 12 Roofing systems
functions, main components, types; thermal, moisture, wind,
sun considerations; installation; inspection;
12 Nov. 19 Roofing systems (cont.)
Joints and sealants
13 Nov. 26 Underground enclosures Design project
Foundations, weatherproofing, drainage; due on Nov. 29

Review
Final exam during the exam period
*Any changes to this outline will be reviewed in class.

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Grading scheme for Bldg 463/Bldg 6601

In-class participation & pop-up quizzes 5%
Individual assignments 15%
Design Project 35%
Mid-term 15%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
Details of the assignments and design project will be issued separately. Late submissions will be
penalized by 10% of the assignment/project value for each whole or part day period after the deadline
(including weekends).
The final exam will cover the content of the whole course. It will be closed book with equations and
tables provided. Please bring colored pencils or pens for your exam. Only non-programmable
calculators approved by the Faculty (must have ENCS sticker) are allowed in the exams.

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