Glazed curtain walls are best known for their ability to visually integrate two otherwise separate spaces. Less talked about—though, perhaps more important—are curtain walls with the capability to retain visibility and access to daylight while standing guard against fire.
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The Chicago Park District will soon open a new 11-ha (28-acre) downtown park to complement its renowned Grant Park and Millennium Park. Visitors to Maggie Daley Park will enjoy a visually varied landscape with rolling hills, berms, and contours.
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Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC zoning and geothermal systems are two of the most energy-efficient options for heating and cooling available—now, new hybrid assemblies combine the two.
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This article examines tile applications outside the building. It includes substrate preparation—such as addressing concerns like laitance, substrate variation, excessive porosity, and waterproofing—as well as product selection and installation tips to make sure exterior installations withstand the elements.
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The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently undertook a series of trials comparing the moisture and temperature management properties of several different exterior insulation and finishing system (EIFS) configurations with those of other claddings.
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This article explores some of the benefits realized through the speed of construction enabled by specifying insulating concrete forms (ICFs)—a technology that combines reinforced concrete with thermal insulation.
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Masonry materials and wall systems, with their inherent thermal mass characteristics, provide designers with many options to achieve energy-efficient designs. This article illustrates examples of wall configurations that exceed national building code requirements and high-performance standards.
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In the October 2014 issue of The Construction Specifier, an article examined how urban lumber harvesting has emerged as an option for resources otherwise devastated by the emerald ash borer.
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Out of the many types of building materials available to architects and specifiers, solid phenolic wall panels have become increasingly popular due to their durability, ease of maintenance, versatility, and code-compliance.
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When sound control acoustic door assemblies are selected, the usual way is to specify a sound transmission coefficient (STC) rating in accordance with established standards. However, this is not as catch-all as it sounds, especially when the sounds that must be blocked come in different frequencies.
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