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Building Design

Building Envelope Engineering

The new engineering field...

Since the early 1970s, the design of the building envelope has taken on a far more technical side than was previously thought necessary. Building envelope failures have arisen from: the introduction of brick veneer on shelf angles; flimsy steel stud back-up walls; EIFS; stacked windows and residential curtain walls; improper rain screen and air and vapour barrier designs; deteriorated brick with inadequate and improper connection to the structure; poor flashing and drainage; improper sealant and joint design; and improper connections to adjacent materials. All this has given rise to the field of a new specialist - the building envelope engineer. Once under the sole jurisdiction of architects, the highly technical nature of modern building envelope systems has demanded a greater degree of building science to properly address the interaction of psychometrics, hydraulics, chemistry, material science and physics of today's complex envelope systems.

GRG staff and principals include building envelope specialists that are recognized as leaders in the industry by their peers.