The article Pushing the Envelope by Morrison Hershfield's building science specialists Stevan Vinci and Jamie McKay was published in Canadian Property Management: GTA & Beyond. The informative editorial was distributed at PM Expo which was held at the Toronto Convention Centre on November 30th - December 2nd. The article explains how building enclosure commissioning provides quality assurance and peace of mind for property managers.
The commissioning process for building systems is well-established and developed, whereas the commissioning of the building enclosure/envelope is relatively new and still being refined. Pushing the Envelope discusses the building enclosure/envelope commissioning process, the value it can add to a project, and the difference between traditional enclosure consulting and building enclosure commissioning.
In the current building industry, there is increased focus on achieving aggressive energy efficiency targets, fueled by local and national industry standards, codes and guidelines. More than ever before, designers and contractors are tasked with delivering higher performing buildings. A critical requirement is to overcome one of the weakest links in energy performance — the building envelope.
Stevan Vinci and Jamie McKay are senior sustainability and building science specialists at Morrison Hershfield. They can be reached at svinci@morrisonhershfield.com and jmckay@morrisonhershfield.com, respectively.
