Masonry Wall photo by Peter Rinker /cc by SA 3.0 

Thursday, March 21, 2024
3pm - 4:30pm ET

A roundtable discussion with leading experts in the field of insulating historic envelopes.  Dr. John Straube, Bill Rose, and David Artigas will share their research and discuss considerations to take when retrofitting an existing and historic mass masonry envelope with insulation. Each speaker will give a brief presentation, followed by an open discussion and Q&A session.  Moderation is by Daniel S. Castele.

After attending this program, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the main concerns when insulating the interior face of historic masonry envelopes.

2. Explore different approaches to insulating historic masonry buildings.
   

3. Attendees will review the science involved when insulating historic envelopes, with a focus on risk of “freeze-thaw damage” in historic masonry.

4. Identify other remediation to consider prior to installing insulation in historic properties.

Roundtable Speakers:

Dr. John Straube, Ph.D., P.Eng., is a cross-appointed faculty member in the School of Architecture and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr Straube is also a Principal at RDH Building Science, where he conducts forensic investigations, assists with the design of new high-performance buildings, and leads research projects in the areas of low-energy building design, building enclosure performance, hygrothermal analysis, and field performance monitoring. He was a Principal at Building Science Corporation from 2006 to 2013 and is the author or co-author of over 100 published technical papers, author of the book High Performance Enclosures and co-author, with Eric Burnett, of Building Science for Building Enclosures.

Bill Rose, is retired Senior Research Architect at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research primarily covered heat and moisture performance of building envelopes. In 2005 he authored Water in Buildings, published by Wiley & Sons. He is an ASHRAE Fellow. He was responsible for the building envelope sections of ASHRAE’s Energy Guide for Historic Buildings. He consults with historic buildings and museums regarding energy and moisture. Past projects include Independence Hall, the Guggenheim Museum, the White House, the National Gallery East Wing, and the UN Secretariat Building.

David Artigas, PE, is a Senior Project Manager in SGH’s Building Technology division in New York City.  Mr. Artigas is experienced in managing the investigation, design, and construction contract administration of building enclosures on both historic and contemporary buildings. He performs thermal and hygrothermal modeling and assessment of building enclosure assemblies, specializing in historic building enclosure systems. Mr. Artigas is a co-author of “Energy, Hygrothermal, and Freeze-Thaw Considerations for Insulating Mass Masonry Walls,” published in APT’s Special Bulletin Vol. 50, No.1.

Moderator:

Daniel S. Castele, Preservation Specialist.  Currently employed by Quinn Evans in their Washington DC office.