The Building Science Podcast

Latest Episodes:

The Beauty Of A Healthy Building Dec 20, 2017

Show notes

Live from the Texas Society of Architects 2017 Expo and Convention, we're proud to bring you a series of episodes exploring "the multiple dimensions of beauty" through interviews with some phenomenal architects, builders, and consultants.

This episode features an interview with Dr. Jules Elkins of The University Of Texas at Austin and The East Wall Consulting.

Dr. Jules Elkins

Dr. Elkins’s research and teaching is in environmental health, and healthy indoor environments. She is particularly interested in low-dose chemical exposures, especially during the period from preconception to early childhood. Her interests focus on how exposures can be practically and cost-effectively reduced or prevented based on evidence-based models of what interventions measurably work. Specific projects and work includes exposures in schools from poorly ventilated classrooms, exposures from proximity to highly trafficked roadways, and maternal and child exposures from the food they eat. Dr. Elkins is particularly interested in the concept of the Healthy City. Given that we increasingly live in an urbanized world, how can we design away our environmental health problems, and what are the evidence-based outcomes from such design, considering both health and economic metrics? Dr. Elkins also speaks and consults on constructing healthy buildings. This includes choosing healthy materials, optimizing healthy design, and evidence-based outcomes of exposures in indoor environments. This work ranges from green buildings to building for clients with chemical sensitivities.

Big thanks to the Texas Society of Architects and our sponsor Bautex.

The Beauty Of Climate Appropriate Design Dec 18, 2017

Show notes

This episode features an interview with Peter Pfeiffer of Barley Pfeiffer Architecture.

Peter L Pfeiffer, FAIA

Peter Pfeiffer wears many hats. He is a LEED accredited professional Architect, a licensed Interior Designer, Building Scientist and Property Developer & Manager, who has spent the past 36 years designing and developing pragmatic high performance buildings and homes.

EEBA, the national Energy Efficient Building Association, awarded Mr. Pfeiffer the Conference Chair’s Award in 1994 for his career accomplishments pioneering environmentally sensitive architecture. In 2004 he was one of the first architects in America to be named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects for his life-long commitment to "mainstreaming green building in North America”. He is a founding principal of Barley | Pfeiffer Architecture, a firm recognized nationally for its pioneering use of environmentally responsive design and construction techniques. Their work has been published both in the United States and abroad in such diverse venues as the Washington Post, The New York Times, Fine Homebuilding, Better Homes & Gardens magazine and on-line where they have been awarded “Best Of Houzz” in the Design and Service categories for two consecutive years. He has been a guest on National Public Radio, the HG-TV network, as well as on The Discovery Channel and This Old House.

The National Association of Home Builders honored him as the “National Green Advocate of the Year” in 2003 for his life-long achievements in “mainstreaming” green building. Peter has been an active charter member of the NAHB Green Building Subcommittee since its inception in 1999 and has been active in the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program. In 2006 Residential Architect cited him as one of the 10 most influential residential architects of past decade. Recently Peter was nominated for the prestigious Hanley Award for his meaningful efforts to advance green building in America.

The Beauty Of Urban Infill Dec 15, 2017

Show notes

This episode features an interview with Kristen & Michael Padavic of PSW Real Estate.

PSW Real Estate

PSW Real Estate, LLC is a Texas real estate developer that designs and builds communities of high-quality green homes in urban areas. PSW creates homes that offer proximity to work, school and other important resources while implementing energy efficient construction methods and materials. These key elements promote urban density and conservation, reduce waste, and engender social connectivity.

Michael Padavic

Michaeljoined PSW in late 2011 to develop and lead the newly created design and planning group within the office as part of an initiative to move the architectural development of PSW Homes in house, an aim for greater efficiency and unified vision.
After achieving a Master in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Michael honed his skills working for several small to mid-size firms in Chicago, managing a variety of projects from high-rise residential towers and high-end renovations to school restoration and public libraries. He currently holds architectural licenses in both Illinois and Texas.
Specialties: Single family, multi-family and commercial architecture; Sustainable design; Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Kristen Padavic

Kristen moved her family (with Michael, above) to Austin, Texas to join PSW, and Austin-headquartered urban infill home builder after working in Chicago, IL for nearly a decade. Over the past several years, her architectural team has grown to nearly ten employees, as the PSW team has grown into multiple markets in Texas and Seattle. The team is comprised of a variety of disciplines, including architecture, civil engineering, construction and sales, that all bring unique expertise to the process of designing urban infill communities.

Special thanks to Bautex Systems for their generous support of our live recorded episodes at the 2017 TxA Expo & Convention. Be sure to stop by their website, learn about their innovative product, and say hello for us.

Season 3 Reflections | Season 4 Preview Dec 12, 2017

Show notes

Pour yourself a hot drink, grab a blanket and sit near the crackling logs for this holiday special episode. We're looking back at the last 3 years and looking ahead to our 4th season of the show. Be sure to check out our end of year survey and submit your ideas for episodes in season 4!

Thank you so much for listening to our show for the last 3 years. We plan on delivering more great episodes in 2018 and hope you'll join us for the ride!

The Beauty Of Performance Dec 07, 2017

Show notes

This episode features an interview with Darrell McMaster, a builder from Boerne, TX who runs a company called Sustainable Homes of Texas.

Darrel has been building homes for over 40 years. He comes from a family of builders, with three generations still active in the home building industry. He is a Master Builder, proud of his craft, and forward thinking in his application of systems and processes.

Darrel says, “the theory is simple if you have to frame on top of the concrete you set up, or build the cabinets that are attached to the wall that you framed you are going to do it right the first time”.

He's experienced in production, multi-family and custom home building and endeavoring to show that sustainable homes are not only affordable but possible, not only in custom homes but in production homes, as well as multi-family communities.

Knowing & Using VRF Nov 11, 2017

Show notes

Update:

Apologies for the inconvenience with the last audio file - it appeared to be fine on our side, but was corrupted in the upload process. We appreciate all the feedback and are so thrilled you couldn't wait to hear more! As requested, a new file has been uploaded on a solid connection. Please let us know if you're experiencing any issues and enjoy the episode!

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Positive Energy has built its success around deeply understanding enclosures and how they interact with mechanical systems. We intimately know the HVAC equipment out there. And it hasn’t been easy to get architects, builders, and installers to adopt a new and “unknown” technology. But that’s exactly what we endeavor to do with each project. And you’ve probably guessed by now that we’re talking about VRF here.

It’s a big deal. It’s the way our industry is headed. And it’s worth understanding and using on your projects.

In this second of the two part series on VRF, The Building Science Podcast brings you a whole host of information on VRF systems to help you better know, understand, and implement this technology in your projects with a great conversation between our host Kristof and guest John Chavez. Thanks to the generous support of Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, we're proud to bring you this latest installment of The Building Science Podcast focused on VRF technology and how to bring it to your projects.

Stucco - (Much) More Than Meets The Eye Oct 06, 2017

Show notes

Special Edition - Just Released. Listen and learn why you don't want to miss this event! Coming up next Friday 10/13/2017 here in Austin.

Join Kristof Irwin and guest experts Matt Carlton and Brian Roeder for lively discussion on the surprisingly rich topic of stucco cladding systems. You'll never look at a stucco wall the same way again.

Special thanks to UltraAire for their generous support.

Symposium Details

Hosted by: AIA BEC: Austin & RCI, Central Texas
Date & Time: Friday, October 13th, 8:30am-5:30am, registration opens at 8:00am
Location: JJ Pickle Research Center, Commons Conference Center, 10100 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78758
Price: Early Bird (unitl 9/15) $150/person, General Admittance (9/16-10/12) $190/person, Day Of (10/13) $225
CEUs: 6.5 LU AIA HSW Credits

Intelligent Environments: Building Science & Predictive Analytics Collide Aug 18, 2017

Show notes

Join Kristof for a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Zoltan Nagy on intelligent environments and how building science principles are guiding predictive analytics to shape the future of building and home operations. As more intelligent buildings emerge, occupant-centric solutions to IAQ issues, mechanical issues, and energy issues can be addressed.

The Intelligent Environments Laboratory (IEL), led by Prof. Zoltán Nagy, is an interdisciplinary research group within the Building Energy & Environments (BEE) Program of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) in the Cockrell School of Engineering of the University of Texas at Austin.

The aim of their research is to rethink the built environment and define Smart Buildings and Cities as spaces that adapt to their occupants and reduce their energy consumption.

Hitting The Reset Button Aug 07, 2017

Show notes

It's time to find the reset button. Time to re-examine our view of what we know about delivering conditioned space to our clients, to ourselves. The upside potential in buildings is staggering. From some vantage points, it's astounding and inexplicable why the very places we live continue to be held in a laggard state of performance relative to what's possible. Our industry transition is held captive to an outdated vision. Without a proper vision, our mission, strategy and tactics are ineffective.

We are all front line advocates, operating within our spheres of influence. What creates effectiveness is knowing why we are engaged in a particular next action and how that relates to moving the industry and the market forward. Why comes first, then what. Many of us can't effectively advocate for best practices in homes/buildings- not because we don't know what to do. Rather it's because we don't know why we need to do what we want to do. If we don't know why then we can't effectively advocate for change with our project teams and the pent-up transition will continue to move forward at a languished pace; albeit inexorably. In this episode Kristof shares some ideas to help us find our reset buttons, or at least pose the idea that hitting reset is worthwhile.

Everything You Never Knew About Earthen Construction Aug 01, 2017

Show notes

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Stephen Colley on earthen construction.

Stephen currently practices architecture and runs his own architecture firm and is a long-time practitioner of green design and sustainable living. From 2010-2012 he served as the Program Manager in Green Initiatives for Palo Alto College in San Antonio developing training courses related to sustainable design and construction.

Stephen also participated in the Alamo Colleges Chancellor’s Council on Sustainability helping to write a new more sustainable policy for the Alamo College District. The new policy was approved by the Board of Alamo Colleges in August of 2012. In his previous position as the Green Building Coordinator for Build San Antonio Green, he developed the criteria for San Antonio’s residential green building program, Build San Antonio Green, recognized by the National Association of Homebuilders as the Green Building Program of the year in 2009, and served on the Mayor’s (San Antonio, Texas) task force on Sustainable Policy as the City charted a significant shift away from conventional building, development, and transportation policy. Stephen was chosen by the National Association of Home Builders as one of the original stakeholders to write the Green Policy for the organization as basis for their nation-wide residential green building program, National Green Building Standard™.

In 2005, he co-authored the Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting for the Texas Water Development Board (3rd edition). The Manual is widely distributed and used as a reference for potable and non-potable rainwater harvesting system publications. He is also the former Chair of the San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, a LEED® Accredited Professional, and President of Earthen Construction Initiative, a non-profit organization to advance and promote earthen construction.