BEC: Austin Committee Meeting
June 3 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
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Join BEC: Austin for their monthly meeting featuring a presentation and lunch.
Building Enclosure Control Layer Fundamentals
presented by Keith Simon with Salas O’Brien
Modern high-performance building enclosures utilize control layers to manage heat, air, water, and vapor transport through walls, roofs, waterproofing, and fenestration. This presentation will provide an introduction to the building science of these key four phenomena of building physics, the mechanism for how they work, and strategies for controlling their transport in assemblies. The goal of this presentation is that each participant will be able to identify how common building materials (e.g. water resistive barriers, air barriers, insulation, curtain wall, concrete, etc.) are able to control air, heat, water, and vapor and describe which metrics are used to quantify those movements. These metrics will be shown in the context of the requirements of common buildings codes and industry standards. Recent building science research will be shared along with developments and upcoming changes to these metrics.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the mechanisms of heat, air, bulk water, and vapor and how they transport through building assemblies.
- Quantify the importance of air barriers and common challenges with their installation that leads to poor performance, increased energy use and moisture related damage.
- Specify the use and identify proper materials to provide continuous insulation to increase energy performance and get to Net Zero.
- Identify key strategies for achieving durable, energy-efficient, and thermally comfortable wall, roof, and below-grade assemblies through proper design, installation and testing.
1 LU/HSW(pending)
BEC: Austin is an interdisciplinary organization that promotes the exchange of information on building enclosures and related science specific to the climate of Central Texas.
Interdisciplinary: architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, consultants, facility managers, code officials, educators, manufacturers, and those with a stake in building enclosure performance
Exchange of information: discussion, training, education, outreach, and awareness
Building enclosures and related science: energy-efficiency, moisture control, indoor air quality, longevity, and durability
BEC: Austin typically meets the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm. To receive reminders, please sign up for the BEC mailing list here.
2026 BEC: Austin Committee
Chair: Michael Salinas, AIA
Chair Elect: John Byrd, AIA
AIA Austin staff liaison: Julia Brown