Building Technology and Science

Sources for and Information on some of the science and technology in commercial buildings.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

CMHC’s “Research Highlights” are summaries of reports on the findings of research projects conducted for or by CMHC.

Water Penetration Resistance of Windows — Study of Manufacturing, Building Design, Installation and Maintenance Factors

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Report 63367 (2003) – This is the report on a study conducted to help establish priorities for improving water penetration resistance of windows. It identifies the responsibilities of the various window industry sectors, and makes recommendations for each sector. Details, such as typical window cross sections and tables that identify leak paths could be helpful in leak investigation. All CMHC reports are available on their web site. Click here.

Design of Durable Joints Between Windows and Walls

 CMHC Report 63194 (2003)

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From Left to Right: Christina Towers, Wilmington, Delaware, Portals III, Washington, DC, Rodney Square, Wilmington, residential apartments, office park, New Jersey

Civil Engineering Resource Guide

This page on the Smartscholar.com site includes numerous links to sites with information of use to civil engineers, civil engineering students and engineering scholarship applicants.

Determination of Wall Coating Permeance (September 2014 Durability & Design Magazine)

“The (water vapor) permeance of coating systems applied to the interior and exterior walls of single-wythe CMU (concrete masonry unit) buildings, and the number of maintenance repaints, can directly impact wall-system performance. The question is — by how much. Getting that answer in advance on projects could likely prevent many coating and wall-system failures.” – Kevin Brown, Harold DeCelle and Kenneth Trimber, KTA-Tator Inc.

National Institute of Building Sciences

The National Institute of Building Sciences was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383. In establishing the Institute, Congress recognized the need for an organization that could serve as an interface between government and the private sector. The Institute’s public interest mission is to serve the Nation by supporting advances in building science and technology to improve the built environment. Through the Institute, Congress established a public/private partnership to enable findings on technical, building-related matters to be used effectively to improve government, commerce and industry.

RDH Building Science Laboratories, Inc. Library

Documents  here include research reports and conference papers, annotated reading lists, and “Short Reports” that provide a quick overview of a project or area of research.

Self Healing Concrete

UK universities Cardiff, University of Bath and the University of Cambridge, in their project Materials for Life (M4L), is piloting three separate concrete-healing technologies for the first time in real-world settings. Their goal is to incorporate them into a single system that could be used to automatically repair concrete in roads, bridges and buildings.

Skyscrapers of the Future Will Be Held Together With Glue

In his monthly article for New Scientist, Geoff Manaugh writes about Architect Greg Lynn’s advocacy of composite building components that are joined, not with fasteners, but with adhesive. Rivets have faded from the aviation industry and the same fate may be in store for nuts and bolts in buildings.

STRUCTURE Magazine is published exclusively for the practicing structural engineer

United States Department of Transportation Library

ROSA P – Repository and Open Science Access Portal to reports and studies on materials and engineering pertaining to transportation infrastructure