BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTING
A building’s envelope includes the foundation, roof, wall, door, and window components of a building. Overtime, these building components are compromised through exposure to the elements or lack of proper maintenance allowing water and air to infiltrate into the interior of the building or the wall system, causing mold growth and deterioration of the components. Additionally, a building’s envelope is key to a high-performace, energy efficient building.
As a forensic architect with international environmental consulting firm ENVIRON, Amanda worked on dozens of buildings in Chicago performing exterior wall and roof analysis of historic and new buildings. Services included performing close-up examinations of exterior walls and roofs to identify conditions of distress, moisture and air intrusion diagnostics, building repair design, research and specification preparation, and cost estimates for repairs. Building types included brick, stone, terra cotta and curtainwall construction.
Additionally, performing these services on existing buildings extends their useful lives, thereby utilizing the embodied energies in the buildings, reduces construction waste by keeping them rather than tearing them down, and helps in conserving raw materials used in new construction.