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BUILDING ENVELOPE
(With Discussion on PHILIPPINE
GREEN BUILDING CODE)
CE409 BUILDING SYSTEM DESIGN

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An Act Mainstreaming Climate Change into Government Policy

Formulations, Establishing the Framework Strategy and Program
on Climate Change, Creating for this Purpose the Climate Change
Commission, and for other Purposes

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BUILDING ENVELOPE
The building envelope is the physical barrier between the

BUILDING ENVELOPE exterior and interior environments enclosing a structure.

Generally, the building envelope is comprised of a series of
components and systems that protect the interior space from
the effects of the environment like precipitation, wind,
temperature, humidity and ultraviolet radiation.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE BUILDING ENVELOPE

The internal environment is comprised of the occupants,
furnishings, building materials, lighting, machinery, equipment,
and the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)
A building envelope serves
many functions. These
system. functions can be divided into
Improving the building envelope of houses is one of the best 3 categories.
ways to get better energy efficiency.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE GREEN HOUSE GASES

What is BUILDING TIGHTNESS? Energy use in buildings: 17.5%
Residential buildings
Building envelopes are often characterized as either “tight” or “loose”. (10.9%): energy-related emissions from
A LOOSE BUILDING ENVELOPE allows more of a natural air electricity generation for lighting,
transfer to occur, which improves indoor air quality which can remove appliances, cooking, etc., and heating at
the need for mechanical ventilation. home.
Commercial buildings
These types of building envelopes make the building more drafty and (6.6%): energy-related emissions from
uncomfortable, it also makes the building harder to regulate generating electricity for lighting,
temperature levels. This creates a higher chance of mold or appliances, etc., and heating in
mildew, and higher quantities of heated or cooled air are able to commercial buildings such as offices,
escape through leaks in the loose building envelope. This will increase restaurants, and shops.
energy bills along with negatively impacting the environment by
releasing more greenhouse gases.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE
What is BUILDING TIGHTNESS?
A TIGHT BUILDING ENVELOPE allows for a high level of control over indoor air
quality, temperature, humidity levels, and energy consumption.
This requires more insulation, caulk, adhesive tape, sealants, and energy- efficient
windows to acquire a tight shell for the building. This leads to fewer drafts and a more
comfortable building for its occupants, which often results in less waste in heating
and cooling costs.
Tight envelopes also have a lower chance of producing mold or mildew from
moisture infiltration, this can help prolong the life of the building components. The
downside to a tighter building envelope is it requires more extensive mechanical
ventilation systems because it limits how much natural ventilation can occur.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE BUILDING ENVELOPE

COMPONENTS OF A BUILDING ENVELOPE COMPONENTS OF A BUILDING ENVELOPE
1. Foundation - As part of the building envelope, the foundation 4. Movement - A building envelope that is too rigid can result in
needs to offer moisture control (have waterproofing and appropriate cracks and failure under smaller stresses than a more flexible structure
drainage) and prevent thermal energy from getting inside. would.
2. Walls - Wall system elements such as insulation, exterior cladding 5. Acoustics - The attenuated acoustics allow the people who are
and sheathing, a vapor barrier, and interior sheathing help walls resist working or living in the building to engage in activities with less
water and condensation, along with providing thermal energy control. interference from the outside.
3. Air – Airtightness is primarily focusing on the elimination of all 6. Durability - The elements of the building envelope must provide
unintended gaps and cracks on the external envelope of the building. the strength and support the building needs while also looking
attractive.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE BUILDING PERFORMANCE

COMPONENTS OF A BUILDING ENVELOPE A building's performance (or efficiency) is a measure of how well it
functions in relation to designated criteria such as physical, social
7. Energy - Building design that’s energy efficient prevents energy loss or environmental considerations. For example, a building's physical
through the building envelope. The envelope needs to resist thermal efficiency might be evaluated by assessing parameters such as heat
transfer through radiation, convection, and conduction. loss, energy use, water use, water tightness, structural
performance, fire performance and so on. It can also measure
whether the resources necessary to design and construct a building have
been used effectively.

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BUILDING PERFORMANCE BUILDING PERFORMANCE

EVALUATING BUILDING PERFORMANCE  Running costs – how much does it cost to run the building?
Today building performance might be assessed against criteria including:  Water tightness – are roofs and openings capable of keeping out rain
Sustainability (are the materials environmentally friendly? How much and other sources of moisture?
energy is used to heat/cool the building? How well does the building Layout – does the building optimize privacy, sunlight, views, occupant
fabric retain heat (linked to insulation levels and glazing performance)? Is circulation and so on?
the building water efficient (does it include grey-water recycling)?
Occupant satisfaction – are the occupants satisfied with the overall
Comfort – can air temperatures, humidity and ventilation achieve a resolution of the design?
healthy environment?
Accessibility - is the building easy to use by people with disabilities? Is
 Ecology - is there a negative or positive impact on habitats? it safe and secure?
Acoustics – does noise generated by activities in the building adversely Society - does the building integrate with and contribute to the local
affect neighboring buildings or spaces and vice versa? community?

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BUILDING PERFORMANCE AESTHETICS

PERFORMANCE GAP The aesthetics of a building is one of the principal aspects
considered in architecture. The appeal of a building covers the
The way some buildings perform when completed may not live up to the
combined effects of a building’s shape, size, texture, color, balance,
designers’ intentions. The difference between anticipated and actual
unity, movement, emphasis, contrast, symmetry, proportion,
performance may be significant and to the detriment of the occupiers,
space, alignment, pattern, decoration, culture and context. The
owners and environment. This is known as the performance gap which,
unique properties and natural beauty of wood and other bio-based
if significant may result in aspects of the construction having to be redone
and can lead to legal proceedings. materials make them desired for various applications including
construction, facades and interior design.

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AESTHETICS AESTHETICS
A building should be designed in order to satisfy requirements regarding AESTHETICS AND PERFORMANCE
safety, serviceability, durability, but also, aesthetics, assuring
In general, there are diverse processes that affect the aesthetical
proper structural performance through the entire service life. For that
performance of building elements through their service lives:
reason, it is essential to understand the overall deterioration mechanisms
within the different levels of a building including elements, components, WEATHERING is predominantly related to the superficial level
façades and for the entire building. Changes in the appearance of deterioration and its intensity depends on micro-climatic
materials can differ due to kinetics of the responses related to the material conditions. For example, wood that is exposed to exterior weather
resistance as well as due to intensity of the degrading factors. conditions starts to change its appearance within a few hours.

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AESTHETICS DURABILITY
DECAY is a biotic degradation process affecting both a material’s Durability is the resistance to degradation of products,
functionality and aesthetics. For example, decay might have different materials, buildings and other built assets over time.
kinetics depending on the type of fungi causing it, and consequently it can
affect a materials’ functionality and appearance in diverse ways.
This can be a difficult property to assess - whilst a tough
material may be hard to the touch but it may also be non-
WATERLOGGING is a slow deterioration process in anaerobic durable if it decomposes or is eroded in a relatively short period
conditions due to the activity of bacteria. Insect activity might also of time. The opposite can also be true.
have significant influences on the outlook of biomaterials, as well as on
the material’s functionality and safety.

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DURABILITY DURABILITY
A building as a complete entity may also be said to be durable (or non- As well as diminishing durability, weathering forces can also result in a
durable). Buildings constructed for temporary purposes, such as change of appearance – usually a CHANGE FOR THE WORSE –
demountable site cabins and exhibition pavilions, do not tend to stand the however some materials can be affected beneficially: some stones and
test of time because they are not designed to. brick types for example, as well as some metals such as copper which
develop a patina.
A building will be subjected not only to daily wear and tear from users but
also to the constant influence of climate – in particular rain, frost,
sun and heat – forces collectively referred to as weathering. Such
forces can cause significant deterioration and therefore a reduction in
durability.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE BUILDING ENVELOPE

Why do Building Envelope Systems Fail? Why do Building Envelope Systems Fail?
When the building envelope system is designed and constructed properly, 1. Design deficiencies. Architects occasionally specify materials or
very few occupants pay attention. But when the building envelope fails design systems that are inappropriate for their intended use.
(and even the best-built projects do in time), everyone notices. Common mistakes include specifying materials that are incompatible with
materials with which they come into contact or have inadequate
Those failures can include aesthetic loss, corrosion, poor indoor air performance criteria for thermal movement, structural capacity, or water
quality, energy inefficiencies, and, in some cases, life-threatening penetration resistance.
structural failure and eventual litigation—a builder’s worst nightmare.
Issues also arise when subcontractors try to reduce the weight, size,
or amount of building envelope components (aluminum, glass,
sealants, flashing, etc.) required on a project. This can lead to inadequate
performance or capacity of the materials specified.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE BUILDING ENVELOPE

Why do Building Envelope Systems Fail? Why do Building Envelope Systems Fail?
2. Material failure. It’s also common for properly specified materials to 3. Poor workmanship. During construction booms, the problem of poor
fail to meet the published performance levels. This could be a result workmanship is exasperated as a result of having many inexperienced,
of errors in the manufacturing, handling, or storing of the product or unsupervised, and untrained personnel working on projects. It is
components within the product. common to find building envelope components not installed per the
manufacturing specifications.
Common examples include degrading sealant adhesion, laminated
glass delamination, and metal fatigue. While the anticipated Putting the right people in the right job goes a long way toward
performance levels are often based upon measured statistical proper installation and overall profitability.
performance, the strength of materials varies.

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BUILDING ENVELOPE
Why do Building Envelope Systems Fail?
4. Acts of nature. Even with flawless installations, bad things can
happen to good work when environmental conditions exceed those that
were anticipated during design. The effects of hurricane-force wind
loads, driving rain, and extreme temperature fluctuations can
overload a properly designed and constructed building envelope, causing
damage to the system and making it vulnerable to further deterioration or
failure.
While failures of this type cannot be stopped, many can be prevented
through routine inspection and maintenance to identify small
problems before they become big ones.

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