European conference to tackle key building envelope design issues

Howard Chapman, Buildingtalk Editor. Buildingtalk is supporting the Conference on Advanced Building Skins in Berne, not least because it is a unique opportunity for networking between key scientists, architects, engineers, energy consultants and the building industry. I will be attending to report on the latest design and product developments of the building envelope and listen to some of the world’s experts discuss the issues around insulation, retrofitting large buildings, intelligent glass façades and effects of glare from buildings.

Conference on Advanced Building Skins

10-11 October 2016, Bern, Switzerland

The 11th International Conference on Advanced Building Skins (ABS) will be held in Bern, Switzerland from the 10th to 11th October 2016.

The two day ABS Conference will include 42 sessions, with 200 speakers from 45 nations giving presentations, mainly in English.

The ABS conference will focus on recent developments in the design of the building envelope (skins), and new product developments to increase energy efficiency in roofs and façades. The conference will give a comprehensive illustration of the importance of the building skin for the energy efficiency of buildings.

The ABS conference will help facilitate the transfer scientific know-how into practice by an active exchange between scientists, architects, engineers, energy consultants and the building industry.

Insulation controversy

Recent controversy over how much insulation is both economic and ecologically sound. The ABS conference will include address this issue and offer a resume of the latest recent technical developments in insulating products. Other sessions of the conference will demonstrate how phase change materials, biomaterials, and other products and technologies can enhance the energy efficiency of the building envelope.

Building renovation and retrofit

With much of European building stock comprising old buildings with inadequate insulation, ageing heating systems and less than airtight windows, the ABS Conference will explore how comprehensive renovation can reduce the high energy use of these structures and present the latest technical developments in products for the retrofit and renovation sectors.

Intelligent glass façades and effects of glare

Several sessions at the ABS Conference will be dedicated to the topic of glass facades and an update on intelligent façade glazing including electrochromic and thermochromic glazing for dynamic control of solar radiation. A session will be dedicated to the glare off building façades with glass and photovoltaics.

Vicente Montes-Amoros from Curtain Wall Design & Consulting, in his talk on ‘Death Ray Buildings’, will describe how glass façades from high-rise buildings affect the environment.

Read more about this on Buildingtalk via How glass facades can attack the environment.

Networking

An Event App will be available to participants, which everyone can use to contact participants and speakers during the conference. The Event App will make networking easier and transform passive listeners into active participants and simplify the exchange of information between participants.

Link the full Advanced Building Skins conference programme and registration information.

Link to list of speakers from the UK.