And I am sure of this, that he who began a

good work in you will bring it to completion at

the day of Jesus Christ.

-Philippians 1:6
Building Science
THE BUILDING AS A SYSTEM
BUILDING SYSTEM THEORY
System an integrated assembly of interacting
elements, designed to carry out cooperatively a
predetermined function.
- an integrated network of interacting
elements, receiving certain inputs and producing
certain outputs, given certain constraints.
Systems theory a belief that the world is made up
of sets of interacting components, and that those
sets of interacting components have properties,
when viewed as a whole, that do not exist within
any smaller units.
A systems approach is essentially:
A way of organizing observations
A way of thinking about related objects and
processes
A way of talking about the parts of a system
An outcome from systematically considering
systematic phenomena
Systems thinking is an important part of building
science because it helps simplify problems by
classifying them according to common types. There
exist millions of buildings and their diversity would
be overwhelming were it not for the systems
approach.
Basic characteristics common to all systems are important
to keep in mind when applying building science.
Boundaries and Boundary Criteria Many believe that a
building system ends at the outer surface of its enclosure,
in some cases at the property line. In reality the building
system extends to the outer reaches of what it impacts
and what impacts the building. Basement flooding due to
municipal sewer surcharge is an example of the buildings
plumbing system extending to the local municipal
infrastructure services.
Flows and Storage inhabitants, energy, water, sewage,
and data are examples of the flows and storage
characteristics of the building as a system. Occupant
behavior is among the most difficult flows to accurately
predict in energy models.
 Transformations Buildings age and they are modified
by their users, not always in a beneficial way. It is
desirable from a life cycle perspective to design buildings
that can adapt and adopt new technologies to improve
their performance and minimize functional obsolescence.
Spatial and Temporal Hierarchies Passive survivability
and safe/secure building design are premised on
achieving spatial and temporal resilience such that the
vital functions are maintained both in day-to-day
operations and under extreme conditions such as natural
and man-made disasters.
Feedback and Control Loops Buildings are prosthetic
extensions of the human body and as such rely on many
forms of cybernetics to control the indoor environment
and maintain safety and security.
Each of the above characteristics vary in
importance, depending on the type of building
being designed and its intended use. Building
science specialization is often needed to deal with
particular aspects of these characteristics (e.g.,
energy modeling, flood proofing, durability,
indoor air quality, blast resistance, etc.). But in all
cases, the fundamental understanding of how
these characteristics interact may be derived from
the building as a system model.
HISTORY
The idea of the building as a system springs from modern
systems theory and the application of building science
principles to building behavior and performance
20th century innovation became the means to achieve
new forms of architectural expression.
Building failures were analyzed and reviewed.
Indicated that traditional approaches to design were
inadequate.
This was due to inappropriate adaptations of successful
past precedents
Unknowingly narrow analysis at the building component
level for radical departures from technical norms.
The behavior of the whole system was not considered.
The building as a system approach requires
designers to explicitly and consciously consider the
interactions between the primary elements
comprising the system:
Building enclosure (building envelope system)
Inhabitants (humans, animals, and/or plants,
etc.)
Building services (electrical/mechanical systems)
Site, with its landscape and services infrastructure
External environment (weather and micro-
climate)
 A large number of materials, components,
equipment, and assemblies must be properly
integrated to achieve a high-performance
building.
Most performance problems involve the building
enclosure, which also represents the primary
passive environmental control system.
Recognizing that the physical forces affecting structural
integrity must always be adequately resolved, there
remain four primary physical mechanisms associated
with climate and weather that drive the behavior of the
building as a system in terms of its role as a moderator of
the indoor environment:
Heat flow the conductive, convective, and radiative
flow of heat
Air flow the air flow across and within the building
enclosure due to air leakage and ventilation
Moisture flow the flow of water and vapor across and
within the building enclosure
Solar Radiation the influence of insulation on the
opaque and transparent enclosure components
 All these physical mechanisms are occurring in
various combinations at various times.
During hot periods, heat and warm moist air are
driven into the building and the HVAC system
must cool and dehumidify.
Under all conditions, the building enclosure
must manage the heat, air, and moisture flows.
The occupants can exert as great an influence as
the climate through their activities.
A building may be fit for one occupancy, but
then experience problems when the occupancy
changes.
 Problems occur when the balance of moisture,
heat, and air flow is disturbed beyond the
performance thresholds of building as a system.
The key to the fitness of a building is the
balanced control of these physical mechanisms,
so that durability, comfort, energy efficiency,
indoor air quality, health, and safety are not
compromised.
BUILDING PERFORMANCE
Performance may be defined as the level of service
provided by a building material, component, or system, in
relation to an intended, or expected, threshold or quality.
For example, the structural performance of a building
may be judged in terms of its resistance to dead, live,
soil, wind, hydrostatic, and seismic loads as prescribed
by applicable codes.
Within the established threshold of these loadss, the
structure would be required to behave adequately
according to expectations, in terms of strength,
durability, deflections, and vibrations.
 When the intended or expected level of performance is not
achieved, the resultant behavior is termed a failure which
must not be confused with the term defect, a minor
damage or blemish which has no immediate or significant
impact on performance, and which may be suitably
repaired.
An important contribution of building science is the
quantification of performance parameters such that many
of these can be predicted at the design stage, and
assessed/confirmed after the building is occupied and
operational.
The preoccupation with prediction and validation has led
to the appreciation of the need for a systems approach, as
building scientists grapple with issues such as indoor air
quality and sustainable buildings.
 The significant thing to remember about
inadequate building performance is that it results
in the vast majority of litigation, and the
application of building science via the systems
approach is among the more effective preventive
measures against failures and defects.
It is also a highly useful diagnostic tool when
assessing the condition of existing buildings that
are candidates for restoration and retrofit.
In order to deploy the systems approach in the
design and assessment of buildings, it is first
necessary to establish a framework of performance
requirements.
Hierarchy of performance requirements derived from building science
principles.
 Building science is a necessary but insufficient
condition for great architecture.
Its pivotal supporting role cannot be
underestimated in importance.
The vast majority of litigation between parties to
construction projects involves the inadequate
performance f building elements that are
intended to provide firmness and commodity.
The concept of a building performance
framework is intended to explicitly represent:
 External and internal conditions affecting a
building system (e.g., climate, weather, site, soils,
occupancy, and indoor climate class)
Parts and inter-relationships comprising a building
system (e.g., the behavior of materials,
components, equipment and sub-systems)
Parameters or indicators defining acceptable
performance (e.g., aesthetics, health, safety,
economy, sustainability, etc.)
Methods, tools, and techniques for designing and
analyzing performance according to the
parameters, interrelationships and conditions cited
above.