2013 Annual Report Now Available Online

The National Institute of Building Sciences presents its 2013 Annual Report to the President of the United States. Each year, the Institute compiles an Annual Report, which provides an overview of what the Institute’s dedicated members, volunteers and staff have accomplished during the past year. Throughout the year, the Institute and its members helped to shape the built environment of America, using a balanced approach to address some of the most intriguing and perplexing problems facing our nation’s housing and building community. The 2013 Annual Report is available online for your consideration and review. Download the report for detailed information on of the 2013 activities.

Nominations Due July 18

The National Institute of Building Sciences is still accepting nominations for candidates to its Board of Directors, and submissions for potential Member Award and Honor Award recipients. However, there are only a few weeks left before the deadline. All forms are due in by Friday, July 18 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Don’t wait until the last minute. Nominate candidates now. Download the Board nomination form, Member Award form, Honor Award form.

Write a Paper for a Chance to Win $2,500

World Standards Day is celebrated annually around the world to increase the awareness of the role that standards play in the global economy. Each year, as part of the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day, SES – The Society for Standards Professionals holds a paper competition. The theme for 2014 is “Standards Level the Playing Field.”

Cash prizes will be awarded for up to three papers selected by a panel of judges. The first place winner will receive a plaque and $2,500. Second and third place winners will receive $1,000 and $500, respectively, along with a certificate. In addition, the winning papers will be published in SES’s journal, Standards Engineering. Paper competition winners will receive their awards during a banquet October 23 in Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day Planning Committee. This year, the National Institute of Building Sciences, a member of the committee, is serving as the Administrating Organization.

Consultative Council Seeks Industry Input on its Report to the President

The Institute’s Consultative Council is reaching out to building industry stakeholders to provide input for its 2014 Moving Forward report to the President of the United States. Each year, as required in its enabling legislation, the National Institute of Building Sciences submits an Annual Report to the President and Congress. In that report, the Consultative Council includes the report, Moving Forward: Findings and Recommendations from the Consultative Council, which addresses current issues and opportunities before the building industry. In past years, those recommendations have come solely from Consultative Council member organizations. In the interest of capturing the widest possible spectrum of issues and ideas for the 2014 report, the Council is soliciting input from the industry at large. Read more.

President of FLASH to Present Second Webinar in MMC’s Series
Series Addresses Pressing Aspects of Hazards Mitigation

The Institute’s Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) announces its second webinar in its new webinar series on mitigation. "Better Building Codes: Demanding Minimum Construction Practices—It’s the Least We Can Do!” presented by Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President and CEO of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), will be held Thursday, July 24, 2014, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EDT. Through the series, the MMC serves to address social considerations, governance (including building codes and zoning ordinances), the built environment, hazard and risk assessment and economics. Find out about the webinar.

Annual Hazus User Conference Scheduled for August 4-6

The Central Hazus User Group will host the 7th Annual Hazus User Group Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, August 4-6, 2014. This year’s theme is “Translating Risk Assessment into Resilience and Policy.” Hazus is a nationally applicable standardized methodology that contains models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes and was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Institute of Building Sciences. Hazus uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to estimate physical, economic and social impacts of disasters. Registration is free. Reserve your ticket now.

AIA Michigan Honors Chair of BEC Detroit Chapter

The American Institute of Architects Michigan has presented Andrew Dunlap, AIA, CDT, NCARB, LEED AP, with the Young Architect of the Year Award. The Young Architect Award is given to architects under 40 years of age in recognition of proficiency and exceptional accomplishment and who have made significant contributions to the profession in an early stage of their careers. A founding member of the Building Enclosure Council (BEC) Detroit Chapter, who currently serves as its chairman, Dunlap, is also the principal and building enclosure specialist at SmithGroupJJR’s Detroit center. Read the AIA Michigan release.

BEST4 Conference: The BEST Place to Reach Building Enclosure Experts and Decision Makers

By popular demand, the fourth Building Enclosure Science and Technology (BEST4) Conference will feature its traditional, on-site exhibition of the latest building enclosure products and services available. Sponsors and exhibitors have the BEST opportunity to discuss their high-performance building enclosure research and products with industry leaders and decision makers during the 3-day event. The BEST4 Conference and Expo, to be held April 13-15, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo., will present attendees with the latest in building envelope commissioning, NFPA 285 fire performance testing, net-zero energy design and other related topics. Select from the many available sponsorships and exhibit spaces and have your products featured. The expected audience of 300-400 attendees will be there to gain insight from leading practitioners, researchers and educators and see advancements in energy-efficiency and sustainability. Reserve your spot today. Download the prospectus. View the preliminary program schedule.

Beyond Green™ Award Winner Subject of New Book

One of the winners of the Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building Awards is now highlighted in a new book. In 2011, the Bertschi School Living Science Building received the Beyond Green™ Award of Merit for Distinction in a Sustainable Addition for Category A: High Performance Buildings from the Institute’s Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC). The new publication, Living Building Education: The Evolution of Bertschi School’s Science Wing, written by Chris Hellstern, designer, co-project manager and construction contract administrator for the Bertschi project, tells the story of the school’s journey. The back cover includes a quote from the Institute’s own Ryan Colker, who serves as the program director for SBIC. See the book.

Institute, DOE Convene Meeting on Zero Energy Buildings

The National Institute of Building Sciences, in collaboration with the U. S. Department of Energy, is spearheading an effort to develop national definitions and metrics for zero energy and zero energy ready buildings. To share efforts to date, gather input and discuss the development and adoption of a common definition for Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB), the Institute’s High Performance Building Council held a workshop on June 17 in Washington, D.C. Representatives of more than 25 organizations that have a leadership role in the creation of more efficient buildings that consume less energy participated and provided their input as part of the process towards establishing a common definition of “zero/net-zero/zero-net energy buildings.” Goals for the project; perspectives of government and private sector owners and industry advocacy organizations; research findings; and proposed definitions and frameworks were shared and discussed. The group reviewed the draft work to-date and came to the general consensus that common definitions would be beneficial. Follow-up from the workshop will be shared with participants as work toward common ZEB definitions and guidelines for measurement continues. For more information, contact Roger Grant.

Preliminary Results of Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey Now Available

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has posted the preliminary results from its Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). Here are some highlights: U.S. commercial buildings totaled 5.6 million with 87.4 billion square feet of floorspace in 2012, up 14% and 22%, respectively, from 2003. Lodging, education and healthcare are the largest buildings on average. The highest percent of growth was in vacant buildings and other types of buildings, such as airplane hangars, laboratories, and data centers. The average size of buildings constructed between 1960 and 1999 was 16,300 square feet, and buildings constructed since 2000 averaged 19,100 square feet. Buildings over 100,000 square feet make up only about 2% of total buildings, but account for about 35% of total floorspace. The South had the largest share, about 40%, of both total buildings and floorspace; the Midwest and West regions each accounted for more than 20%. View the full report.

To 3D and Beyond…Read the June Edition of JNIBS

Check out the latest issue of the Journal of the National Institute of Building Sciences (JNIBS), which focuses on building information modeling (BIM). With the theme “To 3D and Beyond … The Infinite Possibilities with BIM,” four feature articles in this June JNIBS edition will help you expand your knowledge on BIG (Open) BIM approaches to design; how BIM (in concert with Lean processes) can optimize energy modeling; the capabilities of Industry Foundation Classes on process-driven workflows; and the use of the Level of Development framework in categorizing detail into a BIM. A series of shorter articles from professionals in Australia, the Government of the United Kingdom, Korea and the Netherlands offer global perspectives on BIM.