Award

TcLip system from Engineered Assemblies J UNE 2015 | 15 Another tool that is helping guide design decisions is the roofing practices manual from the Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia (RCABC) – an online resource, open for anyone to access and use. The B.C. association gets calls from people across the country who use it, says Rob Harris, technical manager at RCABC. Now, besides increasing the number of presenta- tions to architects and doing more lunch-and-learn events, RCABC is adding improvements to its online manual. Much of the resources had until now relied mostly on traditional line drawings, but these are being replaced or upgraded with 3D full colour rep- resentations that can be rotated. "We're also finding ways to put in more of the critical dimensions, so we'll be able to show what we mean a little better. The whole point is to make it easier to understand," Harris says. The manual, like the roofing industry itself of late, has come a long way. "At one time it had four sections and focused on tar and gravel roofs. Now, it has 11 sec- tions and covers the whole gamut of roofing. Tar and gravel today is being replaced with types of roofing like two-ply SBS modified bitumen, TPO or EPDM or PVC," Harris says. The issue of stronger gales and wind uplift comes up again and again and is likely to play a role in prod- uct design and building codes for some time. Building Products of Canada recently introduced an improved Weather-Tite shingle with two sealant bands. "You have the standard adhesive, but we have added a second one. It can be used for any sloped roof," says Gilles Landry, director of roofing products at Building Products of Canada. Earlier this year, the company introduced a new shingle called Accu-Ridge for finishing a roofing proj- ect. The new product includes a modified asphalt that makes the shingle more flexible. "It also gives it more granule retention. Granules protect asphalt from UV degradation," Landry says. From an energy and efficiency standpoint, both roofing and cladding systems have improved signifi- cantly since industry came to recognize the magnitude of heat loss caused by thermal bridging. Some prov- inces are tightening codes to foster fuel efficiency and cut waste. B.C. legislated the use of less glass, for example, notes Blair Davies, VP and general manager at Engineered Assemblies. "Now, we're getting effective R-values of 20-plus, compared to nominal values of 12 to 15 in the past. That could be about a 100 per cent improvement over 10 to 15 years ago," he says. The company's TcLip, which enables a thermally-broken facade substructure, has no doubt played a role here. Another trend that Davies points to is the increased complexity of building design these days. The recently opened Physical Activity and Wellness (PAW) Centre at the University of Alberta is anything but a clone of your typical box-like tower. Instead, the inverted cone structure is one of startling grace, whose aspect seems to owe something to both traditional ocean liners and the latest space vehicle. Facade systems help make such designs possible to execute. "It would have been a crazy thing to do if you didn't have modern cladding systems. It's not just square boxes and cladding any- more," Davies says. Ceramics, like porcelain, are becoming more pop- ular. Besides their versatility and the suitability of many of today's ceramic systems for more innovative designs, Davies notes some of their other desirable attributes. "Porcelain is inert, and colours last forever. Porcelain does not absorb moisture and expands and contracts much less than anything else, so it makes engineering straightforward. Finishes and colours for it are limitless. People are looking at it, also, because Roofing/Cladding Materials PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY ENGINEERED ASSEMBLIES

• Cover