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AUGUST 2017 | 15 Building Envelope PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CPCI Hall agrees that building code upgrades through- out North America are placing special emphasis on energy and thermal performance; however, under- standing and meeting the requirements has also become increasingly complex for building designers. "At the same time, it has become clear that important decisions regarding basic enclosure assembly design and window area need to be made early in the design process to achieve the most cost-effective, energy effi- cient and comfortable building," he says. Fortunately, the new Precast Concrete Thermal Guide produced by RDH Building Science provides designers, builders and building owners with an introduction to compliance options for modern building codes, as well as suitable methods for quickly estimat- ing at an early design stage the thermal performance of precast concrete enclosure wall systems. "The guide demonstrates that there clearly are many ways for pre- cast concrete enclosure systems to deliver high levels of thermal performance, often more easily and more economically than other types of enclosure systems," says Hall, whose institute held half-day seminars across Canada to introduce the new guide earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, evolving codes and standards are affecting manufacturers – but this is not necessarily bad news. Jim McKay,B.C.-based national contracts manager for Armtec's Precast Concrete Solutions, says, "Implementation of the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings is impacting our business: insulation thickness is increasing in our precast con- crete sandwich panels as customers require increased energy efficiency in their buildings. However this can be easily accommodated with economical precast con- crete solutions." McKay goes on to note, "We are still in our launch year for the ARCIS ultra-thin precast panels, which we license through Altus Group. This solution provides all the benefits of precast concrete with a greatly reduced weight. We are seeing a lot of interest from customers who want a light rainscreen system with the durabil- ity and esthetics of precast concrete." The lightweight of the ARCIS panels also enables Armtec to expend its geographical market, as far north as Alaska. As for projects, Armtec in the west is involved in two significant concrete structures: the Mayfair Shopping Centre expansion and renovation project in Victoria, B.C. and the Ironworks project in Vancouver, B.C. Building Products of Canada Corp. is a typical exam- ple of a company that has developed an inventory of roofing, insulation and acoustic systems that, when used properly, meet the most stringent of energy sav- ing objectives. Building Products of Canada's insulating structural panels, made of natural wood fibre, provide bracing during the construction of the building and provide the assembly with an R-3 resistance per inch. Its composite panels are multi-layered specialty panels that fill a number of important elements of the wall cav- ity (such as insulation, air barrier and vapour barrier) in a single step, thus saving labour costs. The Barrel Yards Point Towers, Waterloo, ON Arricraft.indd 1 2017-05-15 11:09 AM

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