My 2 Favorite Things From ArchEx
If you follow my social media posts, you know what a great time I had at the Virginia AIA annual conference called ArchEx 2019. The theme was culture, and I attended many interesting sessions (follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram to see more details), but there were two main takeaways I wanted to share with you: The International Archive of Women in Architecture and the update on the 2018 Residential Code — mostly having to do with energy updates.
The IAWA had a table set up where they laid out some examples of *original works* which have been donated to the archive. I walked up and down the table with my camera:
How inspiring to see so many different types of works from many years ago until recently and from all over the world. I especially enjoyed seeing the different mediums — ink on mylar, pencil on paper, computer posters, even poetry.
At the Residential Code Update, I caught up on the latest requirements specific to energy code in residential design. I was reminded of the importance of a *conditioned crawlspace* in which you push return air from the home into the crawlspace to circulate moisture out of that space. This helps to keep your home warmer and healthy (less chance for mold to grow). Here is a great illustration (snapshots from the slides in session):
I also learned about the importance of keeping ducts inside the conditioned space of your home — either in a conditioned crawlspace or with the use of special trusses in the attic to get insulation over the ducts. Having our ducts inside our homes is similar to keeping your body inside a sweater — keeping the heat (or in the summer — cool) in the wrapper of our home. This is understandably much more energy efficient.
I knew requirements for insulation will be increasing (insulation values, or the measure of keeping the heat in our homes) overall for our homes, but I didn’t realize how strict the air-leakage requirement will be. Air leakage is the highest contributing factor to heat and energy loss in our homes. So, being sure to tighten up construction practices to seal those leaks — around windows and doors, up at the roof and sill plates, and even around electrical boxes is important to remember. This diagram will be my go-to reminder for this code update, coming to our area in a couple years:
I enjoyed my time at ArchEx 2019 as a reminder for two things so important to me: celebrating women in architecture and “nerding out” on details for better environmental design in our homes.
