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Introduction.
Building Enclosure Institute is a new scientific research laboratory devoted to
unbiased studies of physical characteristics of building systems, components
and materials that would provide results, objective training, and education
related to building enclosures to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.
The Building Enclosure Institute is an independent 501c3
nonprofit. We maintain a strict conflict of interest policy, and our
documentation is publicly available.
Topics
and Activities.
The new organization offers opportunities in two directions, representing the
two respective profiles:
1. Research and testing. The Institute will provide diagnostic services in your chosen cases and broadcast results of the
testing and research publicly.
2. Education and training. The Institute will develop tracks of education
addressing needs of your members , including but not limited
to address needs of the following groups:
a) ownership teams managing their construction projects and their building
enclosure commissioning teams,
b) damage-control contractor teams,
c) physical plant and maintenance departments of facilities,
d) architects.
A comparison of materials by their bench testing, or responding
to Q&A on building physics and technology, is just a glimpse of what kind
of assignments you can send to us.
Where to Start.
Email us your question or need. The typical questions include e.g.
comparison of materials and systems, necessary depth and configuration of
thermal and vapor-impermeable layers, etc. The typical education and training
request includes location, ranges of dates, topics, attendance, background,
availability of a room, duration, etc. Indicate whether the requesting
company is nonprofit.
Disclaimers:
1) We will reserve full discretion in choosing projects
submitted by the general public.
2) Non-disclosure of certain identifying information: the
circumstances of projects and all their identifying details will not be
disclosed to protect your and your company's interests as long as it would
not affect the quality and clarity of data and results.Otherwise,
we would reject the assignment.
3) The general public is our client, and our services and
their results will be made available to the general public on
nondiscriminatory basis. The results will be posted in the public domain for
the public benefit. The general public, including competitors, will be
welcome, as always, to attend and subscribe to education and training tracks.
Background.
The Institute will offer a more structured form for the activities that Kaz
engaged in over a recent two decades, by conducting research, publishing
representative results, and giving seminars, while giving them the
much-needed boost of energy and dedicating them to purely charitable
purposes. Originally this effort was justified by for-profit considerations,
primarily marketing. These activities ceased for several years, since we no
longer needed further marketing, nondisclosure agreements became broader and
more rigid, and we could no longer justify this effort economically. We even
stopped sending proposals to certain generally budget-starved job categories
altogether, missing some potentially interesting and representative projects.
During this time, general public needs went unfulfilled. The most typical
requests we kept hearing included: physical facade diagnostics and
investigation on a budget and staff training. Our intention is to fill that
niche.
BEC Miami - History.
Every now and then we receive questions about reactivation of BEC
Miami, which institution had a similar non-profit profile, except it more
actively engaged the community in real time with monthly meetings of its
members (affiliated architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers and
others with an interest in building enclosures, and always combined with
educational courses). Public benefits were quite broad: local pros used it to
get continuing education, salespeople used it for networking, and young
people used it for job searching, etc. Kaz funded BEC Miami in 2007 and
operated it for five years, but sadly no one volunteered to step into his
shoes when he no longer had the time. Consequently
he had to close it in 2012. We attempted to reactivate BEC Miami for
winters that Kaz spends in Miami, to no avail, Kaz would not only have to
donate his time on a rigid schedule (with little if any downtime) but also
supplement the costs of the room out of his own pocket. Therefore, this form
of activity was deemed untenable, and in consequence BEC Miami remained
closed. We did not keep our free AIA Education Provider status active, so AIA
National took our status away. When the BEC Miami closure was announced,
vultures circled the sky: Kaz successfully resisted demands and offers to
share the membership data and the email list, staying true to the promise he
gave to the members. The data probably became obsolete by now. As of this
writing, BEC Miami is dead and buried, and no other initiative filled that
niche in SE Florida. We regret this development, and remain hopeful that a
new leader will emerge so it can be resurrected.
Donations.
We ask for donations. Contributions are tax-deductible (individual
contribution deductibility limits may apply per IRS). Names of donors will be
prominently posted and broadcast in our materials.
Gallery of Donors.
In this space we will list our donors with indication of ranges of their
donations
Karol Kazmierczak -
over $10,000.00
Please donate to
support our effort! Every small amount helps!
Activities.
Please join us at the session called "Sweat Equity: Facade System
Considerations for Hot and Humid Climates" at University of Miami on
03/22/2019. Please, see the announcement at Facade
Tectonics website.
New series of articles
"Tips and Tricks of The Trade - Best Things in Life are Free"
reveals closely held secrets of the trade, worth thousands of dollars. See
the first articles on how to test facade materials' permeability
and air
tightness with a bubble gun.
New seminar/movie is in the
making "Kaz - Architectural Learnings of America to Make Benefit
Glorious Nation of Poland," that would reveal some absurdities of the
modern construction in the U.S., Borat style.
Also, that EIFS seminar that
Kaz promised a decade ago may be finalized this year (He worked with over two
hundred EIFS buildings, but it was two decades ago, so he hardly remembers
anymore.) Book your dates.
For the the movie project, we are looking for those who have interesting stories to tell, particularly those at the top of the industry, occupying different sectors ranging from R/D scientists to insurance adjusters. We would like to interview you, we also look for interesting buildings that may be used to demonstrate certain absurdities.
DVD Giveaway. We are giving
away the remaining old stock of DVDs with Kaz seminars. Supply is limited. No
learning units provided, nor any support of any kind, no warranties impressed
or implied, etc. you get it. Send us an email.
News.
IRS approved our application for 501(c)3 status! It went much smoother than
we thought, we were scared by horror stories of lengthy back-and-forth and
delays we heard and read about, nothing of this kind happened.
We are looking for
qualified individuals to help us in miscellaneous activities: website
development, bookkeeping, etc. Send us an email with your CV!
Reading Materials.
Below is the temporary gallery of documents we shared with the general
public:
Papers:
Typical South Florida Wall:
Ad-hoc testing of materials’ permeability (PDF)
Visual Air Barrier Testing (PDF)
Glass
Reuse (PDF)
Detail
Review (PDF)
Façade Tectonics (PDF)
There are several new
papers in the works, mostly targeted to DIYers:
·
Rooftop PV Mounts: Leaks, Other Issues and How
to Avoid Them
·
DIY High Albedo Roof
·
DIY Manual of Roof Condition Assessment: (separate parts will appear below, pending completion)
DIY Manual of Roof Condition Assessment (in progress), PART 1: Bituminous Roofs
·
DIY Sealant Guide
·
DIY Insulation Guide
·
DIY EIFS Guide
·
DIY Wildlife Protection
·
DIY Liquid Glass Waterproofing and Other Applications
·
DIY Window Replacement
·
DIY Exterior Door Replacement
·
Flood Manual - Continued
·
Field Guide to Tell Thermal Simulations Apart
·
DIY AC Modifications for Energy Savings and
Healthier Conditions
Some early teasers of
the above are posted on our Facebook Page!
We are looking for contributors! Do you have a relevant story that you want
to share?
Public Disclosures:
IRS Approval
Letter
2018 990 PF Tax
Return
2019 990 PF Tax
Return
2020 990 PF Tax
Return
Set Aside Statement
Brochures:
Facade Engineering University for Architects
-Seminars
Videos.
Our channel at YouTube.
Introduction video of our Facade Sky Tour series at YouTube.
Draft Trailer of Our Documentary Movie at YouTube.
Thermal Engineering Seminar at YouTube.
Links.
Our Facebook Page
Our channel at LinkedIn.
IRS Non-profit listing of our organization:
Blog
of Ben Krasnow. Interesting
applications of science and technology.
Donations.
Contact.
The best way to reach us is the email address info@b-e-i.org. Sadly,
our phone (646) 4000 0080 has been under siege of robocallers,
and therefore we no longer pick up the phone unless we see a familiar Caller
ID. Please leave a message or better send us an email.
Newsletter Subscriptions.
We cannot promise that we will keep you regularly updated, but could at least
try:
Either Subscribe or Unsubscribe. (If you are unsubscribing, please kindly verify that
you are unsubscribing the email address that received our newsletter, and not
any other email address. Roughly half of unsubscribe requests gave a wrong
email address.)
In Construction.
This page is a
preliminary, ad-hoc static website, intended to convey the message. We are
looking for a website designer to make it fancier, and more
reader-convenient.
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