The Principles of Exterior Wall Systems

To assist designers and clients alike in understanding, investigating, and detailing wall systems, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects has created a document known as the Principles of Exterior Wall Systems (PEWS). This assemblage of information highlights their main types of wall systems including rain screens, mass walls, curtain walls and other systems while consisting of graphic models, sections, and diagrams. In an effort to further enhance the PEWS document, an investigation of alternative material options provides additional consideration to provoke conversation and deliberation. This additional materials database documents a variety of different interior and exterior insulation types. Detailing the attributes of each product, measurements of each material’s thermal performance, cost, and embodied energy are compared in graphic form to allow the reader to quickly gather an evaluation of their characteristics. This research documents a methodology of databasing and selecting materials and products that can optimize the performance of a given wall system.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/research_based_design/1015/thumbnail.jp