Importance of the Building Enclosure in Meeting Sustainable Building-Performance Goals

Building enclosures are often underappreciated for their role in meeting building-performance goals. The design and quality of building-closure construction have a direct effect on occupant satisfaction, occupant productivity, energy efficiency, and low-maintenance-cost goals. The measure of how sustainable or green a specific building is depends on its performance from people, planet, and profit perspectives over its lifetime. Achieving these performance goals requires a collaborative effort. Holistic Commissioning® that begins during predesign of a new facility (or a major refurbishment) is one way of helping to ensure that the goals established by the owner are met.

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