Commissioning

Building Enclosure Commissioning

With the increased focus on sustainability and energy efficiency in building construction, the need for a quality-oriented process for designing and measuring building enclosure performance has become a key consideration. Commissioning is the formal process of defining performance goals and measuring a building’s ability to meet them. Although used for years to design and evaluate HVAC systems, the commissioning process was not formalized specifically for the building enclosure until relatively recently.

We’ve been commissioning building enclosures since well before it was called “commissioning.”

Here’s the thing: “commissioning” is just a new way of expressing an old idea – make sure everything works together. As building enclosure specialists, we work with owners and managers to establish performance goals, budgetary limitations, and scheduling requirements, and we develop and oversee the implementation of a design that meets those objectives. We’re up on the new lingo—from OPR and BOD to BECx—but we’re not new to the concept. Building enclosure commissioning is what we do every day.

Our services include:

• Acting as Building Enclosure Commissioning Authority (BECxA)
• Building Enclosure Specialist (BES) consulting
• Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) / Basis of Design (BOD) technical assistance
• Commissioning Plan design
• Pre-design-phase scope development
• Schematic design and document preparation
• Technical peer review
• Performance criteria calculations
• Site visits and field report preparation
• Systems manual development
• Building enclosure pre-construction evaluation
• Submittal review
• Performance testing facilitation and execution
• Maintenance manual development
• Commissioning report preparation

When it comes to the building enclosure, having someone who understands the terminology is good, but having someone who understands the interrelationships among facade, roof, window, curtain wall, flashing, waterproofing, structural, cladding, foundation, terrace, and plaza elements is even better. At Hoffmann Architects + Engineers, our building enclosure design goal is to meet your goals, whether for energy efficiency, moisture control, aesthetics, durability, sustainability, or all of the above. We’re here to walk you through the process, every step of the way.

Selected Building Enclosure Projects

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