Building Envelope

Photo by Andreas Lechtape, courtesy NBK Architectural Terracotta

The building envelope protects us from the elements, enables comfort, and ultimately allows us to be at home in our houses, to be productive at the office, to learn in school, or to heal in the hospital.

A building envelope—also commonly called a "building enclosure," should:

  • support comfort

  • manage moisture

  • not poison us or the planet

  • allow us to breathe clean air

When possible, it should do all this while using resources effectively—durably, energy-efficiently, and with low embodied impacts.

Here you’ll find strategies for envelope design and material selection that help balance all these demands and more.

Building Envelope

Deep Dives

Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.

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    Stories of designers and developers who overcame the challenges of building affordable housing that is also green, sustainable, and healthy.

  • The Secret Math Behind RMI’s New Headquarters

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    Designing for net-zero energy and carbon in the nation’s coldest climate is not just a physics problem. There’s also the chemistry.

Quick Takes

Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.

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Learning Resources

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Just For Fun

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