ABSTRACT
The material contained here describes a context – historical and social – in which a nascent US building science operates. The thoughts are personal and are not intended to reflect policy at any level. The true context is too expansive to be captured in any presentation; therefore this presentation contains personal views. Those views are presented not as definitive, comprehensive or even consistent characterization of the state of building science in the US; rather, they are presented to provoke a widening of the discussion of building science. Several of the questions posed or suggested here, but certainly not answered, include: How can a science grow from non-science roots? How does building science maintain memory of its own accomplishments? What are the impediments to science in a tradition-bound industry? Can a mature relation be established with architects? Does the character of a people reflect itself in their building science? Where might we go from here?
