ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at architecture through a somewhat narrower, atypical lens, a lens that focuses on thermal performance and building integrity, because these seem to be less often discussed in our discipline. They are, however, parameters that contribute a great deal to the true lasting power of a built work. The chapter comments on seven projects in North America and Europe to which author have travelled in my roles as instructor and researcher, followed by a more in-depth review of two projects closer to home: one of my own, and one by a colleague. It introduces a series of projects to illustrate occasions in which these less-considered aspects of performance were either at odds with formal and aesthetic design concerns, or designed to work along with them. The chapter begins with works that have visited with author's students as part of studio courses, or as part of independent travel associated with my research on vegetated roofs and "sustainable" architecture.
