We solve building envelope problems.
Roof leaks, window leaks, cracked masonry, peeling paint, roof blow off – all of these building envelope failures often result in significant inconvenience and financial impact. We focus on quickly diagnosing the root cause of the problem and recommending practical, durable solutions.Read more Building Envelope Investigations
Old buildings have stories to tell. They are also often able to provide useful service for decades to come, at a lower cost than replacing them with new structures. We specialize in restoration of deteriorated building envelopes to extend the useful life of existing buildings.Read more Building Envelope Restoration and Repair
We know that architects are busy and have a whole lot to worry about. We can take the load off when it comes to building envelope design. We focus on the challenging details: those transitions and coordination nightmares that are often the source of problems down the road.Read more Building Envelope Design Consulting
As we roll into spring our WuXi Biologics project in Worcester is beginning to take its final form.
The fenestration and finish cladding are in progress and we continue to make regular site visits. We’re looking ahead to assisting with some QA/QC testing of various envelope assemblies over the next several months.
At CopelandBEC we’re big proponents of leveraging technology to improve our work, including improving flexibility and work-life balance for our team. Often that means we we’re connecting online via services like Slack Huddles or Google Meet conferences. Our team is empowered to work at whatever time and place is most effective to accomplish our goals.
Sometimes that still means meeting in person. Our sunlit industrial loft-style office in central Mass. is perfect for the kind of collaboration and connection that is best achieved face to face.
As you can see we’re not dogmatic about analog vs. digital media… as with most things the answer is “both/and” not “either/or”—we use whatever works best (and that can vary from person to person).
Read more about our approach to our work.
Designing commercial low-slope roofing to resist the forces imposed by wind is critical to the roof’s longevity. This is especially true in regions frequently impacted by high wind weather events.
The building code lays out the requirements for roof wind design. The short-and-simple version is this:
While AI development has been going on for decades, it’s burst into the mainstream over the last several months. Between ChatGPT, DALL-E 2, Bing and others, consumer-facing AI tools are becoming increasingly more common—and more powerful.
I’ve been following these developments closely, especially as they relate to the firm’s goals to solve building envelope problems efficiently and effectively for our clients. If you want to read more about AI and technology applications in architecture, engineering, and construction—and keep up to date on this fast-changing field—check out my newsletter The AEC Matrix.
Last week I had the privilege of presenting at the 43rd annual Capital District Engineer’s Week. I talked about building science first principles that anyone can use to help solve their own building envelope problems, and shared a bunch of freely-available resources.
National Engineers Week was created in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers and coincided with President’s Day. This is no coincidence, since George Washington, the 1st President of the United States was a land surveyor and engineer.
Much of what I discussed is shared right here on our site at copelandbec.com/self-help.