You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover: Rethinking the Open Rainscreen for the Exterior Building Envelope

A building's exterior walls, the metaphorical book covers, are undergoing rapid reevaluation based on availability of improved manufactured materials, design and monitoring systems that evaluate performance. These valuable tools reduce wall energy transmission and eliminate moisture and water transmission, key in health and safety concerns surrounding mold. Recent construction technological advances and monitoring have altered how buildings are designed and how they perform. Technology ranging from Building Information Modeling (BIM), energy modeling software and improved building systems monitoring ensures meeting intended building use and understanding projected and actual system performance goals. By utilizing these technologies, complex exterior skins can be shaped, molded and customized. Tried and true enclosure systems are receiving increased recognition as they meet complex design challenges and requirements—such as the rainscreen enclosure system.