Editor’s Note

The papers and forum appearing in this issue of the Journal of Architectural Engineering once again illustrates the breadth of disciplines and topics that are a part of the architectural engineering academic and practitioner communities. An example of the diversity of topics covered in the June issue is a thought provoking discussion by Saliklis, Billington and Carmalt centering on the structural design of the thin shell concrete roof of the historic Philadelphia Skating Club designed by Anton Tedesko. Their study includes examination of original engineering drawings and calculations in an effort to create a greater understanding of the structural design of this important building and the concepts and ideas employed by one of the major figures in the design of structures in the 20th century.

Another set of papers in the issue is centered on discussions relative to the different aspects of mechanical systems and their impact on building occupants. The first paper in this area relates to fire safety and smoke evacuation in atria by Chow and Li. A second paper, authored by Firrantello and others relates to the simulation and modeling of localized, short-duration bioaerosol releases, and focuses on the development of a microbial risk assessment methodology. The third paper in this group prepared by Zhao and Jones, proposes a decision-support framework to assist the design of nonresidential buildings that function on natural ventilation. In addition, a diverse team of authors led by Suryabrata have contributed an excellent Practitioner’s Forum devoted to developing healthier housing types through CFD simulation studies on local residential structures in the Papua province in eastern Indonesia.

Rounding out the issue are two papers on experimental evaluation and investigation of different types of building wall construction. LaBoube and Findlay discuss the increasing industry interest in the use of cold-formed steel for structural framing by investigating the impact of gaps, including strength and aesthetic concerns, between wall studs and their metal tracks. In their paper, Aliaari and Memari present the results of an experimental study of the performance of a proposed in-fill wall fuse system as a means of reducing earthquake damage in framed buildings with in-fill walls.

The Editorial Board wishes to continue to encourage submissions by educators, researchers, and practitioners on all aspects of building design and construction, particularly those emphasizing integration of systems, new and emerging building construction methods and design technologies, building envelopes and roofing, educational forums, and historical perspectives of architectural engineering design.