Key Factors for Enclosure Resilience: Heat, UV, Water, and Air Performance
Designing Beyond Code for Building Resiliency and Durability
Sponsored by Air Barrier Association of America | Presented by Benjamin Meyer and Andrea Wagner Watts
Live Webinar Airing on December 9, 2025 at 01:00 PM ET
In an era of increasingly severe storms, building resilience is paramount. This presentation explores how robust whole-building air barrier assemblies create a resilient shield against extreme environmental stresses. We will delve into designing high-performance building envelopes, integrating resilience through evolving code standards, and comparing past practices to future advancements.
The session will also examine various roof and wall assemblies, supported by lab tests and real-world data. Finally, we'll cover essential quality assurance protocols, including building enclosure commissioning and whole building airtightness testing, to ensure your designs perform as intended.
Photo courtesy of Siplast
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Benjamin Meyer is the Building Enclosure Business Director with Siplast. Previous experience includes: enclosure consultant principal, technical management for enclosure products, architecture, real-estate development and construction management. He serves as a past Member of the LEED Technical Committee, Chair of the ASHRAE 90.1 Envelope Committee, and a Director of ABAA. |
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Andrea Wagner Watts is the Building Science Education Manager for GAF | Siplast Building & Roofing Science, engaging with industry professionals to provide guidance, technical support and education for roof and wall assemblies. With more than 15 years of experience in the industry, Andrea strives to improve the overall performance of the building enclosures through application innovation, product development and building science research. Andrea has published on building science, assembly interfaces, durability and resilience and holds multiple patents. She serves as an executive board member of ABAA, is the co-chair of their Technical Committee and chairs the ASTM E06 and D08 Task Groups on air barriers assemblies. |
The Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) is a national, not-for-profit trade association comprising a broad cross section of stakeholders in the building enclosure industry. Their membership, which is over 650 member companies, includes manufacturers, architects, engineers, trade contractors, researchers, testing & audit agencies, consultants and building owners. ABAA is the national voice of the air barrier industry and the number one resource for anything to do with air and moisture barriers.
Originally published in Building Enclosure
Originally published in November 2025
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Distinguish between baseline code requirements and advanced performance criteria that enhance building resilience against heat, UV, water, and air exposure.
- Identify and specify innovative air barrier materials and installation techniques designed to endure evolving environmental stresses and future-proof building enclosures.
- Develop a high-performance roof assembly that addresses intensified weather patterns and integrates resistance to heat, UV, water, and air challenges.
- Evaluate advanced air barrier properties for walls that go beyond standard code references, contributing to improved durability and resilience of building enclosures.
