Architectural Continuing Ed

I think it's a wise law that architects (and most other professions) have to take continuing education classes in order to maintain their licenses - technology, laws, codes, environmental and other issues just keep changing so much and so fast that it's salmon-swimming-upstream-time to try to keep up.

This week's lunch seminar was on rain screen systems, hosted by Abet Laminate, an Italian company that makes phenolic panels.  Translation?  A rain screen is a sort of outer face that interrupts driving rain and "skins" a building, but is not the ultimate water-proof layer... it's similar to tents with a separate rain fly.  Air movement between the layers helps handle rain penetration, water vapor movement and condensation, and can shade the interior from solar heat gain.

image of U.S. Army tent in Iraq (with rain-fly roof) courtesy of wikipedia

Phenolic panels are essentially the big brother to the plastic laminate sheets used as kitchen counters - much thicker and stronger and just as hospitable to color and pattern.

image of rain screen building with phenolic panels courtesy of Abet Laminate

It's kind of fun to see the same principals being used in this rain-screen building - so much more colorfully!