This year's Summer Camp, officially the 18th Annual Westford Symposium on Building Science, was a corker. The combination of deep building science (for example, Osmosis and the Blistering of Liquid Applied Membranes), the awesome community of people from all around the world, and no shortage of food and drink make this the event of the year. I'm privileged to be part of it. Joe Lstiburek and Betsy Pettit graciously open their home to the gaggle; the food, beverages, music and community are spectacular.
For the 6th year running, a group of us gather in Joe and Betsy's conditioned crawlspace for the "twitterview": a crowdsourced philippic where both questions and answers aim for 140 characters or less. It is crowded, uncomfortable and stifling but the wine and cannoli's are stellar. Joe, who has never touched twitter but is a natural at pithy, short communications, amazes and sometimes shocks us with his responses. This year was no exception. As you'll see, some sacred cows get gored.
Thanks to all who contributed questions and especially to the live interviewers: Amanda Hatherly, Michael Anschel, Gavin Healy, Blake Reid, Steve Byers, Jeff Melvin, Allison Bailes, Matt Risinger and many others. There's an excellent twitter stream of the whole event at #bscamp.
For me personally, the big thematic takeaway was Joe's repeated emphasis on simplicity and elegance. Buildings with great envelopes are inherently easier to heat, cool and ventilate. As a result, the people in those buildings understand them, and are reconnected with the structures in which we spend most of our lives.
Q: Are we making progress?
Joe: We’re making huge progress. We’re close to resolving the big issues. Rationality and reasonableness are beginning to win. We’re doing less stupid stuff.
Q: Elaborate on that...
Joe: There is a backlash against complexity. The coming together of the architects and engineers is what will take us to the next level. The training of architects and engineers is leading to simplicity and elegance.
Q: In the past you called architects the boundary condition. Still the case?
Joe: Yes, but I’m also becoming very impressed with the architecture profession. They are willing to admit that they don’t know things and they’re reaching out. Things are going in the right direction.
Q: That’s a big change from the architect bashing of past summer camps.
Joe: We’ve got to stop dividing ourselves into camps. It is in the best interest of the architect, builder and owner to get something that works. It’s only about what works. Both architects and engineers have lost the essence, the practical side. But professions have undergone this cycle over the eons. We just need to reconnect and that change is underway.
Q: Anything more on the change you’re seeing in architects?
Joe: I’m tired of chasing the last btu for a bloody LEED point. We need to stop making architects the scapegoat for this idiocy.
Q: What is your biggest green building annoyance of 2014?
Joe: Anything that has the word green in it. Green is so overused it’s become meaningless.
Q: What else annoys you?
Joe: I believe a backlash is coming against people that are overreaching. Fear is is being used to manipulate our industry and society in general. We’re not stupid, and rationality is beginning to win.
Q: What are your thoughts on the current infatuation with minisplits?
Joe: I don’t like mini splits. They’re ugly and ineffective. They’re a passing fad.
Q: Wow. Really? That’s shattering a pretty big trend.
Joe: At some point, you’re going to have to move air in ducts. It’s only a question of how big and where. You have to move air around your building for contaminant control. If you’re good you don’t need to move it for thermal control. But there are going to be ducts. There is going to be mixing. Enclosures are getting phenomenally good.
Q: Where are you seeing innovation?
Joe: I continue to be amazed at passive house, and the fringe sustainability movement. I’m impressed at the technology. You can’t always model and calculate. You need to build, push, break and fix. I’m amazed at how much good stuff is coming from people who use this approach.
Q: While we’re on the topic of passive house, passiv or passive?
Joe: Passive! The germans need to stay in Germany.
Q: Meaning that you support a climate zone specific approach to passive house?
Joe: Yes.
Q: Is technology, particularly that coming from Silicon Valley, helping?
Joe: No. The technologists should go away. Some programmer in a Starbucks is the wrong person to be fixing things. Their solutions are too complicated. Mental masturbation is wasteful.
Q: Hal Levin suggested in his talk today that some of the technological advancements might be further separating us from understanding how our buildings work. Agree?
Joe: Simplicity and elegance are winning. We’re very close to having buildings so simple that everyone will know how they work.
Q: Are the ventilation wars over?
Joe: We had Pearl Harbor, but that’s behind us. Rational thought is prevailing. It’s pretty simple: sucking is stupid, blowing is better, balance is best.
Q: Goopy is this year’s term for things in a tube (caulks, foams, etc) and it was suggested by one of today’s speakers that goopy be kept to the outside. Do you agree?
Joe: The principal water and air control should be on the outside. Goopy to the outside reduces the risk of contaminants.
Q: What 3 things would you want every young architect and engineer to know?
Joe: Question authority, simplify, don’t do stupid things.
Q: Final thoughts?
Joe: It’s time for all of us to rise up and rebel and question authority. It’s fascinating and wonderful. We’re living in the best time of all.
Thanks again Joe and Betsy for having us. For those of you in the crawlspace, what did I miss?