Designers support the health and well-being for client projects Whether it’s where we live, or where we work, the spaces we occupy have a great impact on our lives. This month marked a milestone for our firm, with each of our Interior Designers achieving certification as Fitwel Ambassadors; aligning with the Center for Active Design’s mission of advancing design strategies to foster healthy and engaged communities. As Fitwel Ambassadors, Lacey Causseaux, Director of Interior Design; Katie Thompson, Interior Design Project….
Read MoreThe Health Impacts of Indoor Relative Humidity
Originally published on October 1, 2018 by BNP Media through the Building Enclosure Blog. In many parts of the U.S., homeowners with basements have to manage rising humidity levels for most of the cooling season. It is not uncommon for such individuals to have a dehumidifer running full-throttle in the basement from April through October. High indoor humidity levels has been associated with the growth of fungi, such as mold, among other irritants. The EPA suggests keeping indoor relative….
Read MoreJens Jensen in Indianapolis: The Restoration of Riverdale
The Riverdale Garden: Jens Jensen’s and the Sisters of Oldenburg Influence on Marian University’s Restored Landscape of Art Love of nature and the created order. I first became aware of Riverdale 12 years ago in 2006, when Vice President of Administration, Deb Lawrence, noticed that I had listed Jens Jensen’s small book “Siftings” as one of my favorite books in an Indianapolis Business Journal article. And so, she sent me a written note to seek my interest in the “befriending”….
Read MoreClarifying Energy Simulation Aided Design: A Look at ASHRAE Standard 209
Originally published on September 5, 2018 by BNP Media through the Building Enclosure Blog. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 209-2018, Energy Simulation Aided Design for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings is the product of a half-decade of inertia within the building design and construction community toward leveraging energy modeling a design tool through a project. Standard 209 outlines the minimum requirements for providing energy design assistance using building energy simulation and analysis. To this end, the standard defines a range of minimum criteria from energy modeling requirements,….
Read MoreBrowning Day’s Daniel Overbey Joins BSU in Unique Research Opportunity
Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf is proud to congratulate Daniel Overbey, AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, NCARB, for accepting a position to serve as an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning (CAP). Daniel will continue to lead Browning Day’s excellence in green building design initiatives. This opportunity supports Browning Day’s goal to continue to be thought leaders in sustainability through the unique combination of academics, applied research, and professional practice. Starting this fall, Daniel will….
Read MoreHow to Make Building Energy Models More Accurate
Originally published on August 13, 2018 by BNP Media through the Building Enclosure Blog. I’m asked regularly about the discrepancies between modeled and measured building performance. At first blush, one might suspect that the building energy model (BEM) itself contains bad information. That notion could very well be correct! BEM inputs require a certain level of synthesis, interpretation, and assumption. But there are many other reasons why the BEM results may vary significantly from measured performance outcomes on a completed project. In basic terms: Actual weather in….
Read MoreBeware of Galvanic Action (It’s a Thing)
Originally published on July 10, 2018 by BNP Media through the Building Enclosure Blog. The concept of “galvanic action” is confounding to many design professionals. In simple terms, galvanic action refers to the corrosive effect created when two electrochemically dissimilar metals are in direct contact with each other. Their contact creates a conductive path for electrons and ions to move from one metal to the other. As ions move from one metal to another, corrosion occurs. The remedy is to….
Read MoreThe Psychrometric Chart Explained
Originally published on June 13, 2018 by BNP Media through the Building Enclosure Blog. It is one of the intimidating charts for any building design professional: the psychrometric chart. At first blush, the “psych chart” looks very complicated. There are layers of axes and curved reference lines. However, a closer examination will reveal that – at its essence – the chart is visually conveying the answers to two related questions: How much sensible (dry-bulb) heat is in the air? (See….
Read MoreDry-Bulb Temperature, Wet-Bulb Temperature and Enthalpy
Originally published on May 9, 2018 by BNP Media through the Building Enclosure Blog. There is energy in the air all around us. Some of it exists in the form of thermal energy that one can sense – heat in air that impacts one’s perception of thermal comfort. But there is also an energy embodied in the vapor present in the air. While this “hidden” heat is not experienced as warmth, it certainly has a bearing on thermal comfort as….
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Interior Design Leader Combats Poverty Housing Crisis by Joining Women Build
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In Monroe County, one in five people are living in poverty, the highest percentage in Indiana, according to a Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County statistic. In an effort to support the community she lives in, Lacey Causseaux, Browning Day’s Director of Interior Design, is trading in her laptop for a hard hat and joining the next Women Build. The Habitat for Humanity Women Build promotes the involvement of women in the construction of Habitat houses. The….
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