Americas

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada RetrofitCanadaGFRCBuilding scienceCommissioning

Unlocking value in a Brutalist box: whole-envelope thinking and commissioning at the Glenbow

Dale Wannamaker & Timothy Wong

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada Curtain wallArchitectureCanadaDesignVancouver

Ten façades, one question: how do you protect an idea all the way to completion?

Venelin Kokalov

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada Embodied carbonAluminiumCanadaSustainabilityVancouver

Sustainability from every angle: why chasing recycled content is a zero-sum game

Jordi Marasse

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada Fire safetyCanadaCladdingBuilding scienceCombustibility

Playing with fire: why fire safety has to shape the façade from the first sketch

Peter Senez, David Goyne, Claire Yuan, Graham Finch & James Johnson

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada CanadaVancouverMass timberBuilding sciencePanelization

A skin with no floor lines: layering a mass-timber façade to move like feathers

Brad Carmichael

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada Curtain wallCanadaSupply chainNet zeroFibreglass

Zero-tariff, net-zero: how a locally-made fibreglass façade de-risked the Red Deer courthouse

Peter Dushenski

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada ArchitectureCanadaVancouverMass timberIndigenous design

Making culture material: how Indigenous stories are being translated into façade and form

Avery Guthrie, Ouri Scott & Thomas Oster

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada CanadaSustainabilityBuilding scienceStep CodeEnergy

The 70% you decide before the energy model: why building shape governs façade performance

Ali Zadeh

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada Urban designArchitectureCanadaVancouverMass timber

Façades as urban catalysts: an architect’s view of the skin that shapes a city

James Cheng

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada CanadaDurabilityFenestrationBuilding scienceStep Code

Kicking the can: why fenestration durability has to be a day-one conversation

Anton VanDyk

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada Curtain wallArchitectureCanadaVancouverEngineering

Crafting intricate forms: engineering the twisting fins of Burrard Gateway Tower 2

Mahsa Adib

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada GlassMaterialsCanadaVisualizationRendering

A clear vision of the future: predicting how glass will really look, before it’s built

Ravneet Saini & Martin Durivage

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada GlassCanadaBiophilic designColourVancouver

Beyond transparency: how colour in glass can bring a building to life

Bryce Given

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada MaterialsAluminiumParametricComposite panelsCanada

From aerospace to façade: honeycomb panels and a World Cup stadium clad by algorithm

Mourad El Garci

ZWOF Vancouver 2026 Canada GlassCurved glassMaterialsFabricationCanada

Bending glass to shape: multi-curved architectural glass and a Zaha Hadid megaproject

Bob Zhang

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States USAPrototypingHistoric preservationTaliesin WestFabric roofs

Preserving Wright's experiment: redesigning Taliesin West's roof for another generation

John Anderson

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Embodied carbonAluminiumUSATraceabilityCircular design

Sustainable façades need more than recycled content

Jordi Marasse

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States USAColourResidential façadesGridSolar depth

Extreme consistency: making grid, depth and colour do the work at Ray Phoenix

Nicholas Hofstede

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Solar shadingDesign assistParametric designUSAView quality

Optimising shade without sacrificing the view

Chris O'Hara

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States USAPublic realmLow-rise façadesMaterial choicesPreconstruction

Low-rise façades are city-making decisions, not material selections

Diane Jacobs, Sin Hei Kwok, Peter W. Rutti & Cassie Saba

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Solar shadingDesign assistUSALife sciencesHealthcare façades

Critical envelopes, civic buildings: why life-science façades need whole-system thinking

John Meredith, Alex Korter, Xandon Keating, James Hatch & Joe Lisiewski II

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Solar controlUSAPublic realmHuman comfortPost-occupancy

Measure comfort, not just heat: putting the human condition back into façade performance

Rachel Green Rasmussen

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States USADurabilityPowder coatingFEVELifecycle cost

Durability is a sustainability strategy: the lifecycle case for FEVE powder coatings

Donald Lawson

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Curved glassUSAQuality controlTempered glassOptical quality

Curved glass quality is an optical problem, not just a geometry problem

Bob Zhang

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States USAPublic realmPrefabricationTransit-oriented developmentDesert shade

Spend the façade budget on depth: Central Station as civic desert infrastructure

Steve Valev

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Solar controlUSAPublic realmAdaptive reuseDesert design

Beyond shade: designing desert façades as environmental infrastructure

Jay Silverberg & Martha DePlazaola Abbott

ZWOF Phoenix 2026 United States Air barriers2024 IECCBuilding enclosureAirtightness testingThermal bridging

Air leakage is a systems problem: designing now for 2024 IECC verification

Brian Davie

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Design assistFabricationConstructabilityPublic realmCanada

Design assist at the BMO Centre: a lantern that took a year to draw

Robert Clement

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Curtain wallCanadaProcurementSupply chainInsulating glass

Cold-climate net zero starts at the façade

Peter Dushenski

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Building physicsCanadaBuilding codesTestingAirtightness

Twenty-two milk jugs a minute: what the code lets a wall leak

Mira Saba

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada RetrofitCanadaDurabilityAcousticsBalcony glazing

Enclosing the balcony: twenty years between repairs, and 13 decibels

Mike Vanderveen

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Public realmCanadaComplex geometryCivic architectureMass timber

A velodrome made civic: straight timber, a twisted skin and no sloped insulation

Michael Henderson & Michael Dub

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada GRCEmbodied carbonRetrofitAdaptive reuseCanada

Fuzzy: how a 1975 bunker got a hand-sprayed skin and a front door

Kyle Auch

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada CanadaCladdingColourPlacemakingPublic architecture

Not a lobby, a lodge: a curved façade with only its horizontals curved

Kevin Bridgman & Tyler Hall

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada RetrofitAdaptive reuseCanadaBuilding scienceHeritage façades

Designating a building to keep it: Petro Fina and Calgary’s conversions

Joshua Taron, Christopher Zahaluk, David Leonard, Maxim Olshevsky & Steve Wirzba

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Embodied carbonAluminiumCanadaSustainabilityCircularity

A zero-sum game: why recycled aluminium is not the answer on its own

Jordi Marasse

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Embodied carbonBuilding envelopeQuality controlCanadaDurability

Not a façade system: the building’s primary environmental control

Jeff Ker

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada ConstructabilityQuality controlCanadaPrefabricationSupply chain

Mega panels: why prefabrication is arriving, and what moves off site with it

Christian Flores & Paul Carter

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Design assistMock-upsFaçade procurementDesign-buildCanada

Eight drawing sheets, then hundreds: procurement and the BMO Centre

Anine Eschberger Wortmann, Léo Lejeune, Kelly Coles & Joel Schwartz

ZWOF Calgary 2026 Canada Façade engineeringBuilding physicsGlassCanadaResilience

A fifth barrier: the enclosure as the last line against wildfire

Brian Hubbs

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Solar shadingUSAFaçade identityArchitectural narrativeLandscape integration

Façade pattern can carry performance and narrative

Yan Krymsky

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAMinimal glazingJumbo glassThermal comfortSliding systems

Minimal glazing depends on hidden engineering

Werner Jager

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAFire-rated glazingFaçade systemsSteel curtain wallsLow-carbon steel

Steel curtain walls balance slenderness and fire safety

Thomas Miller

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAAdaptive reuseHistoric preservationOffice conversionHousing

The envelope decides conversion potential

Olivier Sommerhalder, D. Rocky Rockefeller, Ken Bernstein & Jeffrey A. Caldwell

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAMaterial efficiencyArchitectural restraintPrecast façadesExposed structure

Restraint lets structure shape the façade

Olin McKenzie

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Fire safetyUSAWildfire resilienceMultifamily façadesRisk design

Wildfire resilience starts at the façade

Nathan Wittasek, Nathan Bishop, Tom Silva & Colin Mangham

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Façade engineeringThermal bridgingUSAStainless steelRainscreen attachments

Rainscreen performance starts behind the cladding

Natasha Appel

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USADurabilityStone claddingRainscreenLarge-format panels

Large-format stone changes the façade assembly

Mark Matusow

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAQuality assuranceFaçade testingEnclosure consultingDetailing

Reliable façades depend on verification

Joseph Schettino

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Solar shadingCurtain wallHigh-rise façadesUSAOffice design

Orientation makes transparency work at Century City Center

John Gralewski & Todd Thongeiam

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USANatural ventilationDaylightingTransit façadesClimate resilience

Selective enclosure lowers transit energy demand

Isabelle Paparo & Maya White-Turre

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAFaçade performanceWhole-life carbonResiliencePeak loads

Whole-life thinking reframes façade performance

Gijs Libourel

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Embodied carbonCurtain wallUSAStructural siliconeGlazing systems

Structural silicone can reduce façade metal

Frank Zhong

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States USAMixed-use façadesIndoor-outdoor designNatural ventilationLos Angeles

Habitat turns the façade into landscape

Dana Getman

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Curved glassUSAQuality controlGlass fabricationFaçade geometry

Curved glass needs one controlled process

Bob Zhang

ZWOF Los Angeles 2026 United States Embodied carbonUSATerracottaMaterial innovationRainscreen

Terracotta moves beyond decorative cladding

Andrew Pries

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCFaçade geometryGlazingSolar reflectivity

Designing out dangerous solar reflections

Vicente Montes

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAAdaptive reuseWashington DCDurabilitySustainable façades

Sustainable façades start with long service

Robert Miller

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCHistoric preservationStone conservationTemporary works

Modernising heritage without erasing it

Rence Gill, Johann Mordhorst, Amanda Edwards & Morgan Reynolds

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCPrefabricationPanelised façadesFRP composites

Prefabrication turns façade design into production

Reginald Truxon, Dean Mouritzen & Andy Loff

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCCavity barriersCurtain wall fire safetyPerimeter containment

Curtain-wall fire safety needs continuity

Peter Schmitt

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCStainless steelRainscreen attachmentsThermal bridges

Stainless steel strengthens rainscreen performance

Natasha Appel

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States Embodied carbonUSAWashington DCLaboratory façadesExternal shading

A laboratory façade tuned to climate

Michelle Lee & Roman Schieber

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAAdaptive reuseWashington DCLife science façadesLaboratories

Healthy laboratories need differentiated envelopes

Matt O'Malley, John Barbara, Tyler Grimshaw & Daniel Lucenti

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States Computational designUSAWashington DCGRC panelsPanelisation

Computational design rationalises complex GRC

Deniz E. Arslan & Timothy Logan

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States Curtain wallUSAWashington DCUltracompact stoneMaterial lifecycle

Stone façades through a lifecycle lens

Dean White

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCFire testingNFPA 285ASTM E2307

Fire testing has to assess assemblies

Daniel A. Martin

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States USAWashington DCHistoric preservationMuseum façadesDaylight control

Preserving an icon through envelope renewal

Colin MacKillop

ZWOF Washington DC 2026 United States Building enclosureUSAOffice-to-residentialAdaptive reuseCondition assessment

Conversion feasibility starts at the enclosure

Amanda Stacy

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Curtain wallQuality controlCanadaPrefabricationStainless steel

Hand-bent, 7,500 times: the stainless façade at Forma

Kamilah Bannister, Abel Gill, Dan Francis & Richard Orser

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada MaterialsCanadaDurabilityCircularityStainless steel

Chromium, chlorine and a linen finish: specifying stainless

Jörn Teipel

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada HeritageCurtain wallThermal bridgingAdaptive reuseCanada

Where the catalogue stops: thermal bridging at 950 King West

David Wach

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Embodied carbonCurtain wallCanadaAir tightnessPrecast concrete

A carbon budget for the envelope: 80 kilos, and what survives it

Andrew Geldard & Jelena Madzarevic

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Curtain wallCanadaSteelPrefabricationCircularity

The grid outlives the glass: an argument against unitized

Eric Claeys

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada HeritageAdaptive reuseCanadaSteelCircularity

Keep the 1928 look, add the performance: Battersea’s steel windows

Robert Miller

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada DaylightCanadaMass timberNatural ventilationAcoustics

Nothing but stack effect: how Limberlost Place breathes

Krista Palen

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada HeritageCurtain wallCanadaPrefabricationPrecast concrete

Same window, different panel: the taper at Schwartz Reisman

Matthew Ferraro

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Embodied carbonCanadaAcousticsPrecast concreteAffordable housing

Thirty-six moulds down to six: the precast at Kennedy Green

Jennifer Mallard

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Embodied carbonCurtain wallCanadaCostSupply chain

Procurement is a design choice: the Red Deer Justice Centre

Peter Dushenski

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Embodied carbonMaterialsAluminiumCanadaCircularity

No bad materials: what actually decides which one you use

Adrian Betanzos

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada RetrofitCanadaDurabilityAcousticsBalconies

Wanted but never used: what glazing does to a balcony

Kristoph Karbach

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada DaylightGlassCanadaWellbeingHealthcare

Ten minutes of nature: what biophilia asks of the glass

Matias Reyes

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada Curtain wallAluminiumDigital twinsCanadaPrefabrication

Four inches instead of five: settling 89 Avenue Yorkville in VR

Tobiasz Staszak

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada High-riseFaçade engineeringCurtain wallCanadaCost

Fifty to eight hundred: choosing a façade before you draw it

Brian Hubbs & David Stanton

ZWOF Toronto 2025 Canada DaylightWorkplaceCanadaMetal panelConstruction tolerances

Not a box: Bombardier’s Pearson plant as a workplace for 2,000

Lilia Koleva & Marco Chow

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Embodied carbonUSARetrofitInsulating glassEnergy codes

Less is more insulating: the case for vacuum insulated glass

Justin D’Alessandro

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USAUltracompact stoneVentilated façadesRainscreenSintered stone

Pressed and fired: the case for ultracompact stone on the façade

Dean White

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USAAdaptive reuseHistoric preservationMasonry restorationArt deco

A century, matched: restoring the Waldorf Astoria's envelope

Frank Mahan, Jonathan Taylor, Kevin Kim & Victoria Ponce de Leon

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Embodied carbonUSAMass timberCircularityCultural buildings

Timber, weathering steel and a spirit of place: the Springsteen archive

Zach Craun

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curtain wallUSAWindowsEnergy codesThermal performance

Slowing the heat: how a window's thermal performance is measured and won

Gary Tongco

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Façade engineeringDesign assistUSAConstructabilityGFRC

Skin-deep efficiency: rationalising three façades for the fabricator

Manan Raval & Jun Schick Lee

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USAStructural glassAdaptive reuseGlass fabricationNatural ventilation

Poetic intent, physical reality: a life in structural glass

Hugh Dutton

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curtain wallUSAPhotovoltaic façadesEnergy generationNFPA 285

262 Fifth Avenue: wrapping a tower core in photovoltaic glass

Diego Cuevas, Carmelo Guido Galante, Leo Henke & Yan Torres

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curtain wallUSAFire-rated glazingLife safetyBallistic glazing

Rated, but you'd never know: steel fire and security systems evolved

Ben Haigh

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curved glassUSAGlass fabricationFaçade geometryTempered glass

From flat to fantastic: free-form tempered glass without a mould

Derek Losi

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USADaylightingGlare controlFritLouvers

Layers of light: how façades shape daylight for people

Lee Brandt, Christopher Steffens, Jennifer Sage & Miguel Angel Maldonado

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USALaminated glassInterlayersGlazingResilience

Holding back the water, transparently: laminated glass for flood control

Alberto Alarcon

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USAAdaptive reuseTerracottaHistoric preservationBrick

Lace and turrets: two contemporary façades in historic New York

David Kubik & Todd Poisson

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Thermal bridgingUSAStainless steelBrickMasonry support

Holding up the brick: a stainless approach to masonry support

Sean Og Coyle

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Embodied carbonUSATerracottaMaterial innovationCircularity

Load-bearing again: reinventing terra cotta for the low-carbon façade

Andrew Pries

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Embodied carbonCurtain wallUSASteel façadesFaçade systems

Steel over aluminium: the case for a hybrid curtain wall

Eric Claeys

ZWOF New York 2025 United States High-riseCurtain wallUSAFaçade expressionNatural ventilation

Making the curtain wall breathe: hiding, and showing, the window

Hugh Trumbull

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USADesign technologyDaylightingGame enginesPerformance simulation

From renderings to real time: running façade decisions through a game engine

John Ivanoff

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Façade engineeringUSAHistoric preservationLimestone rainscreenMuseums

Made to look load-bearing: the Frick's limestone expansion

Paul Granger & Tali Mejicovsky

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curtain wallFabricationUSAVirtual realityWindows

89 Avenue Yorkville: deciding the façade before it is built

Tobiasz Staszak

ZWOF New York 2025 United States USAConstruction outlookLocal Law 11InfrastructureWorkforce

A $219 billion cycle: where New York’s façade work comes from

Carlo A. Scissura

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curtain wallUSAQuality controlCladdingTesting

A ceramic look in cast concrete: the GFRC façade at 600 West 125th

Joseph Madaghiele & Melissa Wong

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Embodied carbonUSAPhotovoltaic façadesEnergy generationPolicy

Beyond the envelope: façades that generate power, and policy

Luis Palacio

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Curtain wallCurved glassUSACeramic fritAnti-reflective glass

From wind tunnel to window: automotive parallels in a façade

Jamison Guest & Nathan McRae

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Artificial intelligenceComputational designDigital twinsEnergy modellingAutomation

From concept to operation: AI's place in the built environment

Alfonso Oliva, Dan Reynolds, Veronica Quintero, Andres Roncal & Emir Pekdemir

ZWOF New York 2025 United States Office buildingsCurtain wallEnergy performanceDesign assistWorkplace

Buildings for people: rethinking the office tower at 70 Hudson Yards

Hagen Scutt, Rok Lee, Michael Lin, Breen Mahony & Andrew Black

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilAdensamento urbanoFachadas ativasVento pedonalPlano Diretor de São Paulo

O adensamento muda a envoltória na escala da rua

Alexandre Daud, Marcelo Ignatios, Marcelo Nudel & Rubens Czeresnia Taragona

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilProjeto de fachadasBranding arquitetônicoIdentidade do edifícioMateriais compósitos

Branding arquitetônico dura quando desempenho e identidade se alinham

Saulo Suassuna Filho

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil Engenharia de fachadasBrazilOtimização geométricaProjeto paramétricoVidro curvo

Otimização geométrica funciona quando a análise edita o projeto

Frederico Fontana

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilEdifícios de alto desempenhoProjeto passivoDesempenho de edifíciosZero energy

Alto desempenho é um processo, não uma estética

Guido Petinelli

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilSegundas pelesCobogósSombreamento solarProjeto ambiental

A segunda pele volta como ferramenta climática

Mariana Simas, Rafael Lazzarini, Claudia Araujo & Marcella Carone

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilRetrofit de fachadasReaproveitamento adaptativoLuz naturalFachadas leves

Reaproveitamento adaptativo dá nova lógica de fachada a estruturas existentes

José Luiz Lemos

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilCarbono incorporadoColagem estruturalSelantes de siliconeSustentabilidade de fachadas

Silicone carbono neutro muda a equação de carbono da fachada

Emir Debastiani

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilRetrofit de fachadasRenovação de edifíciosVida útilReaproveitamento

Retrofit de fachadas começa pelo diagnóstico, não pela substituição

Crescêncio Petrucci

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil Steel façadesFaçade fabricationBrazilHigh-span façadesCable façades

High-span façades need a structural language of their own

Leo Liu

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil InterlayersBrazilVidro laminadoSegurança do vidroDurabilidade de fachadas

O desempenho do vidro laminado depende do sistema completo

Marcos Aceti

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilControle solarProjeto de fachadasExperiência urbanaInovação em materiais

Fachadas conectam contexto, desempenho e valor

Douglas Tolaine

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil BrazilConsultoria de fachadasIndustrializaçãoControle solarEnsaios de fachada

Consultoria de fachadas transforma complexidade em sistemas executáveis

Igor Alvim

ZWOF São Paulo 2025 Brazil Senna TowerFachadas de edifícios altosEngenharia de ventoEngenharia de fachadasBrazil

Senna Tower: transformando a jornada do herói em uma envoltória superalta

Stéphane Domeneghini