During this episode of the BS* + Beer show we learn about the Kansas City BS* + Beer Chapter’s 2nd Annual Wall Assembly Design Competition, dubbed #WallAssemblySweet16. Guests include Connor Malloy, Joe Cook—both founders of the competition—and Christine Williamson, who is one of the judges. They talk about the inaugural competition for professional builders and architects, and the 2020 winning submissions by Ben Bogie and Jake Bruton. The competition has been revised in 2021 to promote student work and ideas.

With the competition open to any skilled trade or architectural student in North America, there is a heated debate about how to judge assemblies from different climate zones—from 3C in southern California to 6A in northern Ontario. Christine, Mike, and Ben—judges in this year’s wall assembly competition—discuss the six evaluation criteria created for the submissions. They include Performance, Buildability, Durability, Embodied Carbon, Cost, and End of Life (renovation potential).

Embodied carbon is the hot topic of the show. All share their opinion on whether this metric is as important as performance, durability, and cost. Despite the judges’ different takes on the evaluation criteria, they all agree the building community needs to champion students to address the growing need for professionals in the industry. This competition is just the start. And you can expect it to be back again next year.

Judging is currently underway to determine the 2021 semi-final winners. Fine Homebuilding will host the BS* + Beer KC group for a live show on April 6, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST featuring the performance modeling and embodied carbon analysis conducted on the top four submissions. Join us then to find out who wins!

Enjoy the show!

Join us on Thursday, April 1, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. EST for our Book Club discussion of Jacob Racusin’s Essential Building Science: Understanding Energy and Moisture in High Performance House Design. The author will be with us to field questions, and a few audience regulars will make guest appearances. The book is aimed at anyone looking to gain a basic understanding of green building principles. The level of information is meant to be comprehensive but approachable. We’ll share our main takeaways and see where the conversation takes us. 

Guest bios 

Jacob Racusin, the author of Essential Building Science, is co-founder of New Frameworks, a Vermont-based, worker-owned design-build cooperative committed to locally sourced natural materials and ecologically-minded building practices. He is also the firm’s Managing Partner, Systems Designer, Project Developer, and Project Manager, as well as an occasional crew member. A native Vermonter, Jacob lives with his family on a mountain homestead near the Canadian border.

Kyle Macht is a Certified Passive House Consultant at Macht Architecture. Kyle originally worked for Paul Macht Architects over the summers, while studying architectural engineering at Pennsylvania State University. After graduating, Kyle worked for a green design/build firm that also specialized in energy consulting. Kyle started as an energy consultant for commercial buildings and new homes after which he transitioned to the lead residential designer, while also managing the construction of several projects. Kyle rejoined Paul to create Macht Architecture in 2015, something they have talked about ever since Kyle originally worked with Paul.

June Donenfeld is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach with special interests in green building, social entrepreneurship, education, and design. In previous lives, she’s also worked as a program officer for the United States-Japan Foundation in New York, an editor and writer for the International Language and Culture Center in Tokyo, a financial analyst for Morgan Stanley in New York, a cross-cultural trainer in Osaka, and a senior researcher for a Japanese governmental agency in San Francisco. She has also served as a board member of Yokohama International School and a community leader at the International School of Paris. She holds a BA from Oberlin College, an MA from Stanford University, and has completed programs of study at the Sorbonne in Paris and Middlebury College in Vermont.

Brian Wiley is an assistant professor of graphic design at Boise State University. Brian Wiley holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon in Multimedia Design, and a Master of Fine Arts, Visual Studies, from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where his thesis work examined methodologies for community engagement through design. He previously taught at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign before arriving at Boise State University where he teaches courses in Graphic Design, User-Experience, and User-Interface Design.

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You can contact Kiley Jacques at [email protected]. Image courtesy of Ben Bogie.