Service: Building Enclosures
Design Enclosures That Perform in Any Climate
Master building science and reduce enclosure risks
Understanding how a building performs in the real world requires a truly holistic approach. We bring together enclosure design experience, commissioning, and environmental insights to help you create structures that are not only striking but also energy efficient, resilient, and built to withstand everything nature throws at them over the lifetime of the building, from wind and rain, to sun, snow, and ice.
How we help
With deep expertise in building physics, we help you design and evaluate enclosure systems that are energy-efficient, climate-responsive, and built to last. Our team ensures your building stays comfortable, dry, and high-performing from day one.
New construction enclosures
We translate sophisticated building physics insights, combined with extensive experience in high-performance facades, into actionable recommendations for design, diverse materials, construction practices, effective field testing, and installation approaches, ensuring your project is delivered on time and on budget.
The result? A complete enclosure system with seamlessly integrated control layers—water, air, thermal and vapor—for long-term durability and outstanding performance.
Speak with a building enclosures expertHistoric & existing enclosures
The same expertise and tools we bring to new building enclosures also delivers measurable value to the owners and occupants of existing buildings.
Whether you are planning a major capital upgrade, evaluation a sale or purchase, or simply addressing long-standing performance issues, our detailed conditions assessments and performance modelling offer clear, data-driven insights.
We support everything from recladding projects and leak investigations to energy efficiency upgrades, and deferred maintenance. For heritage buildings, we help preserve historic character while improving the building’s resiliency, lifespan, and performance.
Speak with a historic building enclosures expertEnclosure commissioning
We are industry leaders in building enclosure commissioning. Our team evaluates every aspect of the building envelope to ensure that each system is suitable for the facility, seamlessly integrated with other components, and performing exactly as intended.
We define performance targets, review systems to meet standards like LEED or Passive House and conduct post-occupancy inspections to identify and resolve efficiency issues. Whether you’re at early design or well into construction, our commissioning experts are ready to support your project at any stage.
Speak with an enclosure commissioning expertPerformance modeling
Understanding how heat and moisture interact with your structure—and how elements like glazing, air barriers, and cladding are detailed—are critical to achieving thermal performance and avoiding moisture-related issues in the building envelope.
Our building enclosure team offers comprehensive digital modeling support for designers and developers. We help assess potential challenges and optimize details that drive performance, improve constructability, increase durability, and ensure cost effective solutions.
Speak with a modeling expertHow our building enclosure services can benefit your project
Minimize risks and enhance performance while maintaining your aesthetic vision with proven enclosure strategies
Leverage our technical expertise and extensive project experience for proven strategies for waterproofing, cladding, fenestration and roofing. We help you minimize risk, enhance performance, and bring your architectural vision to life, while avoiding costly surprises down the line.
Minimize risks with proven enclosure strategies. Our enclosure strategies blend advanced science with hands-on experience to reduce long-term costs and risks by managing moisture, air leakage, heat and light exchange, and thermal control with precision.
Design boldly with buildings that perform brilliantly when you partner with us. We help you choose the ideal materials to enhance durability, performance, functionality, and visual impact, so your building looks great and lasts longer.
Whether you’re creating a cutting-edge, new development or transforming a heritage site, we tailor enclosure strategies to your site and climate, maximizing energy performance and long-term value.
From façades to foundations, we turn complex building physics into clear, actionable solutions. Our team helps optimize any enclosure system—roofs, windows, terraces, plazas, and below-grade spaces—with insight and confidence.
University of Pennsylvania Quadrangle
Restoring and preserving historic university dormitories in a massive, multi-phase renovation
University of Pennsylvania Health System - 3600 Civic Center Blvd.
Services to affirm that an eye-pleasing facade and green roof will perform as intended without posing a threat to human safety
Cosmopolitan on the Park
A custom facade solution for a high-end residential tower with unusual balconies
FAQs about our building enclosure services
Still have questions? Contact us.
We take a holistic approach to your building, from below grade to glazed and opaque facades to roofing. Key objectives include anticipating/preventing problem areas for moisture intrusion, condensation, and air leakage; saving on operating costs by managing heat transfer; mitigating deficiencies that cause expensive downtime of spaces; and assisting in identifying cost-effective approaches early in design.
Enclosure consulting can happen at any stage throughout the building lifecycle, however typically, clients engage RWDI during the design phase or post-occupancy stage.
During the design phase, for either new construction or existing building re-design, we collaborate closely with architects, designers, and builders to ensure the building enclosure aligns with performance and aesthetic goals. We provide detailed sketches and specifications to support our work, helping to identify high-performing materials and innovative enclosure options that support energy efficiency, visual appeal, and high performance. Our team offers expert input on designing or refining details that manage heat, air, and moisture effectively, and we evaluate and mitigate potential risks. This ensures that the enclosure integrates seamlessly with the overall design and continues to perform optimally throughout the construction phase.
For many building owners, ongoing problems with the building enclosure can persist over time. In these cases, we focus on diagnosing and addressing issues related to under-performing enclosure assemblies. This includes leak detection services, conditions assessments to aid in ongoing maintenance plans, and identifying specific performance challenges. We provide targeted remediation strategies to enhance the reliability and longevity of the enclosure system, aiming to revitalize the building and ensure it meets current performance expectations. Our goal is to resolve issues efficiently and support the building’s operational efficiency for the long term.
Yes, there are a number of inter-related building elements that can be positively or negatively impacted by in-effective enclosure design. A truly holistic approach to design will go beyond stand-alone enclosure consulting, to consider building acoustics, energy performance, commissioning, falling ice and snow, human comfort, and air quality.
Yes, we investigate wind effects on façade systems by showing how the structure’s components and cladding are affected by the wind climate at your site. This thorough investigation helps reduce the risk of wind-induced façade failures, which can be costly and dangerous, ensuring a safer and more reliable building performance.
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