Have you experienced building envelope educational seminars/workshops in the past in which you found yourself having a hard time making it through the whole session, or perhaps you noticed yourself falling asleep at times? Were you somewhat frustrated with the dry content, lecture notes full of text, convoluted explanation of concepts, lack of interaction, etc.? Have these types of seminars/workshops made you either lose interest in the presented subjects, or come out of the sessions unfulfilled or somewhat lost? If so, you are not alone. Our team at HDB has also experienced such seminars in the past. These experiences left an eye-opening impact on us and set us up for a new goal and motivation: Launching interactive seminars/workshops with the goal of creating long-lasting impacts.

Starting September 2016, HDB began delivering industry seminars/workshops that follow an interactive and collaborative set-up with the intent of maximizing interactions between builders, architects, homeowners, etc. These workshops have created opportunities for participants to share ideas, hear various points of views, discuss hurdles that they have encountered while attempting to incorporate certain practices, learn from each other, and, after all, collectively come up with solutions that meet the intent of all parties involved during the design and construction of a building.

Rather than telling participants what to do and limit their choices, the workshops are designed to present a wide-range of solutions and to provide participants with the necessary tools to enable them to make informed decisions for their projects. The solutions range from those that meet the minimum National Building Code of Canada requirements to those that offer superior performance well beyond the Building Code.

Throughout the workshops, various brainstorming sessions are incorporated, with the goal of creating a vibrant and energetic session to support the learning experience of the participants. It has been exceptionally rewarding to be exposed to perspectives of various people, see the issues through their eyes, and expand the horizon of possibilities in creating better building practices.

Among the key features of the workshops is physical samples of building envelope assemblies, showcasing various solutions for improving energy efficiency, moisture management, thermal comfort, long-term durability, accessibility, and adaptability to future repair and renovation. In addition, an intuitive and easy-to-follow PowerPoint presentation is included, which highlights various interesting case studies, photographs, and 3D drawings.

So far, the workshops have been offered across Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kamloops, Prince George, Invermere, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Nelson, and Fernie. The feedback of the participants has been extremely positive; participants reported that the message resonated with them and the workshop has created a fulfilling learning experience for them.

At HDB, we believe in actions that translate to real change. Interactive workshops like these can facilitate the process of real change by leveraging the skill-set and knowledge of participants in collectively coming up with practical solutions. We hope to see more of these types of workshops in the industry.

Subscribe to our newsletter if you would like to be updated on the future interactive workshops. If you are interested in having a building envelope workshop tailored to your specific needs (BC Energy Step Code, durability, innovative materials & solutions, energy modeling, thermal comfort, etc.), please feel free to contact us.