BSAO News
ENFORM Architects hosted their annual Deep Energy Retrofit Seminar last week at Henderson Brewing Company
ENFORM Architects hosted their annual Deep Energy Retrofit Seminar last week at Henderson Brewing Company, and BSAO was proud to support the event by awarding a scholarship to Katy Cao. The seminar brought together industry leaders, practitioners, and students committed to advancing high-performance, low-carbon buildings.
Katy’s research contributes to deep energy retrofits by improving the understanding of building envelopes before retrofit interventions. As a first-year graduate student, I am studying the application of multispectral imaging as a possible non-destructive diagnostic tool for identifying defects, moisture intrusion, and early signs of material decay in building envelopes. Multispectral imaging has been widely applied to the field of agriculture, using visible to near-infrared bands to identify early plant stress before it is detected by the human eye. Similarly, this approach may offer strong potential for identifying hidden deterioration in building envelopes before it becomes visible and more costly to repair.
This work is relevant to deep energy retrofits because successful retrofits depend on a good understanding of material compatibility, construction sequencing, and areas of hidden deterioration that could affect long-term performance. A key challenge in multispectral imaging applications for building diagnostics is the lack of standardized spectral baselines for weathered building materials. My research aims to address this gap by developing a spectral library that supports the classification and quantification of building degradation. By improving diagnostic methods, my work helps retrofit teams make more informed decisions, reduce the risk of unintended failures, and target interventions more effectively. Overall, my work supports deep energy retrofits by advancing building diagnostics and contributing to evidence-based retrofit strategies.
Congratulations Katy!
Read the full event recap on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/enformarch_der26-der26-deepenergyretrofit-activity-7467580333077450752-gYhf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAJnDREB1oOhKFknTASyQ50mrmU7WhDFRtA
