Introduction
People spend up to 95% of their lives in buildings, depending on climate, to work, live, or play. The indoor environment influences the productivity, health, and disposition of people. Annual capital expenditures for buildings vary from 7% to 10% of GNP in industrialized countries. Operation and maintenance costs of buildings can exceed the capital investment over the lifespan of the building. One third of the total energy produced is consumed in buildings.
Over the last several decades, Building Engineering emerged as the discipline to address and manage all of these factors to render buildings more efficient, safe, and economical. Building Physics (Building Science in North America) is the body of knowledge that underpins most of the building engineering applications. The International Association of Building Physics (IABP) was established in 2000 to advance this body of knowledge.
Subjects treated include: heat, air and mass transfer, interactions with the interior environment including building acoustics, lighting, indoor air quality, comfort, as well as interactions with the exterior environment, energy in buildings, performance-based design and development, and sustainable construction.
Through the expansion of the knowledge in Building Physics/Science and its application through Building Engineering, cheaper, safer, more durable and sustainable buildings will be built and operated, less energy will be used, and less damage to the environment will be done.
One of the venues to promote dialogue and disseminate knowledge in Building Physics/Science is its international conferences. The Third International Building Physics Conference is to take place in Montreal August 27 to 31, 2006 against a setting of long tradition and achievements in Building Engineering. The conference promises to add much to the endeavour of the International Association of Building Physics.
