Insurance coverage for architects is key to protecting a firm against risk.  It transfers risks from the architect to an insurance company.  The most critical professional risks for architects are those from litigation alleging negligence in professional work.  Negligence can cause damages to the Owner, Contractor or other party involved; and the architecture firm may be liable for such damages.  Professional Liability Insurance, also called errors-and-omissions insurance covers some of the claim in exchange for premiums paid to the insurance company.

"the lowest bulk density of any known porous solid."

As a result, this smoky looking material is an incredibly effective thermal insulator.  It's produced by extracting the liquid portion of a gel and replacing it with a gas.  The process requires tremendous and heat and pressure and has subsequently been extremely expensive to produce.  However, a Swedish company has developed a new process that allows aerogel to be produced at normal temperature and pressure.  In a recent post, Sean McGuire discovered this innovation may reduce pricing by 90 percent.  Find McGuire's full article at Neon Tommy, a site sponsored by the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

Heat transfer follows the path of least resistance; i.e. if a conductive metal is placed in the same plane as insulation in a wall assembly, heat transfer will occur at the metal as it is less resistant to heat flow.  This undesirable transfer is known as thermal bridging.  One common problem occurs in metal stud walls when batt insulation is placed in between the studs, creating a thermal bridge at the studs. 

Over at Construction Specifier, there’s an article, this month, on the basics of curtain walls.  I’ve discussed curtain wall previously in A Few Notes on Glass Curtain Wall and Curtain Wall Installation.   Here are some points from this read; which is available in digital form here.