Masonry Magazine September 1978 Page. 19
Spokane John Cunningham Awards
The Music Building (pictured above) on the Whitworth College Campus in Spokane, Wash., was adjudged the winner of the 1978 John Cunningham Award. Sponsored by the Mason Contractors' Association of Spokane, the award is given each year to the architect, engineer, mason contractor and owner of the masonry building selected to be the most outstanding for masonry design and execution. The jury is made up of an independent committee of local architects to honor the memory of John Cunningham, who was a charter member of the Spokane Chapter. The happy award winners are pictured here.
(From left) Dr. Donald DeuPree of Whitworth College: Ronald Tan, AIA, master of ceremonies at the awards banquet, and Jim Crane, owner, Custom Masonry, Inc., the mason contractor on the Music Building project.
(From left) Awards banquet master of ceremonies Ronald Tan, AIA: Benson Neilson, architect with TSG Architects, Planners, and Larry Peden, structural engineer.
"M" Factor Rebuttal
Statement By The Masonry Industry Committee
The Masonry Industry Committee, which is composed of eight prominent organizations in the masonry industry, sponsored and published the research that documented the beneficial effect of mass in walls on thermal performance and led to the development of the "M" correction factor. The "M" factor makes it possible to more accurately reflect this energy benefit in wall design and construction.
The "M" factor study, performed by a highly qualified consulting engineering firm, Hankins & Anderson, Inc., demonstrated beyond any doubt that mass does improve thermal performance-in other words, the heavier the wall, the better it performs. In so doing, the study confirmed scientifically and mathematically what people have empirically known for many thousands of years, and something which was already accepted by the American Society Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) as a factor that needs to be considered in heating cycle calculations.
In addition, Hankins & Anderson's study enabled the masonry industry for the first time to begin to quantify this effect of mass and provide designers with a practical tool that enables them to design buildings more accurately than they previously could, and thus save both energy and money.
The Masonry Industry Committee stands by this research and the "M" correction factor.
We are disappointed that the National Forest Products Association has issued a press release which asserts that a study by Doctors William Rudoy and Richard S. Dougall has "disproved" claims that masonry construction saves energy in homes because of its mass.
In the first place, while a thorough analysis of the Rudoy-Dougall study remains to be done, a glance at the authors' own conclusions does not support the press release. Rudoy and Dougall conclude that the use of insulation and of walls with lower U-values reduces both annual energy and peak loads for heating and cooling. No one can argue with this. Second, they conclude that for "good thermal quality residential construction," mass doesn't have a significant effect on heating-cooling requirements. The key here is what they mean by "good thermal quality." We do not hesitate to agree that it is possible to insulate a wall to a point where mass will have no substantial effect-but that point will be well past the point where the added insulation will be cost effective.
Finally, the authors conclude that the effect of mass "is amplified" for walls or buildings with higher U-values and in locations with a wide range of daily temperatures. We have no problem agreeing with this in fact. Rudoy and Dougall simply confirm the result of the Hankins & Anderson study. We have made it clear all along that the effect of mass increases from south to north in the United States, but since most of this country experiences a wide range of daily temperatures, such a conclusion is not a serious limitation on the value of mass.
It seems to us that the NFPA press release goes far beyond Doctors Rudoy and Dougall and makes sweeping assertions that their conclusions do not support. Because of its mass, masonry does improve the thermal performance of buildings, including homes, and if mass is properly taken into consideration, walls can be designed and built that will be more thermally efficient than they otherwise will be.
Such an objective is not only in the interest of the masonry industry, it also is in the public interest. We hope that the NFPA release will not confuse and mislead, and thereby make the attainment of this objective more difficult.