What is “Forensic Architecture”?
Five Key Steps in the Building Forensic Investigation Process
What do you do if your building is experiencing issues—from moisture intrusion to people reporting headaches—but you don’t know the cause?
A forensic architect can help.
Watch the video to see what building failures in your facility can require forensic investigations.
What Do Forensic Architects Do?
“Forensics” is the practice of using scientific techniques during an investigation, usually related to crime. But when it comes to the built environment, forensic architecture refers to the process of evaluating building systems. Forensic architects conduct investigations before facilities are built through “peer review” analysis or when existing buildings face issues such as poor indoor air quality due to high relative humidity or extreme moisture intrusion. This may require in-depth, onsite forensic investigation and building evaluations.
A forensic architect uses various investigative and testing processes to find out what may be causing adverse conditions within an existing building. They look deeply at the source of a problem when the cause is not readily obvious or directly linked to observed failures in specific building systems.
Peer review looks at a building in the design process and can be part of an official Building Envelope Commissioning (BECx) process used to validate a level of competence in the future performance of building systems. This process begins at the conception of a project, through the design phase, construction documents, and all the way to post-occupancy. A forensic architect is experienced in understanding updated building codes and standards that facilities need to adhere to.
When Do You Need Forensic Architecture?
Building issues that affect the health and safety of people in and around the area must be addressed quickly. A forensic architect can investigate to find the cause of the issue and provide recommendations for resolution.
For example, moisture intrusion is a common problem that can harm building occupants. It can lead to mold growth, which could create health effects: headaches, sinus congestion, respiratory discomfort, and more acute impacts on immunocompromised individuals.
You need to fix the problem before it affects the building users. But to fix the problem, you need to know why it’s happening. Possible causes could include:
Exterior building envelope leaks or vapor drive, allowing the movement of moisture through the exterior enclosure
Faulty plumbing piping
Poorly installed waterproofing in interior wet areas such as bathing facilities
Failing HVAC mechanical systems
A combination of these conditions
Forensic architects conduct investigations and evaluations to assess the built environment and uncover the root causes of the issue.
What the architect does next depends on the issue at hand. The top priority will always be to restore the building's indoor air quality so it’s healthy and safe for the occupants. If there are any apparent building failures, the architect may call upon specialized engineering consultants to assist in the investigation. The engineers may more readily understand the technical aspects of those systems within the building.
This investigative team will provide a comprehensive assessment of the adverse conditions.
Once the root causes have been discovered and recommendations made, the forensic team will work to formulate a resolution to the issues as quickly and safely as possible. The team can manage the necessary work until the problem is fixed.
The Forensic Architecture Investigation Process
The investigative process may involve looking at either a specific building system or the entire building as a whole.
That’s where a property condition assessment (PCA) can be a valuable tool. A PCA is a comprehensive, full building evaluation that helps shine a light on the status of building systems to determine their working condition and life cycle status. This approach helps discover issues that require further investigation into specific building systems.
Whatever the investigative approach, the forensic architect is instrumental in this process.
1. Initial Assessment
A Forensic architecture investigation evaluates the building’s standard of care in order to find the source of any underlying adverse conditions.
To hone in on these conditions, the initial assessment will be relatively quick, non-destructive, and mostly visual. The forensic architect can look at measuring the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) comfort parameters, which include temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. The team takes these measurements inside and outside the building to determine their relationship to each other and compare the measurements to standard ranges recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
Depending on the findings, a more invasive investigation may be required to dig deeper into the existing conditions. That means the forensic architect may need to:
Perform smoke tests or pressurization testing
Assessing within interior wall or ceiling finishes
HVAC diffuser removal and inspection
Temporarily turn off mechanical systems to see if they have unseen openings or air leaks
2. Moisture Mapping
Moisture is an unavoidable reality within a building. Certain levels of moisture are inherent and acceptable within certain building materials and systems.
However, if the appropriate level of moisture is exceeded, this could lead to poor indoor air quality. These conditions could manifest in mold growth, steel corrosion, or disintegration of building materials such as gypsum wallboard and composite wood.
To determine if moisture levels are normal, a forensic architect uses a moisture meter to map and measure moisture content in various materials. Moisture mapping is most effective on materials susceptible to mold growth like wood and gypsum board. A forensic architect will address the materials where moisture content levels exceed what is acceptable for each building material.
Standard solutions include:
Drying the building materials.
If you want to dry the materials, must be done within 72 hours of the initial moisture intrusion impacts. Beyond that timeframe, mold growth can occur. Mold growth can sometimes be cleaned, but that becomes harder in concealed spaces where access is limited.
Replacing the building materials.
Usually after 72 hours, remediation is required for materials susceptible to mold growth.
3. Mechanical System Evaluations
Mechanical HVAC systems are designed to provide indoor air conditioning to maintain acceptable temperature and relative humidity conditions. These systems can use outside air to provide fresh air ventilation and balance against exhaust air systems.
To maintain consistent air pressure inside a building, HVAC systems must maintain proper building pressurization. This process is important for keeping relative humidity at an optimal level. The general rule is to maintain a neutral pressurization inside the building with respect to the outside.
If pressure isn’t neutralized, this could allow high humidity conditions outdoors to seep into the building. This poses a concern for the indoor air quality (IAQ) within the building. The influx of high relative humidity can overwhelm the HVAC system and result in humidity levels that cause condensation on building materials and mold growth.
If the pressurization is not properly balanced, the architect will call on a forensic mechanical engineer to evaluate the HVAC system and provide the necessary assessments and recommendations.
4. Black or Grey Water Intrusion Considerations
Water intrusion, either from plumbed piping systems or emergency water loss situations, is another potential problem in the built environment. An architectural forensic investigation team can assess for microbial and fecal matter contamination if there has been a water intrusion issue. This may eventually require deep sanitizing or remediation of the impacted building materials, ensuring a healthy indoor environment for occupants.
5. Reporting
Once the forensic architect finishes the evaluations, they will prepare and submit a report of findings and recommendations for improvement. This thorough report includes the identification of any adverse conditions along with a narrative, photos, test results, general findings, and recommendations.
The Importance of Forensic Architecture
The ultimate goal of forensic architecture is to find the status of a building and its systems to determine if there are adverse conditions that require comprehensive solutions. The goal will be to achieve a better-performing, healthier, and safer building for all the building’s occupants.
Adverse building conditions can arise from general aging and wear of systems. Other times, it’s a result of planned renovations. Building renovations can result in unintended consequences, so commissioning a “Peer Review” from a forensic architect during the renovation design could be beneficial to reduce unforeseen issues during the project.
If conditions are discovered after a renovation has begun, calling a forensic architect is the first step toward finding a resolution to the issue at hand. It may help avoid the potential for building failures. The faster an issue is resolved, the less risk there is for the building owner and users.
Not every building-related condition requires a forensic architect. But if there is a condition that remains unresolved, hiring one could make all the difference.
To learn more about how you can benefit from forensic architecture techniques, check out our case study to see how a medical office building utilized forensic investigation to address extensive hurricane damage.