ATLANTA—It’s only appropriate that in a city known for skyscrapers—home to nearly 600—that the 2014 ASHRAE Winter Conference Technical Program puts a special focus on the design, development and operation of tall buildings when it visits New York City, Jan. 18-22.

"The ASHRAE Technical Program offers a great opportunity to learn from fellow professionals and experts,” Jon Cohen, New York Conference program chair, said. “Also, ASHRAE is continuously improving the Conference experience to incorporate additional networking opportunities, in addition to focusing on technical content."

The Technical Program begins Sunday, Jan. 19, and will follow the successful new format introduced earlier in the year at the 2013 Annual Conference: special hour-long interactive sessions with audience participation, followed by a networking coffee break.

The Technical Program features more than 200 sessions and offers dozens of opportunities to earn New York PDHs, AIA LUs and LEED AP credits.

In a nod to New York City, with its instantly recognizable skyline of towering buildings, the Tall Buildings: Performance Meets Policy track looks at opportunities in the design, development and operation of tall and super-tall buildings. The track also presents the measured and measurable use of utilities, envelope (infiltration and exfiltration), building pressure, waste handling, elevators, carbon and adaptive reuse. Sessions of interest include “Is ASHRAE Tall Enough for Tall Buildings?;” “Linking Tall Buildings’ Energy Use to Tenant Contribution to Economy;” and “Life Safety Issues with Tall Buildings.” The innovative features in tall buildings offer attendees design ideas for applications in smaller-sized buildings.

Additionally, as New York is a city on the world stage, the International Design track addresses innovative design strategies to meet environmental elements, geography and cultures. Examine “Energy Saving Strategy of Large-Scale University Facilities;” several sessions on “Cutting Edge Japanese Technologies;” “Sustainable Development in Africa;” and “European Union: Practical Benchmarking of HVAC System Energy Efficiency,” to name just a few.

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Building Information Systems investigates how building control technologies are integrated and used for building management, operation and efficiency. An interesting session of note is “App, App and Away: Enabling Meaningful Work for the Building Professional with the Development of Quality Apps for Smartphones and Tablet Computers,” which explores the evolution of apps; the methods for developing and establishing a reliable app to provide an accessible and verifiable way for building professional to solve practical problems; and looks at areas of potential app development.

Hydronic System Design addresses innovative design, system components and research and case studies of their application, including unintended consequences. Sessions include the three part session “Efficient Technologies that are Also Economically Sustainable;” “Hydronic System Acoustics;” and “Energy Efficient Single Pipe Hydronic System Design for Large and Tall Buildings.”

The Environmental Health through Indoor Environmental Quality track includes developing, evaluating and predicting optimal indoor environmental conditions, and features case histories, lessons learned and advice to operators and designers about IEQ, as well as disaster recovery in buildings affected by hurricanes and floods. A few of the track offerings include “Indoor Air Environment and Heat Recovery Ventilation in a Passive School Building;” “A Comprehensive Look at Infectious Disease and Air Filtration in Healthcare Facilities: Energy Saving, IAQ Performance, and What Makes You Sick;” and “Lessons Learned from Storm Recovery.”

Additional tracks include Building Performance and Commissioning, Systems and Equipment and Fundamentals and Applications.

The Technical Program runs Sunday through Wednesday, Jan. 19-22, at the New York Hilton. Advance registration closes Dec. 31, after which registration fees increase to “onsite” pricing. Register for the Conference at www.ashrae.org/newyork.

The International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Expo®, held in conjunction with the Winter Conference, runs Jan. 21-23. The Expo, held at the Javits Convention Center, takes place Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as opposed to the traditional Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. More information is available at www.ahrexpo.com.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.

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