Symposium on Building Envelope Air Tightness: Design Strategies, Testing, and Impacts

(In-person only event)

Date: March 22, 2026 - March 23, 2026

Event Location:  Hyatt Regency Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States

Organized by: ASTM Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings 

 

 

About the Event

The Symposium on Building Envelope Air Tightness: Design Strategies, Testing, and Impacts will be held March 22, 2026 - March 23, 2026. The symposium is organized by ASTM Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings, and will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States in conjunction with the standards development meetings of the committee. The language of the symposium will be English.

 

Objective and Scope

This Symposium shall provide for the exchange of ideas on how to achieve more airtight building envelopes, verification testing of building envelopes or portions thereof, impacts of improved building envelope airtightness on the performance of the building, and building code requirements for airtight buildings and new testing requirements in ASHRAE 90.1 and the IECC.

Topics for this symposium include:

  • Whole Building Air Tightness Testing of Large or Complex Buildings - Case Studies to cover the testing process including team coordination, building preparation, equipment and set up, performance of the test, and reporting of results.
    • Can we test large buildings? Is there a limit on the size of the building we can test?
    • Challenges and considerations of testing new additions to existing buildings or portions of buildings.
    • What does testing cost?
    • What do the results mean?
    • What to do if the measured air leakage does not meet the project goal and/or the code requirement?
    • What are the environmental impacts (wind, temp, elevation, etc.) on test results?
    • Studies of testing repeatability in whole building air tightness
    • Common discontinuities in air barrier construction that result in excessive air leakage.
    • Detailing of the air barrier system to mitigate air leakage.
  • Whole Building Air Tightness Testing of Residential Buildings and Compliance with Code and Above-Code Program Requirements
    • Experience with mandatory air tightness testing required by the IECC, ASHRAE 90.1 or other energy codes or specifications
    • How should multi-family buildings be tested? By unit, by floor or whole building?
  • Whole Building Air Tightness Rates and their Impact on Load Calculations and Energy Modeling Results o What are the leakages rates in the field today and where are we going?
    • What is the energy savings to be achieved?
    • How does modeling handle air leakage and how close is it to reality?
    • How is air leakage addressed by building codes?
  • What are the impacts on energy, comfort, moisture accumulation, etc. from air leakage?
    • What is the Cost of Whole Building Air Tightness and the ROI on BECx and Whole Building Air Tightness Testing?
    • Are new methods of air tightness testing or air leakage site detection being developed?

 

Abstract Submission

To participate in the symposium, authors must submit a 250 to 300-word preliminary abstract using the online Abstract Submission Portal no later than September 26, 2025. To ensure your abstract was received into the ASTM database, please email symposia@astm.org and let us know that you have submitted an abstract.

The abstract must include a clear definition of the objective and approach of the work discussed, pointing out material that is new, and present sufficient details regarding results. The presentation and manuscript must not be of a commercial nature, nor can it have been previously published. Because a limited number of abstracts will be accepted, be sure that your abstract submission is complete to allow for careful assessment of the paper's suitability for this symposium. The symposium chair(s) will notify you via email by November 14, 2025 of your paper’s acceptability for presentation at the symposium. If the preliminary abstract is accepted, the author will be requested to submit a final abstract a few months before the symposium. The final abstracts will be distributed in a program booklet at the symposium.

 

Publication Information

Symposium authors are required to submit their papers for ASTM publication in Selected Technical Papers (STP), an online and printed, peer-reviewed publication for the international scientific and engineering community. STP papers should be full-length technical papers of approximately 10,000 words, significantly contribute to the technical literature, and must include a review of past work in the relevant area and present information of current interest or probe new fields. After the final selection of abstracts has been approved, the ASTM Editorial Office will send authors’ instructions via email, but also can be found by clicking here.

Manuscripts to be peer reviewed for the STP are due online no later than May 29, 2026 at the ASTM Editorial Office. The corresponding author (the author who is the main contact with ASTM Headquarters) will receive a copy of his/her paper in portable document format (PDF). All published authors will have the opportunity to purchase reprints of their papers at a nominal cost. Only those papers submitted by the manuscript due date will be included in the STP. Please note that all submitted papers are subject to peer review by two independent reviewers.

The STP will be submitted to the Library of Congress with an ISBN number and will be reviewed for inclusion in the Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) and Google Scholar.

 

Technical Program

A technical program (presentation times, paper titles, and presenters’ names) will be posted on the ASTM website by early 2026.

 

Registration

Registration opens approximately 10 weeks before the start of the symposium.

 

Registration

Registration is now open. The fees to attend this event are listed below.

 

Through

MONTH DAY, YEAR

 After MONTH DAY, YEAR
ASTM Member $100.00 $200.00
Non-member $200.00 $300.00
Presenter Waived Waived
Student Waived Waived

Not an ASTM Member?  An Individual Membership costs only $115.00. If you would like to become a member of ASTM International and Committee E06 to begin taking advantage of all the ASTM membership benefits, including attending this event at a reduced rate, please use the link below to join ASTM before registering for the event. After you have become a member, please return to this webpage to register for the event as an ASTM Member.

ASTM International Membership

All Attendees – All attendees are urged to register for this SYMPOSIUM/WORKSHOP before arriving onsite. All attendees must check in at the ASTM Registration Area to obtain their name badge before entering the event room.

Presenters– SYMPOSIUM/WORKSHOP presenters do not need to register. All presenters will be automatically registered by ASTM.

Students – Students may be eligible for a reduced registration fee provided they meet certain requirements. To qualify for the reduced fee, you must be an active ASTM Student Member, full-time student, not employed full-time, and be able to provide a current valid university email address for registration. To register as a student, please email ASTM Symposia Operations at symposia@astm.org.

Cancellations – A refund of the SYMPOSIUM/WORKSHOP fee will be honored only if requested at least 10 business days prior to the start of the event. To cancel your registration, please click the "Modify My Registration" button found in your registration confirmation email and follow the prompts to cancel your registration. Please contact Symposia Operations at symposia@astm.org or 610-832-9522 if you need assistance.

If you have questions concerning online registration, please contact Symposia Operations at
symposia@astm.org Tel: 610-832-9522, or ASTM Technical Support at https://www.astm.org/contact.

 

Technical Chair Contact Information


Theresa Weston
The Holt Weston Consultancy, LLC
Email: holtweston88@gmail.com
Phone: +1 804-241-6246

Katie Wissink
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
Email: kswissink@sgh.com
Phone: +1 781-907-9329

Keith P. Nelson
DuPont
Email: keith.nelson@dupont.com
Phone: +1 804-682-0514

Tiffany Coppock
Owens Corning
Email: tiffany.coppock@owenscorning.com
Phone: +1 919-308-0228

 

Continuing Education Units

SYMPOSIUM/WORKSHOP attendees interested in receiving 0.35 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) must complete the CEU application form in the back of the program booklet and email it to ASTM Symposia Operations at symposia@astm.org. You must be registered and have attended the entire event in order to receive the CEU’s. A certificate will be sent to you via email approximately 1 to 2 weeks after the SYMPOSIUM/WORKSHOP concludes.

 

Hotel Information

The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, Texas. More information on how to make your sleeping room reservation will be posted approximately 12 weeks prior to the start of the event.

 

Hotel Information

 

COPY AND PASTE HOTEL INFORMATION

 

Standards Development Meetings

Committee E06 invites you to attend their future standards development meetings. There is no fee to attend these meetings, and membership in ASTM International is not required to attend. For more information about the committee and their future meetings, please visit the Committee E06 Homepage.