Christine Williamson is a building scientist and architect who has spent her career discovering why buildings fail and working with owners, architects, and builders to remedy the problems. She is an Assistant Professor of architecture at Virginia Tech and the founder of the Instagram account @BuildingScienceFightClub, an educational project that teaches architects about building science and construction. Christine graduated from Princeton University and received her Master of Architecture from NewSchool of Architecture + Design. She is past chair of ASHRAE Technical Committee 1.12, Moisture Management in Buildings and is a frequent lecturer on building science at universities and professional conferences.
Courses
Glazed and (Not at All) Confused: Residential Window Detailing
Thursday, May 7, 2026 | 2-3:30pm ET
A window must do everything a wall has to do. . . and also allow you to see through it. This is no small task, and when combined with the seemingly infinite number of window profiles available in residential architecture, often make the prospect of detailing them seem like a hopeless task. But there are general principles and rules of thumb that can help demystify and greatly simplify how architects approach window design. This session will discuss those general principles, their technical justification, and application to the most common combinations of window profiles and wall types. The speakers will review flanged and un-flanged window systems and discuss, step-by-step, how they can be properly detailed in both framed and mass walls with various kinds of water and air control membranes. This course will equip architects with better technical skills and information to manage their own risk by providing better details and ensuring those details are followed to completion during construction administration.