An event that grew out of an early IAQ seminar presented by the Ft. Myers ASHRAE chapter in 1993 has morphed into the AABSS-Andrew Äsk Building Science Symposium, a two-day regional hot-humid conference at the Naples Hilton on 02-18-19-2025. Blame Rick and Rickie Sims of Johnson Air Conditioning in Naples for putting my name on it. They are the real energy behind this event. And we get tremendous support from Pete Consigli, an internationally known restoration, building science and indoor air quality grandee who now lives in SW FL.

Why should members of IAQA, RIA or NADCA want to know about architectural details? (We won’t talk too much about HVAC.) So, you can defend yourselves! When a building experiences harm from moisture, the HVAC gets blamed. At AABSS you will learn where moisture damage starts—it’s not in the HVAC—so you can not only defend yourself against economic responsibility, but then tell your clients how to fix the problem and prevent it from happening in the future.

Leaks used to start a $50k to fix. These days that number is closer to $100k.

The 2024-25 edition (now held biennially) will feature not only ASHRAE fellow Joe Lstiburek, PhD, P. Eng., whom most of you may know as the founder of Building Science “Summer Camp”, but his Canadian colleague John Straube. Dr. Straube is a civil engineering / architectural professor at the University of Waterloo and a consultant with RDH, a major building science consultant in Canada and the US Northwest.

Bringing both preeminent North American building scientists together on the same card makes this a really big deal. Although Joe and John are close friends and go back 30+ years to their days as undergraduates at the University of Toronto, they rarely appear together. It’s like reuniting Simon and Garfunkel. I can say without exaggeration there is no other one-stop venue for more or better building science. 

Find out more at: www.climatezoneone.com

Andrew C. Äsk, P.E., ASHRAE Fellow Past President and member IAQA Hall of Fame

G. Pete Consigli, CR, WLS RIA Honorary Member and member IAQA Hall of Fame, Executive Chef Emeritus Building Science Summer Camp and Winter Break 2025 Facilitator

For Questions on AABSS 2025 aka “Winter Break 2025” Contact: Pete Consigli at +1-813-758-2801 or pcpathfinder@yahoo.com